University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business

Offering “international business learning opportunities not available elsewhere” as well as solid programs in finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, real estate, marketing, and entertainment, the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business excels in a broad range of areas. Best of all, perhaps, USC boasts “the most amazing alumni network in the nation,” a huge asset when the time for job searches arrives. As one student explains, “I have never met another Trojan anywhere in the world who wasn’t excited to meet another fellow Trojan!” “The Trojan Network is enormous and expansive, providing a lifetime equity of resources.”

Marshall offers a two-year full-time MBA as well as a part-time evening MBA, an executive MBA, a one-year international MBA (called the IBEAR MBA), a global executive MBA, and an online MBA. The school “combines a rigorous curriculum” with “the personal attention of a private college.” The MBA program here “has a strong emphasis on providing students an international perspective on business issues. It is more than just saying ‘We think it is important that you consider other cultures.’ At Marshall, it’s mandatory that all students work on a consulting project for a company overseas and travel to that region through the PRIME program. As a result of PRIME and other programs, I’ve had meaningful work, educational, and fun experiences in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and in Western Europe.”

Marshall professors “are outstanding. They bring new research into the classroom and encourage students to actively participate in class.” The faculty represents “a mixture of academics and recent career switchers from their fields in business...they do a very good job giving us a base to learn from.” Course work is demanding; one student warns, “Marshall is much more difficult than I expected. I have nine years of work experience and consider myself a fairly bright individual. If I put in a decent amount of work and keep up with the reading, I can get a B-plus in our classes with relative ease, but it really is difficult to break the A barrier.” Administrators “are committed to growth and innovation as an institution.” According to one student, “chaos is inherent when new programs and classes are initiated. . . . This is a leading school’s greatest challenge, and USC Marshall does everything in its power to attend to students’ individual needs as well as meet their own goals and expectations.”

“Incredible changes” have been implemented at Marshall’s Career Resources Center. “The resources and energy the career coaches bring to the students are head and shoul- ders above what students at [another prominent area business school] have. While I’m sure the CRC will continue to improve and bring in more high-profile companies, it is already a premier organization.” Students praise the center ’s one-week winter inter-term program for first-years, through which “students learn how to fine tune their resume and interview skills. Additionally, they learn about networking, discover their inner interests, and come up with a value proposition. I believe this gives Marshall students a leg up in recruiting.”

Companies most likely to employ Marshall MBAs include: Deloitte, PwC, EY, Google, AT&T, IBM, Amgen, GE, Autodesk, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel, Cognizant, Cisco, KPMG, Starbucks, SanDisk, Wells Fargo, Walt Disney Company, and Intel.

Full-time students tell us that “there are numerous professional and social club opportu- nities in which to be involved at Marshall.” Several point out that “being involved with the community is easy and fun due to the Challenge for Charity Club, which schedules regular volunteer days for junior achievement and hosts parties at popular LA night clubs where the entry fees are donated to the Special Olympics.” And Marshall MBA students have won the Challenge for Charity Golden Briefcase for seven years in a row for a competition based on fundraising, volunteering, and athletics. One student adds, “With the numerous clubs and organizations, USC students are really only limited by the amount of time and energy they possess. Personally, I wanted to take a leadership role in the community, and have had the opportunity to do just that. That makes my schedule a little bit more hectic than normal, but that was a personal decision. Really, life at Marshall is as challenging as one has the ambition to make it.” Throughout the program and the campus, students enjoy “a very communal atmosphere. Football season is amazing.”

Los Angeles is a great hometown, “a fun and vibrant city” with “fabulous weather all year round.” Students note that there are “nice apartments by the ocean for a decent price” within a twenrty-minute commute of the campus. The city provides many oppor- tunities “to spend time together outside of class.” “There are parties or small get-togeth- ers almost every weekend.”