A Closer Look: Mount Saint Mary’s Los Angeles MBA
Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles is home to one of the the country’s most unique MBA programs.
The primarily women’s college offers specialties in organizational leadership, project management, and both social and general entrepreneurship.
In a place known to be the country’s center of entertainment and music, the school has a unique past that is often overlooked for the glitz and glamour that, for many, characterize the city.
U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Mount Saint Mary’s as the 23rd best school in the Western U.S., with its graduate program featuring such areas of study as health policy & management, education and humanities. Mount Saint Mary’s launched its MBA program in 2008, and it became an accredited university in 2005. It is one of the country’s only universities attended primarily by women in the Western United States.
Money Magazine also recognized the school in 2014 as the number one U.S. college that “Adds the Most Value.”
Founded in 1925 by the Roman Catholic Order of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mount Saint Mary’s Los Angeles is private and independent. In 1955, the school first began to offer graduate programs. The student body is diverse, and it is comprised of 75 percent minority students. Close to two thirds of students are first-generation college attendees.
Thirty-two students at Mount Saint Mary’s have won the Rockefeller Fund’s Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color, a greater number than any other university in the U.S.
In 1928, Mount Saint Mary’s Los Angeles grew from its roots as a private academy when it was established as a post-secondary school. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet purchased land located at the foothills of the statuesque Santa Monica Mountains, which would come to be known as the Chalon campus. Here, the college held its first graduation.
In 1962, during an era for the U.S. still new to the idea of gender diversity, the school opened yet another campus close to the University of Southern California. Named after the owners of the property, the Countess Estelle Doheny and her husband, Edward, the campus boasted two city-blocks of Victorian mansions. Thirty years later, the school would break ground once again when it decided to offer weekend and evening programs for working professionals at the Chalon campus.
In 2006, the working professionals program moved to the Doheny campus. This move would give rise to Doheny’s now popular MBA program. Mount Saint Mary’s Doheny MBA degree offers small class size, a weekend or hybrid format, and a notably diverse student community.
Assistant professor of business and MBA program director Dr. Janet Robinson said, “We at Mount Saint Mary’s measure the success of our … program by our graduates who are committed to using their knowledge and skills to better themselves, their environment and the world.”
Mount Saint Mary’s Los Angeles offers generous financial aid and scholarships, and the school is known as one of the most competitively priced MBAs in the US for working professionals. Veteran applicants can also benefit from several scholarship and tuition reduction programs.
Barinya Morales, MBA, 2016, currently works for Snapchat. Her experience is exemplary of Mount Saint Mary’s forward thinking philosophy.
On pursuing her MBA, Morales spoke with the university, saying, “While majoring in Psychology in college, I worked a few jobs that helped me develop administrative, managerial and business development skills. After graduation, I applied to Mount Saint Mary’s MBA program. I was working for Beats by Dre at the time and felt that with an MBA, I could obtain a position that got me out of the front lobby. After I started my foundations courses, Apple acquired my company. I was promoted to assist the senior director of finance, and I took on the additional role of financial analyst. Working on my MBA made me a strong competitor.”
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.
