Healthcare Management MBAs in Los Angeles
California’s healthcare systems are under a lot of stress. According to the Orange County Register, the state’s healthcare staffing shortages are projected to widen as the population grows and doctors retire. Continue reading…
Finding the Best Real Estate MBAs in Los Angeles
Over the past few years, MBA programs and courses in real estate have seen continued growth, as both interest and need have become undeniable throughout the country. With property values and real estate often having a tremendous impact on the overall economic health of the nation, educating and placing top talent in this sector can be vital. But how can you turn a valuable MBA into a lucrative career in Los Angeles real estate?
Although a business focus on real estate is nothing new, the idea of MBAs concentrating in the industry as part of their degree has been getting increasingly more popular. It is somewhat difficult to find MBA programs that offer specializations in the field, even though 2017 saw more than $5 billion invested into real estate technology—a massive increase since the Great Recession. Startups like Airbnb and WeWork area also changing the way the real estate industry overlaps with entrepreneurship and technology, making it even more important for a workforce of talented individuals helping to guide the industry going forward.
Los Angeles, long at the center of discussions about urban development and city planning, features some of the country’s most vital real estate business program. Take a look at the three of the best Los Angeles real estate MBA programs below.
Marshall School of Business – USC
USC’s Marshall School of Business allows students in the full-time MBA program specialize their degree in real estate through electives that focus on topics like investment, finance, valuation, law, development, and the economics of real estate markets. This degree will prepare students for a variety of careers in the Los Angeles real estate field, pairing a focus on the unique aspects of the real estate field with the acknowledgement that success in the real estate field relies still relies on fundamentals like management, marketing, strategic planning, and economics.
The USC MBA in real estate is unique in the student’s ability to tailor the curriculum to their own career and educational needs, acknowledging the wide variety of roles within Los Angeles real estate, such as investment and asset management, consulting, valuation, asset management, and more.
Below are just a few Graduate Real Estate courses offered for MBA students at Marshall:
- Mortgage-Backed Securities and Markets. This course, which includes lectures, assignments and a project, looks at residential and commercial mortgages as well as mortgage-backed securities and markets.
- Urban Land Use-Feasibility Studies. This course consists of a team field study analysis of a prospective development site. Students will work together with a client to address issues like design, entity choice, deal structure, land use, economic analysis, and allows teams to interact with industry professionals throughout the process of developing their proposals.
- Real Estate Finance and Investment. This course consists of both cases and lectures, as well as assignments and exams to evaluate student’s understanding of valuation, projects, financing, and investment analysis. Students will also learn to use ARGUS 7.0, one of the top real estate investment software packages used throughout the industry.
Anderson School of Management – UCLA
The real estate MBA focus at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management has consistently been named among the best real estate programs in the country, let alone Los Angeles. The real estate concentration at Anderson trains students to join the industry through a strong education in real estate financing, investing, and entrepreneurial development. The concentration is integrated into the school’s overall MBA program, with the option for many real estate-centered electives, providing both theoretical and practical study in the most important aspects of the industry.
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The Anderson School of Management also recognizes that real estate is not just a matter of business, and encourages MBA students to seek classes in other departments at UCLA, including public policy, urban planning, architecture, engineering, taxation, and law.
Below are some popular electives available to Real Estate MBA students at Anderson:
- Urban Real Estate Financing and Investment. This course helps students to bridge the gap between theory and practice in real estate finance and investment, training students to use finance and economics to uncover insights about real estate markets and investments.
- Entrepreneurial Real Estate Development. This course looks at real estate through the lens of entrepreneurship, helping students identify market opportunity, product definition, and conceptual feasibility through work in an entrepreneurial environment.
- Public Policy Clinic: Land Use, the Environment and Local Government. Acknowledging the interdisciplinary nature of this field, this course will provide students with a solid education in the complicated connections between land use control, state and local government law, and environmental quality
The Paul Merage School of Business – University of California, Irvine
At the Merage School of Business‘ Center for Real Estate, students can earn an MBA Certificate in Real Estate and Urban Development, with a curriculum just as dynamic and diverse as the marketplace itself. The MBA certificate presents students with a holistic approach to real estate, using lessons from past trends and cycles within the industry to help students prepare for a career in this often volatile industry.
Students who have at least two years of study in a Merage MBA program are eligible to pursue this certificate after successful completion of certain prerequisites in real estate. After completing these courses, students can choose from a number of electives connected to the certificate, such as:
- Real Estate Capital Markets
- The Real Estate Development Process
- International Real Estate
- Applied Real Estate Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
- Practicum in Mixed-Use Community Development
These LA Business Schools Are Helping Low Income Students Pursue Their Dreams
For many low-income applicants, unfortunately, the cost of an MBA program is just out of reach. That’s because, by the time you count tuition (often upwards of $80,000), boarding and books ($40,000), and other expenditures, the average cost of an MBA is around $140,000 according to Investopedia. And that’s all before you count lost salary for two years for a full-time MBA program.
What can you do?
For low-income MBA applicants in Los Angeles, California you don’t have to give up on your dreams due to money. Instead, business schools offer many options to help pay for your MBA program.
California DREAM Act
The California DREAM Act of 2011 is currently available to California residents who attended and graduated from high school in the state and are enrolled in an accredited California Institution of Higher Education. If you meet these eligibility requirements, you’ll be given access to California State financial aid and scholarships as well as specific university financial aid programs. In addition, need-based graduate applicants are eligible for the State University Grant (SUG) program, which awards up to $7,176 to help cover tuition.
California State University’s Long Beach College of Business Administration is just one of the MBA programs that provides this type of financial aid to low-income MBA applicants. The College of Business Economics at Cal State L.A. also accepts DREAM Act Applications for student financial aid.
Scholarships
MBA scholarships for low-income applicants are one of the best ways to help pay for your degree program. Scholarships vary by school and can range from a few thousand dollars per year to full-tuition coverage plus a stipend.
At the UCLA Anderson School, there are six unique fellowships available to MBA applicants.
- Donor Fellowships are awarded to MBA applicants based on professional development, intended career, community involvement, and/or financial need.
- Merit Fellowships are awarded based on the strength of a student’s application.
- External Fellowships are available for a variety of different situations and students. One example is the Girard Miller Foundation scholarship, which is awarded to a graduate student preparing for a career in state or local government finance.
Teaching Assistantships
For California MBA students, financial aid doesn’t stop in the first year. For second-year full-time MBA students, many Los Angeles business schools offer Teaching Assistantship (TA) positions. These positions are usually awarded to students who keep their grade point averages above a certain level and who apply and receive an appointment. The award amount varies by business school but, in some cases, covers 100 percent of a student’s services fee and tuition.
At UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, full-time MBA students who gain a TA appointment receive payment for 100 percent of their Graduate Student Health Insurance Program (GSHIP) premium. They also receive 100 percent of the Student Services Fee and Tuition components per quarter.
Military Veteran Aid
For low-income MBA applicants who also have a history of military service, there are many unique financial aid opportunities. The exact services available will depend on the school, but some of these programs are available at schools across California and the U.S.
First, there’s the Yellow Ribbon Program, which many Los Angeles business schools take part in, including Chapman University Argyros School of Business. This program awards MBA students up to $6,000 for tuition and fees. Another program open to military veterans is the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which includes payments directly to the university for tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and an annual books and supplies stipend up to $1,000 per year.
Individual schools like the USC Marshall School of Business also offer their own specific scholarships for military veterans. The Schoen Family Scholarship Program for Veterans is available to full-time MBA students at Marshall and has, to date, provided a staggering $1.2 million in financial support to 173 students at the university.
Loans
Finally, most low-income MBA applicants in Los Angeles are eligible for federal student loans. Direct PLUS Loans are available to graduate students to help pay for educational expenses up to the cost of attendance. MBA students can request unsubsidized loans up to their full eligibility with an Income-Driven Repayment Plan that allows you to make payments based on your adjusted gross income. In most cases, payment will begin until after graduation.
For MBA applicants at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, financial aid loan application for Federal Graduate PLUS student aid and Federal Direct Stafford Loans is easy. The school provides loan counseling for graduate student borrowers, loan calculators, and more.
For more information about how your business school could help cover the cost of your MBA program, visit your school website and contact their financial aid office. Scholarships, loans, and aid opportunities vary per school. The Simple Dollar also has a handy guide on how DACA recipients may be able to handle financial expectations for students around the U.S.
Los Angeles News: UC Irvine Female Faculty Recognized, and More
Let’s visit some of the biggest news stories coming out of business schools and MBA programs in Los Angeles.
Welcome New EMBA Director Joe O’Hannigan – Loyola Marymount Newsroom
The Loyola Marymount University College of Business Administration has recently named Joe O’Hannigan as the new associate dean and director for the school’s Executive MBA Program. With more than 30 years of experience in both higher education and international business, O’Hannigan will come to the College of Business Administration from Notre Dame, where he helped take the university’s Executive Education and EMBA programs to new heights.
“Our Executive MBA Program plays a valuable role in the community, bridging and strengthening both LMU and the business world with increasing recognition and impact,” O’Hannigan commented. “I can’t help smiling as I reacquaint myself with this wonderful institution; it’s this proud alum’s dream come true.”
Read more about Joe O’Hannigan and LMU’s Executive MBA here.
Entrepreneur and Scholar to be Honored by University – USC Marshall Newsroom
Kathleen Allen, Professor Emerita of Clinical Entrepreneurship at the Marshall School of Business at USC is the newest recipient of one of the University’s highest honors—the 2018 Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. A Ph.D. graduate from USC Marshall, Allen served as the university’s professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies for 26 years before retiring in 2016. She is the author of a number of best-selling textbooks about entrepreneurship, including “Launching New Ventures,” which has been published in six languages and sold around the world. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Allen at the Academic Honors Convocation Ceremony in April.
Read more about Allen’s tenure at USC Marshall and the Lifetime Achievement Award here.
UC Irvine Merage in FT Global MBA Ranking 2018 – Financial Times
The Financial Times has recognized the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine as a stand out in their latest ranking of the best MBA programs in the world. According to data from the publication, the Merage School is the first business school in 20 years of FT’s rankings to have a majority (52 percent) of female faculty. This is significantly higher than the average rate of 28 percent for other ranked schools. The Merage MBA program has remained consistently ranked since the first listing in 1999, and since then has witnessed a steady growth of female faculty each year.
Find out more about the Financial Times’ annual ranking here.
UCI Professor Makes Football Tailgating a Science
As fans eagerly anticipate the NFL playoffs, a new study by Tonya Williams Bradford, an assistant professor of Marketing at the Paul Merage School of Business, examines college football tailgating in an article titled, “Dwelling dynamics in consumption encampments: Tailgating as emplaced brand community.” Continue reading…
UC Irvine FEMBA Students Visit Spain as Part of International Residency
A group of 30 Fully-Employed MBA (FEMBA) students from the Paul Merage School of Business recently traveled to Spain for their International Residential. The group, led by Professors Connie Pechmann and William Hernandez, toured the Spanish cities of Madrid, Santander, and Bilbao, visited with a number of different companies, and experienced an authentic cultural experience. Some of the trip’s highlights included visits to the corporate headquarters of Banco Santander and SENER.
Located in Santander, Banco Santander originated in the Spanish city but has since expanded to operate in Europe, Latin America, North America, and Asia.
“I was extremely impressed with the [Banco Santander] speaker’s knowledge and business prowess,” said Christopher Adams, ’18. “After this experience, most of the students are craving a west coast expansion by the bank and some way to work for this organization. What an unbelievable and exclusive experience.”
In Bilbao, the group visited Grupo SENER, which is a global engineering and construction company. “Their innovative value proposition of differentiation at higher value was clear,” said Bita Hosseini, ’18. “But, what was shocking to me was their ability to facilitate cross-functional collaboration with both public and private experts as they transformed more into a manufacturing strategy rather than a services strategy, similar to GE. Learning about various solar panel plants and the mix of science and business was eye opening.”
The MBAs also spent time studying at the University of Cantabria where they learned how business was conducted in Spain. The students participated in lectures that covered topics such as economics, law, sustainability strategies, and corporate governance.
All FEMBA students have the opportunity to participate in an International Residential. This one-week residential is a rare, firsthand opportunity to learn about the socio-economic, cultural, and political issues faced by businesses outside the United States. Other recent trips have been to major cities in China, and have focused on how the country became a dominant political and economic force throughout Asia. You can learn more about the FEMBA program here.
