PROGRAM BASICS

• • Darla Moore School of Business
  • Professional MBA Program
  • Moore School of Business
  • University of South Carolina
  • Columbia, 29208, South Carolina
  • United States
  • Program Web site: http://www.moore.sc.edu
  • E-mail: gradinfo@moore.sc.edu
• • Percentage of part-time students who graduate within six years of entering program: 86 %
  • Average months to complete program: 30
  • Maximum months permitted to complete program: 72
  • Does the school have a separate full-time MBA program? Yes
  • If so, can part-time students switch to the full-time program? No

• Tuition and Fees: (Based on six credits in the fall and six credits in the spring)

  • Resident: $7,668.00
  • Non-Resident: $7,668.00

• Tuition per credit:

  • Resident $622.00
  • Non-resident $622.00
• • Graduate business school is accredited by: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

SCHOOL BASICS

• Graduate business school enrollment:

  • Total: 875
  • Full-Time MBA: 187
  • Part-Time MBA: 387
  • Executive MBA: 34
  • PhD Program: 64
• • Undergraduate business school enrollment: 4,030
  • Graduate degree programs: Master of Accounting, Other, Master of Human Resources, Master of International Management/Business
  • Other graduate degree programs: M.A. Economics

ADMISSIONS, SELECTIVITY AND YIELD

• • Total applications, most recent entering class: 265
  • Applications accepted, most recent entering class: 71 %
  • Admitted students enrolled: 87 %
  • Applicants wait-listed during the last admissions cycle: 1
  • Wait-listed applicants admitted for the semester to which they applied: 0
  • Applicant interviews are: By invitation only

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• • Rolling admissions? Yes
  • GMAT required? Yes
  • Are applicants allowed to submit the GRE? Yes

• GMAT score distribution (applicant pool)

  • 25th Percentile 490
  • 75th Percentile 600
  • 50th Percentile (median) 550
  • 10th Percentile 440
  • 90th Percentile 660
  • Average GMAT Score 547

• GMAT score distribution (incoming class)

  • 75th Percentile 640
  • 25th Percentile 550
  • 10th Percentile 590
  • 50th Percentile (median) 590
  • 90th Percentile 680
  • Average GMAT Score 597
• • Is proficiency in English required? Yes
  • Is a minimum score on an English language proficiency test required? Yes

• Which English language proficiency tests are accepted?

  • • IELTS
    • TOEFL Internet Based Test
    • TOEFL Paper-based Test
• • Minimum paper-based TOEFL: 600

• Relative Importance of Application Elements:

  • GMAT Score: Important
  • Resume/Work Experience: Very Important
  • Application Essays: Important
  • Interviews Considered
  • Recommendations: Very Important
  • Undergraduate Transcripts: Important

CLASS PROFILE

• • Female students: 32 %
  • International students: 10 %

• Percentage of U.S. students in newest entering class that are:

  • African American: 7 %
  • Asian American: 3 %
  • Hispanic or Latino American: 1 %
  • Multiethnic/Multiracial: 0 %
  • Native American: 1 %
  • White (Non-Hispanic): 87 %
  • Chose not to report: 1 %
  • Other: 0 %

• Postgraduate work experience (months):

  • Mean: 99
  • Median: 84
  • From: 26
  • To: 198
  • One year or less: 2 %

• Base salary of entering part-time MBA students:

  • Mean: $79,605.00
  • Median: $70,000.00

• Middle 80% range:

  • From: $36,000.00
  • To: $125,000.00

• Entering students work in the following functional areas:

  • Consulting: 1 %
  • Finance/Accounting: 17 %
  • General Management: 19 %
  • Human Resources: 2 %
  • Marketing/Sales: 14 %
  • Management Information Systems: 7 %
  • Operations/Production: 27 %
  • Other: 12 %

• Entering students work in the following industries:

  • Consulting: 5 %
  • Consumer Products: 6 %
  • Financial Services: 10 %
  • Government: 6 %
  • Manufacturing: 22 %
  • Media/Entertainment: 0 %
  • Non-Profit: 2 %
  • Petroleum/Energy: 10 %
  • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 12 %
  • Real Estate: 1 %
  • Technology: 3 %
  • Other: 22 %

• Organizations that send the most participants to the part-time MBA program:

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC 24
  • Michelin Tire Corporation 20
  • General Electric 17
  • Wachovia/Wells Fargo 11
  • SCANA Corporation 11
• • Mean age, newest entering class: 33
  • Median age, newest entering clas: 31

FINANCIAL AID

• • Part-time MBAs apply for financial aid through: Central financial aid office at the university
  • Students receiving some form of financial aid in 2011-12: 30 %

• Of part-time MBA students who applied for financial aid for the 2011-12 academic year, percentage receiving:

  • Institutional Scholarships: 0 %
  • Assistantships: 0 %
  • Loans (private and government): 100 %
• • Mean financial aid package: $16,288.00
  • Median financial aid package: $20,500.00
  • Does school offer a guaranteed loan to all part-time MBAs? No

FACULTY

• • Faculty employed by the B-school: 169

• Full-time faculty:

  • Tenured: 60
  • Non-Tenured: 61

• Adjunct/Visiting Faculty:

  • Tenured: 0
  • Non-Tenured: 48

• Women on Faculty:

  • Tenured: 13
  • Non-Tenured: 26

• Minority Faculty:

  • Tenured: 7
  • Non-Tenured: 4

• International Faculty:

  • Tenured: 4
  • Non-Tenured: 11

• Faculty with PhDs:

  • Tenured: 60
  • Non-Tenured: 48
• • Faculty on company boards: 3

STUDENT LIFE

• Active MBA specialization clubs open to part-time students:

  • • Corporate Social Responsibility/NetImpact
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Human Resources
    • Marketing
    • Nonprofit
    • Environmental
    • Consulting

• Active MBA networking clubs open to part-time students:

  • • Volunteer
    • Women in MBA
    • Wine
• • Do part-time MBA students have their own area/center on campus? Yes
  • Do part-time MBA students have break-out rooms? Yes

TEACHING/ACADEMICS

• Teaching Methods:

  • Case Study: 20 %
  • Distance Learning: 10 %
  • Experiential Learning: 10 %
  • Lectures: 30 %
  • Simulations: 5 %
  • Team Projects: 20 %
  • Other: 5 %
• • Estimated number of hours per week students spend on classwork, excluding time spent in class: 18
  • Teachers in the part-time program: 33
  • Tenured teachers in the part-time program: 19
  • Faculty also teaching in full-time program: 100 %
  • Faculty with at least five years of full-time corporate experience 10 %
  • Average core class size: 89
  • Average elective class size: 36
  • Electives available: 21

• Recently added electives:

  • Strategic Marketing
  • Competitiveness and Sustainable Enterprise
• • Last curriculum revision: 2000

• Concentrations and specializations offered to part-time MBAs:

  • • International Business
• • Does the B-school offer an accelerated part-time MBA program? No

• Leading areas of study:

  • • Finance
    • International Business
    • General Management
    • Marketing
    • Operations Management

• Graduation requirements:

  • • Students must have attended a minimum number of classes
    • Students must have earned a pre-determined GPA/Letter grade average
• • Credits required to graduate: 48

TECHNOLOGY

• • Technology improvements in the last three academic years: Cisco Telepresence / Polycom immersive Telepresence / System wide high definition video conferencing / Windows 2010 directory infrastructure including messaging / IP based desktop management services / Upgraded computers for computer classrooms and computer lab / Research computing resources / Remote access & remote desktop capabilities / Internet based file sharing for intranet & extranet (beta) / Vendor based student email / Web based application process for Graduate Division CRM
  • Amount spent: $1,821,026.00

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Living MBA alumni: 9,995
  • Active MBA alumni clubs: 8
  • Countries in which MBA clubs exist: 3
  • Living MBA alumni who gave in past year: 3 %
  • Mean gift from MBA alumni: $608.00
  • Median gift from MBA alumni: $90.00
  • Did school receive an individual gift in excess of $10 million in the past academic year? No
  • Business school endowment $81,500,000.00
  • 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://www.facebook.com/mycarolina
  • Does the B-school offer career services for alumni? Yes
  • Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
  • Business school alumni networking site: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular
  • Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database? Yes

CAREER SERVICES

• • Do part-time MBAs have access to career development office?
    • Yes
  • If yes, at what point in the degree process are part-time MBA students able to use the service?
    • At any time
  • Are part-time MBAs permitted to interview for full-time jobs? Yes
  • Are part-time students included in resume drops? Yes

• • -The Moore School PMBA program combines top-notch faculty, cutting edge technology, and an outstanding team of support and advisors that make the experience outstanding. I have been satisfied in every way with their overall focus and flexibility.
    
    -The material covered in coursework is relevant to the current workplace, spanning from the local level to the global economy.
    
    -Anyone who is interested in business, I recommend the USC pmba to because it is a great way to get a solid MBA without disrupting professional or family life.
    
    -It would have been nice to see more courses offered; some of the course selections were limited, at times.
    
    -The Moore School of Business Professional MBA was a quality experience. The staff, including professors, understands the requirements on working professionals taking courses. Therefore, they provide challenging and engaging coursework, as well as extensive flexibility in attending/viewing classes.
    
    -They need to improve the networking of the program. The program has had many graduates but I don't see the university taking advantage of their alumni base.
    
    -The program at USC is a great mix of in class learning while offering flexibility to working professionals through its use of technology to keep you connected. The professors were a good mix of academics and professionals. All in all it is a great program!
    
    -Get more class involvement without making it part of the grade in class participation. We had a smart student body but they were difficult to get to communicate and forcing everybody to talk usually meant people with less experience talked more.
    
    -It is a program focused towards giving busy professionals a chance to earn an MBA from a reputable school. The classes focused on the most valuable areas of each subject with "on-the-job" comparisons and examples consistently at the forefront of our discussions. I have never learned as much "usable" information in my academic history. This takes into consideration the fact that I have work experience, I am more interested in learning the information because it is relevant, and USC presented the information in an effective manner.
    
    -I would have liked a required introductory event for the MBA students to meet and get to know each other outside of class. This would be very helpful given the geographically diverse student body.
    
    -The MBA program excelled by providing the education and simulated hands on experience in applying what you learned. The simulations were real world experiences. The professors were very well qualified and exceptional in providing lectures, interaction through discussions and blackboard, and assignments where the content really stuck with you.
    
    -The limited time on campus together with classmates should be spent in better ways than in lecture.
    
    -The flexibility in attending classes (streaming online, available to watch in class, recorded to watch later) makes the USC PMBA program very accommodating and practical for working professionals. That said, this distance learning style does detract from the discussion format of many MBA courses for those people not in attendance at the main campus. I would explain the difference in style to a friend or colleague and let them decide which is best for him/her.