Part-time MBA-Carlson School of Management
Natalie Dillon, Associate Director of Admissions, Recruiting & Corporate Development, Carlson School of Management
1. Do you post average GMAT / GRE and GPA combos for admitted students?
We do post the average GMAT/GRE scores and GPAs for admitted students. Currently the Part-Time MBA has had consistent average for the past 5 yrs of 600 GMAT, 311 GRE, and 3.4 undergraduate GPA. Now we always remind candidate that these are averages. We have many candidates that are both above and below these average scores that received admission.The admission process is holistic, so this is where having a conversation with an admission representative is vital to talk about your personal profile and admission requirements.
2. What is the typical number of years of experience required?
We require a minimum of 2 yrs of full-time work experience typically post-undergrad degree, but we look at each candidate individually. Our average candidate currently starting the program with about 6 yrs of work experience. Our review process looks critically at if the candidate has thought about how the MBA fits in the timeline of their career and what their post-MBA goals are, which is why previous work experience is so important in the review process.
3. What is new/exciting happening this/next year in your PT program?
We are currently continuing to move more of our course sections into online and our weekend condensed options. Flexibility and choice is vital to our Part-Time MBA students for them to be able to fit the program in with rest of their busy schedule and complete the degree in a great timeline. We are also continuing to build more elective classes and offers additional specialization in analytics, marketing, and adding an agriculture business specialization.
4. What are options for part-time students in terms of nights and weekends?
Our courses come in three delivery options – the traditional option is our weeknight courses which are a class one night a week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 5:45-9:05pm, the second option is online course which can be done anytime and anywhere with your computer, and lastly are our condensed weekend courses where a student can take a course 3 Saturdays or Fridays in a row and complete a full course. Our students like to use a combination of these three methods to complete credit and still have flexibility in their schedules.
5. Are the alumni networks of the Part Time / Full Time / Executive MBA programs integrated? and if so, how?
We like to combine our alumni networks together so our candidates can maximize their interactions and opportunities. Our MBA community is very tight knit and our alumni love interacting with our students no matter what type of MBA format they choose to take. All alumni are invited to over 500 networking events we host each year including receptions, networking events, professional development opportunities, and many more.
6. Are PT MBA candidates permitted to sign up for on-campus interviews or is that restricted to Full Time?
Our working professional MBA students (Part-Time, Online, and Executive MBA) get full access to our career center and can participate in our on-campus recruiting activities, which includes corporate reception, informational sessions, professional development, 1:1 career coaching, and on-campus interviews. We see a large amount of Part-Time MBA students receive offers and placements through our career services.
7. What Placement Resources are typically provided for your Part Time programs?
Many of our Part-Time MBA students choose to do 1:1 career coaching with our career center team, which can help them refine their career documents, prep for interviews, identify target roles or organizations, and make a long-term career plan. Our Part-Time MBA students also take part in a series of career workshops, which prepares them for on-campus recruiting and MBA recruitment process.
8. How flexible is the PT curriculum to not require students with specialized backgrounds (such as accounting or finance) to take basic core courses.
We offer course waivers at the time of admission to candidates that demonstrate competencies in specific business areas like accounting, finance, or marketing through previous course work either at the bachelors or masters level. It allows candidate to take more credits that will add value to their degree.
9. How many PT programs does the school launch per year?
We have two start times for our Part-Time MBA program in either the fall or the spring. We typically have about 150 students join us in the fall and about 75 students join us in the spring.