School v. School: Queen’s University Smith School of Business vs Toronto Rotman School of Management
Apples or oranges? Steak or chicken? Toronto or Kingston, Ontario? If you’re having a difficult time making a decision, you’re not alone. When it comes to choosing the best MBA program for your needs, there can be more than one choice that seems like the “perfect” fit, so how make a final decision? It’s not easy, but that’s what we’re here for.
Our School v. School series offers a point-by-point comparison of two highly respected MBA programs in Ontario: Queen’s University Smith School of Business and the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management. Keep reading to see how each school stacks up. Continue reading…
Friday News – USC Hosts Venture Summit, FSU’s Master’s of Business Analytics Class Graduates, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the USC Venture Summit.
Venturing Ahead – USC Marshall Hosts 8th annual Venturing Summit – USC Marshall News
The Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC Marshall hosted the 8th annual University Venturing Summit this month.
The event gave Future entrepreneurs from USC’s MBA community the chance to meet with VCs and supporting businesses such as accounting and law firms. USC faculty also took part in the Summit, including Patrick Henry, Assistant Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship and organizer of the Summit.
“The perception of a lot of university ventures is that they are still in the ‘good idea’ stage…But the reality is that the university venturing world is more market-ready than ever, and university ventures are more ready to launch than ever,” Henry says.
USC MBA alum Jessica Schleder presented her venture, Adoptimize, which allows insurance providers to increase their volume of leads through streamlining the pet adoption process. Other student ventures, including a data security tool, addressed the trends present in the L.A. economy and beyond.
Sponsored by EY, among other private firms, the Summit also hosted student entrepreneurs from UCLA Anderson, UC Irvine, and Cal State University Northridge. Click here for more on the Summit and its participants.
Inaugural Class of Master’s in Business Analytics Students Set to Graduate – FSU College of Business News
Florida State University College of Business’ first Master’s in Business Analytics (MS-BA) class graduated this month from the School of Business.
The program was created in order to meet the demands of an economy increasingly driven by data, and its analysis and application in helping businesses grow. Students in the program combine a strong command of quantitative skills in various backgrounds with a desire to develop their powers of analysis.
One graduate, Jessie Tolbert, started his career as an environmental scientist. Curious about how the data he gathered was used to improve environmental conditions, Tolbert decided to pivot into analytics with the MA-BS degree. “I’ve learned in-demand technical skills and built my professional network with other students, distinguished professors and FSU alumni who are in the industry,” Tolbert says.
The degree comes on the heels of such studies as one by McKinsey, showing a 60 percent gap between the demand for talented analysts and the supply of qualified people in the workforce. For more on Florida State’s MS-BA, read here.
Village of Oak Park Partners with Graduate Marketing Class – Quinlan School of Business News
In an effort to retain both the rich history and the future growth of the Oak Park neighborhood, Loyola University of Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business MBA alum have teamed up with Oak Park residents and current Quinlan grad students.
Loyola Quinlan alumni Eric Pedersen (left) and Jeff Prior (right) / Photo via luc.edu
Eric Pedersen (MBA ’01), of the Oak Park Neighborhood Services team, sought to improve the visibility of the community’s housing rehabilitation loan program. “The need was a short, consistent, and readily understandable message, combined with a visually appealing ad campaign … And we needed it in less than 60 days with a very modest budget.”
The loan program assists those in need—the recently unemployed, people with disabilities, seniors, and single parents—obtain interest free loans to make necessary home improvements.
Quinlan Professor of Marketing Katie Hession’s class was able to work under the tight deadline and budget to create the program’s ad campaign. Using the tagline of “Brick by Brick, Chip by Chip, Panel by Panel, and Picket by Picket,” the ad package contains visually striking images and bold messages regarding the program. For more on the ads and Oak Park’s community improvement efforts, read here.
Wharton School Forms Analytics at Wharton – Wharton News
The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School announced the establishment of Analytics at Wharton, which unites industry leaders, researchers, and faculty with the goal of harnessing big data to help businesses grow.
An anonymous $15 million gift has allowed the creation of the Data Science and Business Analytics Fund. Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett says, “In the 21st century, leaders will increasingly use data and analytics to develop insights that will help them make better decisions and become better leaders. The creation of Analytics at Wharton demonstrates our commitment to using big data to transform how business is done.”
Along with the fund comes the creation of a new leadership position at Wharton, the Vice Dean of Analytics. Eric T. Bradlow, the K.P. Chao Professor and Professor of Marketing, Economics, Education, and Statistics will hold this position.
The new initiative will bring five existing Wharton programs: Customer Analytics; the Penn Wharton Budget Model; People Analytics; Wharton Neuroscience; and Wharton Research Data Services. For more on Analytics at Wharton, read here.
Brookings Institution Appoints Lemma Senbet to Africa Board – News at Smith School of Business
University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has appointed Professor Lemma Senbet to the Distinguished Advisory Board of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
The Advisory Board is responsible for guiding members of the Africa Growth Initiative on key economic and social issues faced by the continent. Lemma W. Senbet is the William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance at the Smith School of the University of Maryland and the founding director of the school’s Center for Financial Policy. He also serves on the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund’s Advisory Board, and he is the former executive director and CEO of the African Economic Research Consortium.
Africa Growth Initiative Director Brahima S. Coulibaly says of Senbet’s appointment, “[Senbet joins a distinguished] panel of select, high-level policymakers, academics and practitioners on African socio-economic development issues.”
You can read here for more on Senbet and the Africa Growth Initiative.
The 5 Best DC Part-Time MBA Programs
The necessity of continuing to work while pursuing an MBA is a reality for many students. Part-time programs, built to fit into work and family schedules, are an increasingly sought after format for the MBA. The DMV metro area is home to some of the top part-time MBAs in the country. Here is a look at five of the best Washington DC part-time MBA programs.
Virginia Tech’s Pamplin School of Business’ evening part-time program recently jumped three places to 14th in U.S. News and World Report‘s rankings. Also ranked as the top public university part-time degree, the evening program at Pamplin begins in spring or fall, and can take anywhere from two-to-five years to complete, with the average student receiving an MBA in 3.5 years.
Part-time students at Pamplin can choose how many courses to take each semester, and the highly flexible format is fit for professionals who may be searching for a way to shift in their current career. According to Dean Robert Sumichrast, part of what makes Pamplin a leader in part-time education is its awareness of the needs of the working professional. “What we did at Virginia Tech a few years ago was to say that we really want to focus on the working [student]—someone who wants to enhance their career or make a change in the direction of their career … We want [professionals] to use what they’ve learned as part of the experience of the MBA program.”
Johns Hopkins’ Carey School of Business’ Flexible MBA also has the success of the working student at its forefront. With a degree “proven to get six-figure results” Carey’s flex MBA is online, in-person, or in a blended format. The program’s average length is 2.7 years and is comprised of 54 credits. With concentrations in Healthcare Management, Leading Organizations, and Marketing, the online courses are offered in eight-week terms. The in person delivery method, also comprised of eight-week terms, offers the additional concentrations of entrepreneurship, financial businesses, interdisciplinary business, and real estate and infrastructure.
While graduates of the Carey Flex MBA program succeed in a wide variety of industries, recent data shows that 67 percent of students landed in consulting positions, and 33 percent took roles in healthcare.
The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, allowed one part-time MBA student, Marie-Anne Audige, ’17, to realize that she was “much more resilient than I thought I was … Smith allowed me to take a leap of faith to start my business.” With classes available at three different campuses (Shady Grove, Downtown D.C. and Baltimore), Smith’s part-time MBA is one of the “most versatile MBA programs in the Washington D.C. region.”
With several different options available—24 months, 28 months, or a flexible, self-paced duration—Smith’s degree meets the professional in the middle between their education and career. Smith offers frequent info sessions, both in person and online, for those who wish to learn more about the flex programs in person. Classes are offered throughout the year in four terms.
Loyola University’s Sellinger School of Business also ranked among U.S. News and World Report’s top part-time MBA programs. Sellinger Professional MBAs may complete the program’s 33-42 credits at a self created pace, in as many as six years or as few as two and a half. Encouraging “students to align personal interests and career goals” with the curriculum, Sellinger has a wide variety of specializations from which to choose; professional MBAs can major in data analytics, finance, accounting, and marketing to name just a few.
Kogod School of Business at American University offers its top-ranked part-time online degree in a 24-month course sequence (completed by most students), but it can also be completed on a 12-month, 15-month, or 18-month track. Comprised of 48 credits, there are 12 core courses, three electives, and two in-person immersions.
The Kogod MBA is pointed squarely at helping businesses to grow, as stated on the program’s site. “The online MBA program prepares students to apply leadership and financial analysis skills to help businesses operate more effectively”. Students can choose from six concentrations or can customize their degree to their specific career goals. Concentrations include Business Analytics, Finance, International Business, Cybersecurity and Marketing.
What Are The Best Washington DC Real Estate MBA Programs?
The U.S. capital, Washington DC, boasts one of the hottest real estate markets in the world. Several variables combine to make this market so interesting, such as a highly affluent and highly transient population, as well as height restrictions on its buildings (so that no building exceeds the height of the Washington Monument), which limits density-related housing shortages. These factors combined with the city’s convenient location on the 95 corridor make DC metro the perfect location for MBA’s looking for a future in real estate.
Below, we’ve laid out three of our favorite Washington DC real estate MBA programs.
The Best Washington DC Real Estate MBA Programs
University of Maryland R.H. Smith School of Business
Students at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business (known more affectionately as UMD Smith) can pursue a dual MBA and Masters of Real Estate Development (MRED). Grads carry our their MBA at Smith, and fulfill their MRED requirements via evening classes at the school’s central campus at College Park. The 74-credit dual degree can be completed in two or two and a half years, and involves 42 MBA credits and 32 MRED credits.
The 74-credit MBA/MRED dual degree at UMD Smith sets up real estate hopefuls with a unique skillset.
The MBA/MRED imbues students with more than a bottom line view of their industry. According to the school, the MRED curriculum focuses on “economic viability, environmental respect, social responsibility, and beautiful design.” These elements of the MRED combined with the business acumen gleaned from an MBA education pave the way for well-rounded industry leaders.
McDonough School of Business – Georgetown University
Georgetown McDonough MBA’s benefit from access to the Steers Center for Global Real Estate, which provides students with the resources they need to acquire a nuanced understanding of global real estate. MBA’s with a bent toward real estate can take one class for each of the four quadrants in real estate teaching: public equity, public debt, private equity, and private debt. They can also take the four additional modules within the Real Estate Clinic, which exposes students to live real estate transactions in U.S. markets. The clinic gives students the opportunity to underwrite investments being considered by commercial real estate firms.
George Mason University School of Business
For prospective real estate MBA’s in search of a program built to accommodate school/life balance, the George Mason University School of Business offers an MBA with a real estate emphasis. After MBA’s complete their core classes, they must complete 15 elective credits, which they can individually tailor to their own preferences. George Mason is an ideal option for those with full time jobs or family obligations, in pursuit of a higher degree that will not force them to neglect MBA other full-time commitments. Students can choose to complete their MBA on campus or online, depending on their preference and what their schedule permits. The flexibility of this program does not negate the impact of the degree. In fact, 98 percent of the class of 2017 was employed by graduation.
The George Mason hybrid MBA, which can specialize in real estate, yields an astounding 98 percent employment rate by graduation.
Getting Paid: The Highest MBA Salaries in DC
Our nation’s capital is more than just Hollywood for craven people.
Federal Employees, Partners Enjoy Reduced MBA Tuition At Smith School
According to a recent press release, federal employees and their partners can now receive a 30 percent tuition discount when they qualify for select graduate programs at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Continue reading…
