FULL-TIME MBA Profiles - 2008 Publish Date 11/13/08

Thunderbird School of Global Management

Getting In

PROGRAM BASICS

1 Global Place
Glendale, AZ , Arizona 85306

Program Web site:

http://www.thunderbird.edu

Status:

Private Institution

Program e-mail address:

admissions@thunderbird.edu

Graduate business school is accredited by:

AACSB International

North Central

Years in which the following programs were founded:

Full-time MBA:
1946
Distance-learning MBA:
2005
Executive MBA:
1991

PROGRAM COSTS

Total direct costs (tuition and required fees) of the entire MBA program:

Resident : $ 78,255
Nonresident : $ 78,255

PROGRAM LENGTH

Full-time program (months):

ENROLLMENT

Graduate business school enrollment

Total graduate business school: 1385
Full-time MBA: 589
Distance MBA: 109
Executive MBA: 158

MS: 52
Other: 38

Other graduate degree programs:

'Other' - MA in Global Affairs and Mgmt

ADMISSIONS

Application Deadlines

Semester: 12/30
Deadline: 2/27
Semester: 4/30
Deadline: 6/10

Does the program have rolling admissions?

Yes

Is proficiency in English required for admission?

Yes

Is a minimum score on an English language proficiency test required?

Yes

Which English language proficiency tests are accepted?

TOEFL Computer Based

TOEFL Internet Based Test

TOEFL Paper-based Test

Other: N/A

Minimum paper-based TOEFL score required for MBAs:

600

Relative importance: Application Elements

GMAT Score:

Very Important

Resume/Work Experience:

Very Important

Application Essays:

Very Important

Interviews:

Considered

Recommendations:

Considered

Undergraduate Transcripts:

Considered

APPLICANTS

Applications (admitted and denied) to the newest class:

593

Applicants who were accepted to the most recent class:

75 %

Admitted applicants who enrolled in the newest class:

57 %

Applicant interviews are:

Recommended

Applicants (admitted and denied) who were interviewed:

60 %

Admitted applicants who were interviewed:

70 %

APPLICANT POOL

International applications received:

56 %

Applications from women received:

33 %

CLASS PROFILE

Full-time students in newest entering class (2008-2009) that are:

Female: 32 %
International: 45 %
Married: 21 %

Ethnicity/US Students in Program

African American: 1 %
Asian American: 7 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 8 %
Multiethnic/Multiracial : 0 %
Native American: 0 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 62 %
Chose not to report: 19 %
Other: 3 %

Students from following regions:

Africa : 1 %
Asia: 34 %
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 2 %
Latin America and the Caribbean: 5 %
Middle East: 0 %
North America: 56 %
Oceania : 0 %
Western Europe: 2 %
Percentage of students with dual citizenship: 2 %

Entering North American citizens by region:

Northeast: 10 %
Mid-Atlantic: 14 %
South: 3 %
Southwest: 31 %
Midwest : 14 %
West: 25 %
Possessions and territories: 0 %

Mean months of work experience of newest entering class:

Median months of work experience of newest entering class:

Middle 80% range of work experience of newest entering class in months:

From: 12
To: 108

Median age of entering class:

Mean age of entering class:

FINANCIAL AID

Full-time MBAs apply for financial aid through:

Dedicated financial aid office at the B-school

Full-time MBAs applied for financial aid for the current academic year:

80 %

Full-time MBAs receiving financial aid through school:

74 %

Mean MBA financial aid package for the current academic year:

$ 37,823

Median MBA financial aid package for the current academic year:

$ 48,530

On what basis are scholarships awarded?

academic merit

Full-tuition scholarships school will award during the upcoming academic year:

How does an applicant apply for scholarship consideration?

As part of the admissions application

Mean scholarships awarded to full-time MBAs in the previous academic year:

$ 15,037

Percentage of second-year students receiving the same or more amount of money in their second year of study:

60 %

Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to all MBAs regardeless of nationality?

Mean outstanding debt among the most recent graduates from the full-time MBA program:

$ 29,319

GMAT

Applicants required to take the GMAT?

Yes

Mean : 610
Median: 610

Middle 80% range GMAT scores:

From: 540
To: 720

Academics & Lifestyle

CLASS OFFERINGS

Average students in a full-time MBA core class:

Average students in a full-time MBA elective class:

Elective courses available to full-time MBA students:

Electives that have been added to the full-time program since June 30, 2008:

Selected Topics: Lean Six Sigma
Financing the Entrepreneurial Firm
Global Business Marketing
Sustainable Dev in Prac: Brazil
Winterim in Japan: Grand Basho

Year of last major change or significant overhaul to the core curriculum:

2006

Concentrations and specializations offered to full-time MBA students:

Accounting

Finance

Marketing

Other: Management

Does the school offer an accelerated full-time MBA program?

Yes

FACULTY

Faculty employed by the B-school:

Full-time faculty

Tenured: 46
Non-Tenured: 0

Adjunct/Visiting Faculty

Non-Tenured: 27

Women on Faculty

Tenured: 10

Minority Faculty

Tenured: 5

International Faculty

Tenured: 14

Faculty with PhDs

Tenured: 41

STUDENT LIFE

Professional clubs available to full-time MBA students:

Biotech/Health care

Consulting

E-business

Entrepreneurship

Finance

Human Resources

Information Technology

Investment Banking

Marketing

VC/ Private Equity

Networking clubs available to full-time MBA students:

Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual

Hispanic Student Organization

International Club

Partners/Family

Volunteer

Wine

Women in MBA

Other

TEACHING/ACADEMICS

Teaching methods used

Case study: 18 %
Distance Learning: 7 %
Experiential Learning: 16 %
Lecture: 19 %
Simulations: 10 %
Team Project: 15 %
Other: 15 %

Requirements for graduation:

Students are required to complete international experience

Students must have attended a minimum number of classes

Students must have earned a pre-determined GPA/Letter grade average

TECHNOLOGY

Is there a wireless network in main B-school buildings?

Yes

Technology improvements in the last three academic years:

N/A

Amount spent:

$ 2,000,000

Alumni Affairs & Careers

ALUMNI

Living MBA alumni:

36,000

Active MBA alumni clubs

164

Countries in which MBA clubs exist

Living MBA alumni who gave in past year:

14 %

Mean gift from MBA alumni:

$ 457

Median gift from MBA alumni

$ 100

Did school receive an individual gift in excess of $10 million in past academic year?

Business School Endowment

$ 21,235,000

Does the main university offer career placement services for alumni?

Yes

Does the main university have an alumni networking Web site?

Yes

University alumni networking site:

http://my.t-bird.edu

Does the B-School have an alumni networking site:

Yes

Business school alumni networking site:

http://my.t-bird.edu

Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database?

Yes

CAREER SERVICES

Graduates seeking full-time professional MBA employment: 76 %
Graduates not seeking employment: 10 %
Graduates for whom you have no information regarding employment: 14 %

Of grads not seeking employment: Percentage of graduates not seeking employment who were company-sponsored, or already employed: 41 %
Percentage who were continuing their education (after graduation): 11 %
Percentage who were postponing their job search: 26 %
Percentage who were starting their own business(es) : 19 %
Percentage who were not seeking employment for other reasons: 4 %

Annual job-searching trips that the school coordinates or participates in:

Destination: San Francisco Consulting TREK
Month: September 2007
Amount Paid By School: Full
Destination: Seattle Marketing TREK
Month: November 2007
Amount Paid By School: Full
Destination: New York/New Jersey Healthcare TREK
Month: November 2007
Amount Paid By School: Full
Destination: San Francisco Corporate Social Responsibility TREK
Month: February 2008
Amount Paid By School: Full
Destination: San Francisco Finance TREK
Month: November 2007
Amount Paid By School: Full

Primary Source of Job Offer

School-facilitated activities: 64 %
Graduate-facilitated activities: 36 %

Job Offers for 2008 graduates:

Received first job offer by graduation: 51 %
Received first job offer in three months following graduation: 22 %
Received first job offer more than 3 months after graduation: 5 %
Did not report having received a job offer: 22 %

Top recruiting firms and the number of full-time MBAs hired in the past 12 months:

Cisco
General Electric
American Express
International Bus. Machines
Johnson & Johnson

Hilti MBA Enterprise Corps

Job-accepting graduates who received a signing bonus:

62 %

Mean and median base salary, signing bonuses and other compensation for most recent employed graduates:

Mean base salary for most recent graduates: $ 84,295
Median base salary for most recent graduates: $ 85,000
Mean signing bonus for most recent graduates: $ 14,258
Median signing bonus for most recent graduates: $ 12,000
Mean other guaranteed compensation for most recent graduates: $ 15,148
Median other guaranteed compensation for most recent graduates: $ 10,000

Graduating students who accepted jobs in the following functional areas:

Consulting: 14 %
Finance/Accounting: 21 %
General Management: 14 %
Human Resources: 3 %
Marketing/Sales (Public Relations, Product Management, Market Research, Advertising, etc.): 34 %
Management Information Systems (MIS): 0 %
Operations/Logistics (Logistics, Purchasing, Engineering, etc.): 10 %
Other: 4 %

Graduating students who accepted jobs in the following industries:

Government (Federal, State, Local, Military): 3 %
Consulting: 10 %
Consumer Products: 11 %
Financial Services: 16 %
Manufacturing: 12 %
Media/Entertainment: 3 %
Non-Profit: 4 %
Petroleum/Energy: 8 %
Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health care Products: 9 %
Real Estate: 4 %
Technology: 10 %
Other: 10 %

Graduates who accepted full-time jobs in the following regions:

Africa: 2 %
Asia: 12 %
Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia: 9 %
Latin America and the Caribbean: 2 %
North America: 75 %
Western Europe: 9 %

Within North America, graduates who accepted full-time jobs in the following regions:

Northeast: 16 %
Mid-Atlantic: 4 %
South: 9 %
Southwest: 16 %
Midwest: 9 %
West: 20 %
Possessions and territories: 0 %
Canada: 0 %

Top Companies - Internships:

American Express
Cisco
Intel

Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation Bristol Myers Squibb Echostar (Dish Network) International Game Technology MTV Networks

Internships awarded that are paid:

100 %

Mean and median intern compensation per week:

Mean : 1,287
Median: 1,163

Average internship length in weeks:

SCHOOL COMMENTS

School Comments:

One look at the MBA-Global Management Course Bulletin proves just how serious Thunderbird is about teaching you to view business and its interactions from a global perspective. Every course offers a truly global focus. It's not just marketing, but global marketing. Not just business strategy, but global strategy. Every single course serves the dual function of preparing you not just for business -- but for business on an international scale. The Thunderbird MBA-GM includes a global entrepreneurship course and five courses on professional development. Experience international business, government and culture firsthand. Develop cross-cultural sensitivities and soft skills you never would have considered. Your curriculum is based on Thunderbird's five underlying core beliefs: * Global Learning Network * Global Entrepreneurship * Global Mindset * Global Citizenship * Global Thought Leadership Together they add up to the Thunderbird difference. A curriculum that continues to evolve to meet today's global management and business challenges. Experience it at your own pace -- traditional or accelerated. But experience it. It will change how you view your future, your career, your world.

Graduate Comments

Thunderbird isn't for everyone, because not everyone is looking to work in global business. But for those who do, I would highly recommend it. -- Finance

The career resources/career management staff is horrible. They seem more interested in statics rather than individuals, thus they spend most of their time helping people who already have a good chance of getting jobs rather than harder cases. -- Consulting

Thunderbird has an excellent reputation among those who know of it, but awareness of the school is lower than I would like it to be. -- Finance

I have too much experience (10 years) to be fully challenged by the MBA program. I learned good information, but felt that the teachings were lost in busy work and not a lot of core group discussions in class. The international experience and cultural activities are important, but most international students lacked work ethic. -- Consulting

Thunderbird graduates find it more difficult to get a high-profile job initially due to ignorance of the companies that pay more attention to brands, like Harvard, rather than people. -- Consulting

Thunderbird is off the beaten path, and unfortunately not a lot of people from my hometown know about it. But it is like a hidden gem. -- Operations

The diversity of the student body is incredible and those in the alumni network are mostly willing to help out students in any way possible. -- Operations

Thunderbird excels at teaching the soft skills required for the complex global business world - these are lessons that will last a career. -- Investment Banking

Many of my peers in my class had, in my opinion, not adequate work experience (i.e., 1-2 years). That detracts from the education level in the classroom, which in the long term leads to the devaluation of the Thunderbird MBA brand. -- Marketing

Thunderbird is a good school, the administration and career services office over-sells and under-delivers. -- Marketing

Thunderbird is a unique business school with a truly global mindset, diverse student body, world-class faculty, strong focus on social responsibility, and an unparalleled alumni network. Thunderbird has opened up a new world of opportunities for me in a way which I do not feel any other MBA program could. -- Entrepreneurship

Thunderbird does more than just teach its students out of a text book. From international semesters abroad to two week "winterims" experiencing the business environment of another region, their MBA students have ample opportunity to gain valuable instruction through first hand experience. -- Marketing

I am impressed that a second language is part of the requirements to graduate. On campus, you get to work with students from all over the world, and learn how business is conducted in their countries. It feels like you are at the U.N. -- Marketing

The student body at thunderbird was wonderful and the international exposure was top notch, both from students and programs through the school. -- Finance

Most recruiters come here for marketing, primarily international (and domestic) brand management. If this is your dream job, then I highly recommend the program. If your focus is on finance, there may be better programs to apply to. -- Finance

Thunderbird is self-selective, and for the right person - internationally minded, risk taker, adventurous, analytical, smart, and culturally intelligent - this place is heaven. -- Operations

There are a few areas of needed improvement, such as better attitudes of staff members and more placement help from career management, but overall I am very satisfied and would highly recommend Thunderbird. -- Marketing