Editor's Note: BusinessWeek collected graduate comments in 2000 during its ranking of full-time MBA programs. The next ranking is scheduled for fall, 2002.
The Maryland program completely met or exceeded my expectations. I have gotten the job I wanted and had an incredible experience. The academics and camaraderie at the school are above par. I would recommend this program to anyone looking for an MBA with a focus on e-commerce and technology. --Consulting
Positives: Apart from technology, the school's career center has been the center of focus, and I have personally noticed a tremendous improvement over the last couple of years. They are much more responsive, organize a number of networking and resume/interviewing/negotiations workshops, and have been aggressively approaching companies to interview on campus. This is reflected in what is probably the best recruiting season, in terms of real growth over the previous year in terms of number and quality of offers. This was a direct fallout of student feedback which emphasized career center concerns.
There is a very large number of cross-functional course offerings - for example, e-commerce and telecommunications, policy, interactive marketing, IT and corporate strategy, etc., which integrate technology with traditional management disciplines. This allowed me to choose courses that would truly enhance my academic experience. Also, every course that I did addressed the issue of technology and its application to that discipline, if in any way applicable.
The school was very responsive to student concerns. Course evaluations are taken seriously. My class has a rich, diverse and substantial work experience set. The social life in the school is really great too! Negatives: If there is one thing I would really crib about it is the lack of space in Van Munching Hall. The expanding course offerings, increasing numbers of faculty, etc. mean that infrastructure definitely needs improvement - when I joined, it was just tolerable, but this year has been rather difficult, to say the very least! The new building is scheduled to come up in 2002, nearly trebling space. They have now got space in other buildings nearby but until the temporary changes are effected.... help!!!!
The only thing I am happy about is that next year will not be as much a hassle since a lot of non-core MBA offices and activities are moving to other buildings in the neighborhood. Overall, it's been a fun two years, and I enjoyed myself while realizing tremendous value for my investment. --Marketing
The value of the Maryland MBA is simply TREMENDOUS. While at Maryland I had the opportunity to change careers from environmental engineering to Internet consulting (quite a leap!). Through the consulting program at Maryland, I was able to gain valuable experience through internships and group field projects. The Maryland MBA program is a great value (note I'm only 10k in debt and have more than doubled my salary in just two years). The program links e-business throughout all courses. Professors are using the latest e-cases and even core classes in strategy are taught with a focus on e-business. I found all professors in finance, strategy and e-commerce to be top notch. They were willing to work with students to teach areas that most interested the class.
Most importantly, my fellow classmates added the most value to my education. From MBA basketball tournaments to intense studying for 1st year accounting exams, the student interaction was the best part of the program. I am leaving Maryland with a tremendous network for the future. --Anonymous
The Smith School at the University of Maryland is a wonderful value for the money. I am very satisfied with the education that I received there, particularly the education that I received in e-commerce and e-business topics. The faculty at Smith is very strong, and Dean Howard Frank is extremely responsive to student requests. He is doing everything possible to build the quality and reputation of the school. I would recommend that Smith broaden its program somewhat so that its current ethics course (which is excellent, but too short in duration) is expanded. I also recommend that the school do more to foster interaction between the various diverse student groups. --Marketing
The school has so many small-sized classes that students are easy to be on good terms with each other through group projects. Also, such a small-sized class enables students to interact easily with professors. Furthermore, one of the best projects in our curriculum would be a consulting project called GFP (Group Field Project). This made it possible for me to connect theory in classroom to practice in the real business world. Thanks to this project, I was able to integrate knowledge and experience that I had obtained at school as well as to enhance teamwork further. I believe that my decision to come all the way to this school from my country was certainly correct with such an outstanding study environment including excellent faculties and very friendly students all over the world. --Anonymous
I definitely made an excellent choice, and believe I've achieved my objectives to enhance my career potential, am better prepared to achieve my future goals and aspirations, and become more self-reliant and confident. The MBA definitely opens up many more opportunities compared with other master degrees (which I already have). --Finance
As a person moving into the IT field, the Smith School more than met any expectations I may have had. I am very impressed with how information technology, e-business, and e-commerce are woven into almost every single class. I truly feel that the school is churning out the next generation of leaders in the e-business arena. --Information Technology
With a superior faculty and a diverse student body, the University of Maryland has one of the best MBA programs in the country. We continue to be discounted because we do not have the legendary brand names of Duke, Harvard, or Wharton. Fortunately, our momentum is building as applications and salaries increase significantly. We are a great school. No question about it! --Finance
The administration goes to great lengths to adapt to rapidly changing needs of the student body. For example, in the last semester all of the e-channel classes filled up rapidly leaving many students without classes in which to sign up. The dean quickly added sections to meet the student demand for these classes. This was not easy to coordinate and it would have been much easier for the administration to just say that classes would be added next semester. This is just one example of the many instances in which the administration quickly evaluated student feedback and took a corrective plan of action. --Entrepreneurship
The quality of teaching at the University of Maryland, on the whole, was excellent. In most cases, the professors' expertise in subject areas far exceeded my expectations. I feel empowered after my experience at UMD to explore career paths in a wide range of new industries, and because of this, I believe my investment in an MBA program will yield an attractive return. I was also pleasantly surprised by the level of cooperation among students at UMD. I cannot think of an instance where students' pursuit of individual goals undercut others' performance, or where it negatively affected class discussions. In fact, I would imagine that the spirit of teamwork at Maryland was greater that most equivalent programs. My only criticism with UMD was that the program's career center occasionally had difficulty managing job search databases and interview processes. Overall, UMD has an excellent program. --Information Technology
Maryland gave me excellent value in terms of a great education at a reasonable cost. I was most impressed with the high intellectual level of my classmates. The school is correctly focusing on developing an MBA with a strong IT component. The career center was weak in the first year, but has improved dramatically. We have excellent career counselors who give great advice on a range of issues. The school's main weakness is its uncoordinated alumni network and an undeservedly weak brand name. The Dean has recognized these problems, and has devoted considerable effort to solve them. The staff and faculty proved exceptionally open to discussion and were willing to assist students when problems arose. Overall, a positive experience. --Consulting
In my two years at Smith, I have witnessed VAST improvements in career services efforts in terms of the number and variety of companies either recruiting on campus or posting jobs. There has also been a strong grassroots efforts, through groups such as the IT, consulting, and finance clubs and their faculty sponsors, to involve new companies in other ways, such as career fairs and alumni events. While the GCMC still has far to go, the networking and recruiting opportunities at Maryland have increased dramatically due to the hard work of the school, its staff, and its student body. --Consulting
I am very satisfied with what I gained from the MBA program at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. Having had a strong quantitative skill set with an electrical engineering background in my earlier career, I felt that this MBA program changed the way how I would look at problem solving. With a finance & strategy concentration, I feel that I gained a real solid perspective on CEO level issues that I am hoping to work in my consulting career. Smith MBA program was a great program, indeed. --Information Technology
I had high expectation going into business school. Maryland has highly exceeded these expectations. The students and faculty make up the school. There is a special thing happening at the school. Thanks. --Investment Banking
Going back for my MBA was the best thing I could have done. The University of Maryland gave me incredible bang for my buck. I recommend the school highly to any prospective students. --Anonymous
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Copyright 2001, Bloomberg L.P.
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