The Paul Merage School of Business

University of California-Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business History

University of California/Irvine, founded in 1965, is a public, coeducational institution. The 1482-acre campus is located in a suburban area midway between Los Angeles and San Diego in Orange County. Total undergraduate and graduate enrollment is 24,435.

The Paul Merage School of Business was founded in 1965 and is located on the main campus, in its own building. The basic educational approach is centered on three key drivers: strategic innovation, information technology, and analytic decision making. The educational approach is a mixture of theoretical and case study methods with an emphasis on team projects and experiential learning.

University of California-Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business Academics

The Paul Merage School of Business offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA) as well as a doctoral program in management, and a joint degree in medicine (MD/MBA) with University of California/Irvine School of Medicine. Other programs include a 3-2 program, cross-registration with other academic units on campus, foreign exchange with 104 countries, work-study, internships, joint research, and an intercampus exchange with other UC campuses. The strongest areas of study are information technology, marketing, and finance. The most popular courses are Finance, Marketing, and Information Technology Management. Regular programs bring distinguished speakers and visiting professors to campus. Visiting professors hold appointments at Merage on a regular basis, and there is a Distinguished Speaker Series, Health Care Distinquished Speaker series, Program in Real Estate Management Breakfast series, and an Industry Innovator Breakfast Series, open to all students.

Ninety-two total credits are required to complete the MBA, including 42 elective credits. Required courses include:

• Management of Complex Organizations (residential)
• Statistics for Management
• Financial Accounting for Management
• Information Systems for Management
• Principles of Marketing for Management
• Managerial Accounting for Management
• Organizational Analysis for Management
• Management Science
• Operations Management
• Business Strategy
• Microeconomics for Management
• Corporate Finance
• Macroeconomics or Business and Government

Required courses for the EMBA – Executive MBA (part time) include:

• Management of Complex Organizations (residential)
• Microeconomics
• Organizational Analysis
• Financial Accounting
• Managerial Accounting
• Statistics for Management
• Principles of Marketing
• Managerial Finance
• Macroeconomics or Public Policy
• Business Strategy
• Global Business
• Global Business II (residential)
• Information Technology for Management
• Operations Management
• Executive Leadership (residential)

Required courses for the Fully Employed MBA (part time) include:

• Management of Complex Organizations (residential)
• Organizational Behavior for Management
• Microeconomics for Management
• Financial Accounting
• Statistics for Management
• Managerial Accounting
• Marketing Principles in Management
• Managerial Science or Operations Management
• Managerial Finance
• Information Technology for Management
• Global Business I and II (residential)
• Business Strategy
• Investments (or elective)
• Macroeconomics or Public Policy
• Executive Leadership (residential)

Required courses for the Health Care EMBA (part time) include:

• Management of Complex Organizations (residential)
• Microeconomics
• Organizational Analysis
• Financial Accounting
• Managerial Accounting
• Statistics for Management
• Principles of Marketing
• Managerial Finance
• Business and Government
• Business Strategy
• Investments
• Current Issues in Health Care
• Federal Health Care Policy (residential)
• Information Technology for Management
• Operations Management
• Executive Leadership (residential)

Students may eliminate or substitute requirements by petitioning to waive courses or substituting credits through extra electives.

Business students may take relevant nonbusiness courses in other departments. The minimum time permitted to complete the master’s degree program attending full time is 6 quarters; maximum, 6 quarters. For students attending part time, the minimum is 7 quarters; maximum, 12 quarters.

There are 55 total full-time graduate business faculty, of whom 95% hold a doctorate; there are 38 part-time faculty, of whom 58% hold a doctorate. Faculty salaries are rated above average for Category 1 institutions, based on the AAUP rating system. Average number of courses faculty teach is 4; average business class size is 46.

University of California-Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business Unique Programs

Library

The university’s main library houses a collection of more than 2.2 million volumes and 2.5 million microform items, and subscribes to 107,000 periodicals. The business library is particularly strong in marketing, organizational behavior, and economics. Students have access to such databases and networks as Business Source Premier, Factiva, Business Insights, Lexis/Nexis, Standard and Poor’s NetAdvantage, Compustat, CRSP, Investext Plus, I/B/E/S, IRI, IRRC, Value Line Investment Survey, VentureXpert, Wharton Research (WRDS), Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database, Global Insight, JSTOR, Bloomberg Professional, DataMonitor Market Line, Forrester Research, Gartner Research, Hoover’s Pro, IBIS World, Thomson Financial, Audit Analytics, RDS Tablebase, MarketResearch.com Academic, and ProQuest Digital Dissertation. Other opportunities for research consist of independent studies, research assistantships, Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, Center for Investment and Wealth Management, Thomson Research, and Dun & Bradstreet.

Computers

Graduate business students must have their own PCs. The business school has its own computer facilities, consisting of 7 classrooms, 1 lab room, and 1 multipurpose room that provide wired and high-speed wireless network connections for students’ laptops and are available 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday. A dedicated MBA computing support center is also staffed 6 days per week, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Career and Job Placement

In spring 2006, 30 companies recruited on campus. Seventy percent were national corporations. Majors most in demand were finance, marketing, and consulting. Average starting salary of the graduating class was $72,263; range was $42,000 to $110,000. The percentage of graduates finding jobs were:

• national corporations 70%
• local large enterprises 15%
• regional corporations 8%
• local small enterprises 7%

Placement services are extensive. Placement services for alumni include web site services, resume database, and counseling outsourced. Placement is available through the MBA Career Center. Eighty-three percent of the most recent graduating class found jobs within three months of receiving their degree.

International Students

International students must take the TOEFL. International students must score 600 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT) or 100 on the Internet-Based (iBT) version. They also must submit a translation of their transcripts, proof of health consisting of documentation of a physical, and proof of adequate funds to cover a minimum of 1 year of study based on programs. Financial aid is available for these students and consists of MBA loans (with/without co-signer) and some scholarships/fellowships. The application deadline for fall entry is February 1.

Calendar

The school operates on a quarter basis. Quarters are 10 weeks long; summer sessions, 10 weeks. Graduate programs are offered during the day and evening and weekends.

University of California-Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business Admissions

A bachelor’s degree is required, along with a GPA of 3.0. Most important admissions factors are academic accomplishments and ability, work experience, and GMAT results. A strong mathematics background is not required.

The number of applicants for the 2006-2007 class was 972; 621 were accepted; 370 enrolled. The average GPA was 3.22; average GMAT score was 610. Transfers are not accepted. Minority students are actively recruited by destination MBA-targeted programs and through affiliations with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and the National Association of Black MBAs.

Students may begin the MBA program in the fall. Students may begin the FEMBA program in the fall and spring. To apply, students must submit an application form, a transcript, GMAT scores, GRE, TOEFL, and TSE (if required), a nonrefundable application fee of $150, 2 letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a resume; degree certificates if required. The application deadline is April 15 for fall entry. Students are notified of the admissions decision October through August. The latest acceptable test date for fall entry is June.

University of California-Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business Financial Aid

About 71% of graduate business school students receive financial aid from scholarships, loans, and graduate assistantships, for a total average of $22,500 annually; maximum $60,365. The primary source of financial aid for part-time students is through loans. The FAFSA and the previous year’s tax return are required. The application deadline is March 2 for fall entry.

Tuition for in-state residents is $25,175 per year. Nonresidents pay $36,450 per year. On-campus room and board costs approximately $11,040; books and supplies, $44850; personal expenses, $3960, for an estimated annual total of $45,025 for in-state residents and $56,300 for out-of-state residents. Graduate student housing is available for both married and unmarried students, both on and off campus. There is a referral service to help procure off-campus housing.

University of California-Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business Students

Twenty-three percent of the current graduate business school class are enrolled full time; 99% have had an average of 8 years of full-time work experience prior to entering graduate school, a factor preferred by the school. The greatest percentage of students are from California (88%). Thirty percent are women, 6% are minorities, and 13% are foreign nationals. The average age at entrance is 31; ages range from 21 to 57. Seventeen percent already have a graduate degree. Students’ undergraduate majors were as follows: 24%, math and science; 22%, business; 21%, engineering; 14%, social sciences; 10%, economics; and 6%, liberal arts. About 7% of entering students leave by the end of the first year due to academic or personal reasons; 93% remain to receive their degree. In 2006, 365 graduate business degrees were awarded.