Carlson School of Management – University of Minnesota - Full-Time MBA

Minnesota Carlson Full-Time MBA Program Structure

The two-year, AACSB-accredited full-time program at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management is a less-than-traditional MBA, starting with online courses in the summer. The online courses cover accounting, finance, and economics courses in July, leading to the official orientation in late August.

The first year of the program features a majority of students' core courses—25 in total of the 64 credits required to complete the full-time program. Students have the option to choose from more than 70 electives, which begin in the spring semester of the first year. After an infusion of experiential learning courses in the second year, students are offered global experience in one of three ways: a semester abroad; a two-week global "enrichment;" or a global course. The length of the commitment for the global experience can be counted for as little as four credits, or as much as 10.

Curriculum

The Carlson School full-time MBA program concentrates its academic experience on global and experiential learning. The program requires 64 credits across two academic years. Students’ education begins before the first fall semester with online “pre-launch” webinars, surveys, career assessments, and accounting pre-work. Subsequently, orientation in late August prepares students to dive into the fall semester’s 20 credits of core classes, which span marketing, operations, and financial management; data analysis; accounting; economics; and leadership foundations. Five more core credits are completed over the spring semester, including digital age competition and leadership classes. Students also begin taking electives in the spring semester.

Year two includes focus on global business, a leadership practicum, and experiential learning via enterprises. The Carlson School Enterprise Programs enables MBA students to collaborate with Fortune 500 business managers to identify and resolve challenges. In essence, the program lets students operate as a professional consultancy firm serving multiple clients—all while applying their classroom knowledge and high-level strategy.

Full-time MBA students are required to complete global enrichment coursework. Traveling in cohorts, Carlson students spend two weeks abroad in January with faculty, learning about the global marketplace and different business practices, philosophies, and cultures. Additional global enrichment programs are based as electives at Carlson, but also allow students to visit local and multi-national firms around the world.

Full-Time MBA Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report: 28
• Bloomberg: 35
• Forbes: 32
• Financial Times: 71
• The Economist: 48

Class Profile for the Minnesota Carlson Full-Time MBA

Eighty-nine students decided to become a part of the Carlson School of Management Class of 2022. Thirty-two percent are women and 19% are international. Sixteen percent identify as students of color. Nineteen percent had a military background.

During their undergraduate years, Carlson MBA students earned a median GPA of 3.45. Business was the most popular major, as 22% studied it. Engineering was a close second, with 20% of the class studying it. Social science followed at 18% and science or maths at 17%. Nine percent each studied economics or the humanities. When it came time to take the GMAT or GRE, Carlson MBAs scored a median of 690 and 321, respectively. Altogether, they averaged 4.74 years of work experience before matriculating.

Career Statistics

Within 90 days of graduation, 90% of the Class of 2020 had received job offers with a mean salary of $116,995, and a mean signing bonus of $27,967.

Carlson graduates of the Class of 2020 found employment in a variety of industries. In terms of industry, 20% of Carlson graduates went into consulting. Nineteen percent began working in healthcare and 14% in consumer packaged goods. Thirteen percent chose the manufacturing industry. Ten percent each joined tech and financial services. Retail took in five percent of graduates. The rest of the class spread out across non-profit, media and other industries.

With regard to region, a vast majority of the Class of 2020 stayed in the school’s area. Seventy-nine percent of graduates settled in the Midwest. Ten percent settled in the West and six percent in the Southwestern U.S. Three percent moved to the Northeast while one percent headed abroad.

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid for the Minnesota Carlson Full-Time MBA

In-state residents pay an annual tuition rate of $40,176 for the Minnesota Carlson full-time MBA program, with out-of-state and international students paying $51,456.

With added cost estimates of books, health insurance, and student fees, the total for in-state residents comes to $47,829.74. Out-of-state residents pay an estimated $59,109.74 and international students pay $59,487.74. Price varies from year to year and does not factor in on-campus living, travel, and food expenses, as well as the required international residency. An additional fee of $378 is required for international students. A $1,500 tuition deposit is required to hold a place in the program after acceptance is offered.

The university estimates that living in the Twin City metro area costs around $14,000 per year.

All students accepted into the Minnesota Carlson full-time MBA program are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships, which can be found here. Specific scholarship opportunities may also be available for U.S. armed forces members and veterans.

Financial aid is available to all students. U.S. students are eligible for federal unsubsidized and direct PLUS loans, as well as private loans. International students must apply for private loans. Select students may work part-time with the business school through the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program, which can also help fund tuition payments.

Admissions

In order to apply to the Minnesota Carlson full-time MBA program, applicants must submit:

• A completed online application
• Official transcripts
• Two professional references
• GMAT/GRE scores
• A personal statement
• TOEFL or IELTS test scores (if necessary)
• Resume
• A video essay
• A $75 non-refundable application fee

Interviews may be conducted by invitation only.

Fall Entry Deadlines

Round 1: October 1, 2020

Round 2: December 1, 2020

Round 3: February 1, 2021

Round 4: April 1, 2021