MBA applicants can get carried away with rankings. In this series, we profile amazing programs at business schools that are typically ranked outside the top 15.
The full-time MBA program at the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester offers a broadly finance-oriented general management curriculum featuring particular strengths in analytics and accounting. With the option of choosing either a traditional two-year MBA or an accelerated 18-month program, all Simon students begin with a management core rooted in three foundational skill sets: Frame, Analyze, and Communicate (known collectively as FACt). The core curriculum encompasses two different required course sequences—“Framing and Analyzing Business Problems” and “Communicating Business Decisions”—in addition to such courses as “Management Economics,” “Capital Budgeting,” and “Marketing Management.”
Students complete their core with an assigned study team before exploring more specialized professional interests. The school’s elective courses represent a variety of industries and functions, such as entrepreneurship, consulting, and real estate. Students may choose among 13 optional career concentrations, ranging from Competitive and Organizational Strategy (which includes both a Pricing track and a Strategy and Organizations track) and Marketing (which includes tracks in Brand Management, Pricing, and Marketing Strategy), to such analysis-heavy fields as Business Systems Consulting and Computers and Information Systems. Simon’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Center for Information Intensive Services, and Center for Pricing offer curricular and research support to supplement the specific career concentrations. Simon is also home to more than 30 professional and social student-run organizations aimed at coordinating networking events and professional development resources to assist students in advancing their careers.
