No Work Experience – San Diego’s MBA Programs
Sunny San Diego is an appealing place for your MBA studies, that conclusion is clear. There’s no doubt that a beach side community with a healthy economy counts as a place where post-graduate student life can look pretty good.
But the question of whether to shift directly from undergraduate studies into an MBA program is a more challenging one.
One student, quoted in a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, had this to say. “I’m glad I didn’t have to leave a job and put my life on hold for two years,” Wes Swank told the WSJ. He was 24 upon earning his MBA from another California school, the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Choosing to go straight through to business school without working first allowed him to not only earn his MBA, but to marry, buy a home and become a managing director at a prestigious advisory firm after graduation, all by the age of 29.
In this same WSJ story, the dean of Loyola University’s Sellinger School of Business and Management noted, “These students are looking to jump-start their careers. [No work experience programs]… provide real-world experience to help accelerate their careers… It’s sort of internships on steroids.”
Here is a closer look at a sample of San Diego MBA programs requiring no work experience.
The Fermanian School of Business – Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a 12-month MBA program, with 14 core courses, that focuses specifically upon the launch of students’ careers. It requires the completion of a Field Experience module that gives the candidate entry into a regional or local company, in addition to access to a variety of networking and alumni events.
One PLNU Field Experience project involved the repositioning of a high-end resort community that had been known primarily for its golf course into a primary residential destination.
Admissions officers advise students to enter the program either in the fall after completion of their undergrad degree or within the next year or two. PLNU boasts strong alumni connections with companies and organizations including Merrill Lynch, Electronic Arts, the San Diego Zoo and Booz Allen Hamilton. The cost of this program is $805 per unit, with 42 units required for completion.
Applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation, GMAT scores and transcripts and to participate in an interview with the associate dean of graduate business education.
San Diego State University’s College of Business Administration (SDSU) is another program that will admit applicants straight from undergrad. Here, work experience is preferred, but not required. Consulting is a major focus for SDSU’s MBA candidates, and prestigious companies such as Scripps, Microsoft and HP participate in the recruitment effort. Along with these private companies, the City of San Diego also boasts many SDSU MBA students among its ranks.
The program claims a diverse group of students, with 25 percent emerging from social science/humanities backgrounds; 35 percent from science and engineering; and a combined 40 percent from business and economics. SDSU earned a spot on the list of ‘America’s Most Entrepreneurial Universities’ from Forbes in 2015 and was deemed one of the ’10 MBA Programs with the Most Financial Value at Graduation’ by U.S. News & World Report.
SDSU requires GMAT or GRE scores, but an admissions interview is not among the criteria for acceptance. Tuition is $28,130/year for a full-time California resident students and $44,870 for full-time non-resident students.
The program offers unique combined and dual-degree programs such as the sports MBA, the MBA/MA in Latin American Studies and the MBA/JD. Also, students are encouraged to study abroad to fulfill academic credits. Participation in such competitions as the Global Business Consulting Challenge and the LeanModel™ Start-up Competition are also part of SDSU’s impressive program.
So whether you’ve chosen to pivot directly into a career after your undergrad, or you’ve focused on other areas such as family or career after graduation, these are two appealing options in San Diego. For other programs in this metro, please visit our page detailing the full breadth of the city’s offerings.
About the Author
Maggie Boccella
Maggie Boccella, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, is a freelance writer, artist and photographer. She has consulted on various film and multimedia projects, and she also serves as a juror for the city's annual LGBTQIA Film Festival.
