Program Basics

• • Michael G Foster School of Business
  • Michael G. Foster School of Business
  • Box 353200, Mackenzie Hall Room 137
  • Seattle, Washington
  • 98195-3200
  • United States
  • Program Web site: http://www.foster.washington.edu/academic/undergrad/Pages/UndergraduateProgram.aspx
  • Program e-mail address: bizinfo@u.washington.edu
  • Program phone number: 206.685.3400
  • Status: Public (state-operated)
• • AACSB accredited: Yes
• • Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded: 1918
• • Institution: Four Year
• • Business Program: Two Year

SCHOOL BASICS

• Enrollment:

  • Total undergraduate: 30,151
  • Full-time undergraduate business: 1,707
  • Part-time undergraduate business: 168
• • College or university freshman retention rate: 93 %

• Percentage of students who graduate from the business program:

  • Within four years of admission to the university: 91 %
  • Within six years of admission to the university: 98 %

• Undergraduate Business Degrees Offered:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Business Adminstration

PROGRAM COSTS

• • Annual Tuition (Resident): $10,346.00
• • Annual Tuition (Non-Resident): $27,830.00
• • Tuition Per Academic Credit (Resident): $345.00
• • Tuition Per Academic Credit (Non-Resident): $928.00
• • Annual Room and Board: $9,771.00
• • Annual Cost of Books: $1,035.00

CLASS PROFILE

• Students in newest entering class that are:

  • Female: 47 %
  • International: 10 %

• Mean and median age of full-time business students in the newest entering class:

  • Median: 21

• Percentage of newest entering class:

  • GPA of 3.75 or higher: 70 %
  • GPA of 3.5 to 3.74: 18 %

• SAT scores (1600 scale) for the newest entering class of full-time undergraduate business students:

  • Mean: 1275
  • Median: 1280

• Middle 50% range of SAT scores (1600 scale):

  • From: 1180
  • To: 1360

• ACT scores for the newest entering class of full-time undergraduate business students:

  • Mean: 28
  • Median: 28

• Middle 50% range of ACT scores:

  • From: 29
  • To: 24

• Citizenship breakdown for newest entering class:

  • US: 90 %
  • Canada: 2 %
  • Other Non-US Citizens: 8 %

• U.S. citizens in newest entering class:

  • African American: 3 %
  • Asian American: 28 %
  • Hispanic or Latino American: 5 %
  • Multiethnic/Multiracial: 10 %
  • Native American: 1 %
  • White (Non-Hispanic): 49 %
  • Chose not to report: 4 %

• Regional breakdown of U.S. citizens in newest entering class:

  • Northeast: 1 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 1 %
  • South: 1 %
  • Southwest: 1 %
  • Midwest: 1 %
  • West: 95 %

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Institution

• Standardized tests required of all applicants:

  • SAT/ACT
• • Interviews are: Not offered

• Application deadlines:

  • Fall 2012 12/1/2011
  • Fall 2013 12/1/2012
• • Total undergraduate applicants, all programs: 24,540
• • Percentage of applicants admitted: 58 %
• • Percentage of admitted applicants who enrolled: 40 %
• • Female applicants: 47 %

• Relative Importance of Application Elements

  • Secondary school record: Very Important
  • Class rank: Not Considered
  • Talent/ability: Considered
  • Interview: Not Considered
  • Extracurricular activities: Important
  • Volunteer work: Important
  • Character/personal abilities: Not Considered
  • Application essay: Very Important
  • Work experience: Considered
  • SAT/ACT scores: Important
  • Recommendations: Not Considered
  • High school GPA: Very Important

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Business Program

• • Undergrad business program admissions are managed by: The business program office
  • Total undergraduate business applicants: 2,931
  • Percentage of applicants admitted: 33 %
  • Percentage of admitted applicants who enrolled: 74 %
• • Entrance exam other than the SAT/ACT required for admission to the undergraduate business program?: Yes
  • What exam other than SAT/ACT is required?: For UW students and transfer students, the Writing Skills Assessment (WSA) is required. In a proctored setting students are required to write essays on two provided topics. The essays are then scored in a double-blind manner and the scores are used in the admissions review. Freshmen applicants are not required to take the WSA.
• • Admissions interviews for the undergraduate business program are: Not required

• Freshman admission:

  • Does the business program admit freshmen?: Yes
  • Percentage of business program admits in most recent entering class who were freshman: 28 %
  • Are freshman business admits required to complete or obtain minimum GPAs in pre-business courses before taking upper-level courses? Yes
  • Process for freshmen admission?: Indicate interest on university application

• Internal transfers:

  • Method for handling internal transfers: Separate application
  • Minimum college GPA for internal transfers to the business program: 2.5
  • Additional application requirements, including course/grade requirements: For internal and external transfer applicants: composition, calculus, macro- or micro-economics, managerial accounting; completion of 60 college level credits and the WSA. Minimum 2.5 GPA in all college coursework, coursework at UW and in business coursework to be considered for admission.

CAMPUS LIFE

• Five largest on-campus organizations for business students:

  • Beta Alpha Psi
  • Undergraduate Women in Business
  • Ascend
  • Alpha Kappa Psi
  • Undergraduate Management Consulting Association
• • Are freshmen required to live on campus?: No
  • Are business students grouped together in 'learning communities' in housing and other facilities?: Yes

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• Other requirements for the undergraduate business degree

  • University gen ed (total 90 non-bus): 20 cr each VLPA/I&S/NW; 12 cr composition/writing. Foster Req: ACCTG 215/225; QMETH 201; MGMT 200; BECON 300; MKTG 301; IS 300; IBUS 300; OPMGT 301; FIN 350; MGMT 300/320/430;upper div bus electives (total 72 bus).

ACADEMICS

• Average class size:

  • Required business classes: 71
  • Business electives: 49
  • Non-business electives: 119

• Percentage of business classes:

  • With 20 or fewer students: 7 %
  • With 21 to 50 students: 49 %
  • With more than 50 students: 44 %

• Course enrollment:

  • Percentage of required business courses reaching maximum enrollment by the first day of class: 92 %
  • Percentage of required business courses with waiting lists: 9 %

CURRICULUM

• Electives:

  • Available business electives: 77
• • Last curriculum overhaul: 2008
  • Total business faculty: 119
  • Percentage of the total faculty that is tenured or tenure track: 65 %

• Most prominent faculty:

  • Terry Mitchell
  • Jonathan Karpoff
  • Bruce Avolio

• Business program's leading areas of study:

  • • Accounting
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Marketing
    • International Business
• • Special programs: Business Honors allows students with exceptional academic records to work with professors in independent study/research. The Certificate of International Studies in Business (CISB) focuses on the cross-cultural skills & knowledge needed in the global marketplace. The Sales Certificate develops skills in selling, creating customer partnerships & developing new business.
• • Study abroad programs: Over 275 study abroad programs are offered. Plus, we have Business School-to-Business School exchanges at University of Sydney; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; Peking University; Audenica Ecole de Management; University of Mannheim; WHU; Bocconi University; Akita Int'l University; Kobe University; RSM Erasmus University; Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration; National University of Singapore; University of Navarra; National Chengchi University; and the University of Manchester.
• • Volunteer opportunities: The Business and Economic Development Center (BEDC) links Foster School students/faculty/staff with a racially and ethnically diverse business and nonprofit community to expand students’ knowledge and skills, help small businesses grow, create and retain jobs, open educational opportunities for under-represented minority students, and stimulate innovative economic development research. Students and advisors provide up to 400 hours of consulting services to small businesses annually.

• Extra-curricular activities:

  • American Marketing Association
  • Society for Human Resources Management, SHRM
  • AIESEC
  • University Sales Club
  • Association of Black Business Students
  • Dow Dawgs Finance Association
  • National Association of Black Accountants
  • ALPFA (Hispanic Business Students)

FINANCIAL AID

• • Who manages financial aid for the business program?: Central financial aid office at the university
  • Financial aid web site: http://www.washington.edu/students/osfa/

• Scholarships

  • Scholarship money distributed to business students last year: $677,500.00
  • Expected scholarship distribution to business students this year: $686,349.00
  • Scholarships are awarded to business students based on: a combination of need and merit
  • Other criteria for scholarship consideration: Criteria include demographics, student organization participation, areas of interest/employment/study
  • Students receiving institutional scholarships in the current academic year: 15 %
  • Students receiving full-tuition institutional scholarships in the current academic year: 2 %
  • Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students based on need: 71 %
  • Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students based on merit: 29 %

• Loans

  • Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to all business students, regardless of nationality?: No

CAREER SERVICES

• Employment Information

  • Percentage of most recent business graduates who supplied information regarding employment: 38 %
  • Percentage seeking full-time professional employment in business: 82 %
  • Percentage not seeking full-time professional employment in business: 18 %

• Received first job offer:

  • By graduation: 74 %
  • After graduation, but within 3 months: 12 %
  • More than 3 months after graduation : 8 %
  • No job offer reported: 6 %

• Accepted first job offer:

  • By graduation : 74 %
  • After graduation, but within 3 months: 12 %
  • More than 3 months after graduation: 8 %
  • No job acceptance reported: 6 %
• • Companies recruiting business students on campus: 402
  • Companies posting job offers for business students on school job boards: 1,862

• Compensation

  • Mean base salary: $49,750.00
  • Median base salary : $50,000.00
  • Mean signing bonus: $3,400.00
  • Median signing bonus: $3,500.00

• Most recent graduates accepted jobs in the following functional areas:

  • Consulting: 15 %
  • Finance/Accounting: 42 %
  • General Management: 8 %
  • Human Resources: 3 %
  • Management Information Systems: 4 %
  • Marketing/Sales: 16 %
  • Operations/Production: 2 %
  • Other: 10 %

• Most recent graduates accepted jobs in the following industries:

  • Accounting: 17 %
  • Consumer Products/Retail : 16 %
  • Consulting: 14 %
  • Financial Services: 17 %
  • Government/Education: 5 %
  • Pharma/Biotech/Health: 1 %
  • Manufacturing: 9 %
  • Media/Entertainment: 2 %
  • Real Estate: 1 %
  • Sports/Leisure: 3 %
  • Technology/Science: 6 %
  • Non-Profit: 3 %
  • Other: 6 %

• Job offers accepted by most recent graduates in North America:

  • US: 100 %

• Percentage of 2009-10 academic year graduates who accepted jobs in regions of US:

  • Northeast: 3 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 2 %
  • West: 95 %
• • Career services offered: The UW Career Center offers workshops and counseling sessions on resume/cover letter writing, interviewing skills and job offer negotiations. Mock interviews are offered & students are presented with a variety of networking programs. There are a host of assessment and testing for career exploration. The Career Center and the Foster School coordinate company information sessions and collaborate on programming such as internship workshops & other career events.

INTERNSHIPS

• • Companies recruiting business students for internships on campus: 241
  • Companies posting internship offers for business students on school job boards: 541

• Internship pay

  • Internships that are paid: 50 %
  • Mean compensation, per week, for paid internships only: $190.00
  • Median compensation, per week, for paid internships only: $200.00
  • Average internship length, in weeks: 10

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Total living alumni of the undergraduate business program: 30,000
  • Percentage of living alumni who contributed to the business program or university in the last academic year: 23 %

• Alumni gifts

  • Mean Gift: $2,000.00
  • Median Gift: $75.00
  • Did the business program receive a gift of $10 million or more in the last academic year? No

• Prominent alums of the undergrad business program

  • Neal Dempsey Managing General Partner, Bay Partners
  • Jason Child CFO, Groupon
  • Marc Barros Co-Founder and CEO, Contour

• • -They have a great pipe-line established for the local companies that started in Seattle, from Boeing, to Amazon, to Microsoft. As well as a diverse background of faculty coming from all over the globe to give you insight into not only what is happening in the US but other strategies that have and have not worked from their experience.
    
    -I think that, in general, there is a lot of unnecessary fluff. I took a bunch of classes about things that I don't care about taught by teachers who didn't care about me, and that was discouraging and frustrating.
    
    -The classroom size, it is very small, which gives you a great opportunity to have a relationship with your professors. They really care about your success.
    
    -I am not very fond of the GPA curve. I believe that this curve establishes a very competitive environment and does not foster the collaborative atmosphere I had imagined myself in.
    
    -One unique factor is the location of UW. While other schools have the perk of being in big cities, UW is the standalone school in the Northwest, which raises its appeal and makes students feel more accomplished from simply being a part of it.
    
    -Foster has improved the program's facilities tenfold after the construction of Paccar Hall. The continued rebuilding of facilities that, like Paccar, encourage teamwork and facilitates learning would greatly benefit the students at Foster.
    
    -One big unique perk, which only came about last year, is the new building. It's stunning and with how busy I am, I often take it for granted. The school offers many high tech features that I won't even touch up on, because everyone simply adapts to them. Things that do bring vigor in students are the design and furnishing. It sounds so silly, but sitting there on a sleek Herman Miller seat next to a glass fireplace, looking at the surroundings, brings this feeling of success. With that feeling of success you are immediately reminded you haven't succeeded yet, but it makes you work harder.
    -Some student organizations are difficult to find or get in contact with. Make the process of finding and being admitted into organizations more transparent.
    
    -Despite having larger classes due to budget cuts, I still feel like Foster gives students the opportunity to meet professors one-on-one if they need to. So while having a diverse campus and classroom, I can still meet and work with individuals well.
    
    -Allow students to take more business classes instead of requiring so many non-business classes. I am here to learn as much about business as possible and it is what i truly enjoying learning about. I would prefer not to spend my time in other classes that do not seem applicable to my future career.
    
    -The strong networks that exist within the business school between faculty, staff, students, and clubs is outstanding. This creates a close-knit community, which fosters creativity and collaboration.
    
    -I would like to see the business school make certain business electives mandatory early in students' time in the business school, so they can make an informed decision when choosing a concentration, rather than just choosing something they think they might be interested in.
    
    -The Foster School strongly emphasizes teamwork. Almost every class I've taken in the business school has had some sort of teamwork project or assignment. From this, I have met many people with different backgrounds in the business school.
    
    -Due to the size of the business school, it makes it hard to get into classes sometimes. I would like to learn more about the MBA track and how that will work once I graduate and I haven't gotten much guidance on that.
    
    -The Foster School is incredibly small, which means that the teachers, as well as the network of students, are very accessible. This creates a community of individuals who are interested in each other’s well being and academic success. The new facilities that were created for the business school are top-notch state of the art, allowing students to utilize the technology they will be seeing in the work force.
    
    -While certain specialties within the program are strong (such as international business and accounting), other specialties need development. The UW is a large university; certain specialties, and their students, could work to create more cohesive communities.
    
    -The Foster School of Business provides undergraduate students with a vast amount of job opportunities and events to help prepare students as they begin job hunting. Professors also contribute to this and always teach material that directly relates to real world issues.