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Owen Graduate School of Management

Academics

Vanderbilt offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Finance (MSF) as well as a doctoral program in finance, organization studies, and operations, and a joint degree in law (JD/MBA), nursing (MBA/MSN), engineering (MBA/ME), Latin American studies (MA/MBA), medicine (MBA/MD), and divinity studies (MBA/MDIV). MBA/PhD, MBA/BA, and MBA/BS are also offered. Other programs include 3-2 degrees with Vanderbilt University and Fisk University, interdisciplinary programs in law and moral leadership, and at the Center for Environmental Management Studies, cross-registration with Vanderbilt University Graduate School and Law School, work-study programs, foreign exchange with 13 countries, and internships for international students in their first summer after matriculation. The strongest areas of study are general management, finance, strategy, marketing, operations management, accounting, and human and organization performance. The most popular courses are Leadership, Management Consulting, Managing Processes for Improvement, Game Theory, Equities Markets, Negotiation, Corporate Value Management, Time-based Competition, Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Financial Policy, Financial Statement Analysis, Ethics in Business, Financial Accounting, Healthcare Immersion, Healthcare Entrepreneurship, Healthcare Finance, and Healthcare Industry Landscape. Regular programs bring distinguished speakers and visiting professors to campus. Prominent speakers visit for the student-run lecture series. Also, speakers are brought in to speak to clubs and class sessions.

Sixty-one total credits are required to complete the MBA, including 38 elective credits. Required courses include:

  • Managing Your Career
  • Managerial Accounting
  • Managerial Economics
  • Leading Teams and Organizations
  • Managerial Statistics
  • Leadership Communications
  • Managerial Finance
  • Marketing Management
  • Operations Management
  • Business in the World Economy
  • Strategic Management

Required courses for the MSF include:

  • Introduction to Accounting
  • Financial Economics
  • Microeconomics
  • Econometrics
  • Corporate Value Management Students may exempt out of required core courses in statistics, accounting, finance, managerial economics, and economics.

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 3 semesters; maximum, 6 semesters.

There are 46 total full-time graduate business faculty, of whom 98% hold a doctorate; there are 28 part-time faculty, of whom 42% hold a doctorate. Faculty salaries are rated well above average for Category I institutions, based on the AAUP rating system. Average number of credit hours faculty teach is 10; average business class size is 28.

Admissions

A bachelor’s degree is required. A strong mathematics background is not required.

The number of applicants for the 2006-2007 class was 779; 347 were accepted; 161 enrolled. The average GPA was 3.25; average GMAT score was 645. Transfers are not accepted. Minority students are actively recruited through relationships with HBCU and partnerships with the National Black MBA Association and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. There is a Diversity Weekend for prospective students in January.

Students may begin the MBA program in the fall only. To apply, students must submit an application form, a transcript, GMAT scores, a nonrefundable application fee of $100, 2 letters of recommendation, 2 essays, a resume, and a work history; an interview is required. The application deadline is November 14 for fall entry. Students are notified approximately 6 to 8 weeks after the deadline of the admissions decision. The latest acceptable test date for fall entry is July 15. Once accepted, students may defer admission with deferrals granted or denied on a case-by-case basis; a deposit is required to hold a place in class.

Financial Aid

About 55% of graduate business school students receive financial aid from scholarships, loans, and graduate assistantships, for a total average of $8854 annually; maximum $40,776. Stipends and programs available for minority students include primarily merit-based scholarships. The FAFSA and the school’s own financial statement are required. The application deadline is April 15 for merit-based scholarships.

Tuition for all students is $35,776 per year. Books and supplies cost approximately $1528; personal expenses, $6600; and other fees, $600, for an estimated annual total of $44,504. There is a referral service to help procure off-campus housing.

Students

All of the current graduate business school class are enrolled full time; 94% have had an average of 5 years of full-time work experience prior to entering graduate school, a factor preferred by the school. The greatest percentage of students are from the South (32%). Twenty-five percent are women, 8% are minorities, and 31% are foreign nationals. The average age at entrance is 29; ages range from 21 to 46. Four percent enter directly from undergraduate school; 5% already have a graduate degree. Students’ undergraduate majors were as follows: 35%, social sciences; 34%, business; 21%, engineering; 16%, economics; 9%, liberal arts; and 5%, math and science. About 1% of entering students leave by the end of the first year due to academic or personal reasons; 99% remain to receive their degree. In 2006, 197 graduate business degrees were awarded.

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