School of Business Administration

-I had a great academic and social experience at USD. The quality of the professors exceeded my expectations, and the quality of my colleagues exceeded my expectations. My overall experience was exceptional, and all of my colleagues loved the program also.

-The Dean and staff assume that part-time students intend to stay with their sponsoring companies. This is not the case, and should not be held as the norm from now on. 50-60% of my cohort was pursuing their MBA part-time to increase future job prospects while not going into debt; not because they wanted to stay with the current employer. It is a financial decision to not forgo 2 years of work experience and accumulate $150K in debt.

-I have been very happy with the educational outcome of the program. The networking has been excellent, and overall I am very happy with the program and faculty. I also believe the current dean is changing the program curriculum for the better.

-Classrooms are in good shape, but overall I would like to see a new business facility be created to house the program. The existing structure and faculty offices are very old. Originally I felt the program needed more quantitative work in the curriculum, but this recently changed and I now feel the program is very well tailored for students wanting to concentrate on finance related topics.

-It was an amazing experience. I traveled the world and completed and MBA. It was a life changing experience completely. Before I went there I felt trapped in my old career. I was going nowhere fast. Now I feel happy. I may not be earning the most money in the world, but I will always look back on this and say I would do it all again a million times.

-The MBA program could be more challenging. Many classes were but not all. People who are looking for this level of education want to be challenged. We try the hardest in those classes where the most is expected from us because the experience is worthwhile. We're paying for this advanced education to get those experiences.

-I would recommend USD to friends or colleagues because of the faculty, the study abroad opportunities, the great friends I've made in the program, and number networking opportunities I've been exposed to.

-Some of the required classes were repetitive, so I would combine them and open up the units for more electives.

-If looking for a program that is local, has a social conscious bent, and offers a few rigorous courses along with some easy but informative coursework, then this is a good school.

-One major oversight at my b-school is the lack of human resource management courses. Many times, companies expect managers with MBA's to just "know" how to manage staff and to manage layoff situations smoothly (like many companies went through in 2008). My school did not offer very many, if any, dedicated courses focusing on hiring, managing employees, human resource policy, employment/employee law, or strategies on how to lay off staff. I think a dedicated human resources course should be part of the core program at the University of San Diego. Most MBA graduates will be managing people at some point in their career - some base learning in this area is vital.

-The program changed my life. It encouraged my development and allowed me to choose my own schedule (and choose my finance emphasis) without too much pressure. The program and instructors were good enough to make me want to succeed for the sake of learning, and not simply for the sake of getting a degree.