Smeal College of Business – Penn State - Full-Time MBA

Penn State Full-Time MBA Program Structure

The Penn State University Smeal College of Business full-time MBA is a two year program, held exclusively at the State College campus in central Pennsylvania.

Prior to the official August start date, students in the program go through a series of preliminary career prep services and onboarding tasks, assisting the career streamline for future MBA graduates. Each year of the program consists of four different modules, with Year One being comprised mostly of core course work, and Year Two structured around electives.

Curriculum

The Year One curriculum of the Smeal MBA starts with a two-week orientation, a one week faculty-led Concentration Intensive, and the required “Communication Skills for Leaders” course. The first four modules largely consist of additional core courses, including: Business Statistics; Financial Accounting; Management, and more. In addition, first year students undertake the Global Immersion experience, which helps MBA candidates learn more global business experiences in countries like Chile, China, and South Africa

Year Two features the bulk of a student’s elective courses. The first fall semester of Year Two begins with one week negotiations practicum.

Full-Time MBA Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report: 41
• Bloomberg: 33
• Forbes: 34
• Financial Times: 47
• The Economist: 68

Class Profile

The Penn State University Smeal College of Business full-time MBA class of 2022 has 52 students enrolled.

These students are, on average, 37 percent female, 14 percent U.S. underrepresented minority, and 17 percent international. Students join the program with an average GMAT score of 639, a GPA of 3.43, and 4.6 years of previous professional work experience.

Career Statistics

The mean base salary of Smeal full-time MBA graduates is $114,723, with a mean signing bonus of $23,995. An estimated 90 percent of graduates earned job offers within three months of earning the degree, with 86 percent accepting those offers.

The majority of recent graduates were employed in the technology industry, at 32 percent. Consulting was the second-most prolific hiring industry of Smeal full-time MBA grads at 23 percent, followed by manufacturing at 16 percent.

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid

Pennsylvania residents pay $27,442 for one year of tuition in the Penn State full-time MBA program, with out-of-state students paying $43,800.

Additional fees and other expenses are as follows.

• Fees: $1,034
• Orientation Fees: $170
• Communications Course: $30
• Global Immersion: (Lounging and currency exchange rates subject to change) $2,250
• Health Insurance: (Only required for international students) $659.20 for MBA Fellows, $3,296 for Non-MBA Fellows

An estimated 20 percent of incoming MBA students receive some kind of scholarship assistance, which is rewarded to tuition costs ranging from $7,500 to $20,000. Those who apply by the February deadline are automatically considered for available merit-based scholarships.

The business school also offers numerous fellowship opportunities, including the Penn State Smeal MBA Fellows, Powerful Women Paving the Way Fellowship, the Maimuna Mijindadi Anyene Memorial Fellowship, and more.

U.S. armed service members do not have to pay the requisite application fee for enrollment in the Smeal full-time MBA program, and may be eligible for the U.S. Government Yellow Ribbon Program.

Penn State also partners with Teach for America and the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, which can help fund tuition costs.

Admissions

For enrollment in the Penn State full-time MBA program at the Smeal College of Business, applicants must submit the following:

• An online application
• GMAT/GRE Scores
• Resume
• Transcripts
• Two letters of recommendation
• A video application assessment
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (for non-native English speaking international applicants)
• Visa materials (international applicants)
• A $65 application fee
• Essay: “What are your short-term and long-term career goals? How does your past experience enable you to achieve these goals? How do you see your MBA experience fitting into this plan?” (600 word limit)

Application deadlines are as follows:

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