Washington D.C. MBA Programs That Do Not Require Work Experience

There are plenty of benefits to going straight from undergrad into an MBA program: among them, getting a jump start on your business education, opening doors for leadership roles early on and the ability to avoid losing a year or two of progress and salary after already starting a career. Unfortunately, minimum work requirements for many MBA programs make this impossible.

Thankfully, some MBA programs do not require a minimum amount of professional experience in order to apply to their program. For students looking for a head start on their MBA while pursuing their business education in a top U.S. metro area, there’s no reason you can’t get your degree—and use it too.

Below is a list of MBA programs located in the Washington D.C. metro area that do not require prior professional experience in order to be considered for admission.

McDonough School of Business – Georgetown University

Although the average student earning their MBA at McDonough has two years of work experience under their belt, prior work is not a requirement for admission. A résumé will be required, however, less to see how much each applicant has spent developing their career, but to evaluate the progress and impact that they’ve made so far.

Other requirements for admission include an application form, GMAT/GRE scores, one recommendation, transcripts, personal essays and the possibility of an invitation-only interview.

Robert H. Smith School of Business – University of Maryland

According to the admission criteria for the Smith school of business, “a solid background of several years of work experience strengthens an applicant’s profile and makes him or her more competitive in the job market upon graduation.” Nonetheless, work experience is not a direct requirement for admission.

Other requirements include one’s undergraduate academic record, graduate admission tests (GMAT or GRE), résumé, letter of recommendation and well-written personal essays. Through any or all of these other requirements, students have plenty of opportunity to prove their future success in the program- even without prior professional experience.

Sellinger School of Business – Loyola University Maryland

Work experience is not required for Sellinger’s “Emerging Leaders MBA” program, which based its admissions decisions on prior academic achievement and leadership potential.

Students are further required to submit a written personal statement, two professional references, GMAT/GRE scores and qualitative criteria that allows admissions officials to determine each student’s leadership potential, including: undergraduate performance, certifications and awards, extracurricular involvement and community engagement. Select applicants will be invited to interview over Skype.

Carey Business School – Johns Hopkins University

Requirements for all MBA programs at Carey Business School include transcripts from all schools attended in the U.S., résumé, two personal essays, one letter of recommendation and GMAT/GRE scores.

Work experience is preferred for pursuing most advanced degrees at Carey, but is not a requirement of the Global MBA program. Nevertheless, students in the Global MBA program tend to average two to five years of professional experience.

regions: Washington, DC

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