MBA BACKSTAGE

Get a Big ROI From a U of U MBA

When choosing an MBA program, you want to consider your return on investment – specifically, how it will help you land that perfect job after graduation? With a new 188,000 square-foot building on its way, resources dedicated to giving each student real-world experience, and a strong network of successful alumni around the world, we offer our students the education, experience and opportunities they’ll need to land their dream job.

See inside the University Venture Fund.

Be Challenged by Brilliant Faculty

The David Eccles School of Business faculty is going to challenge you and provide you with the education and experience that will make you a coveted job candidate. Our faculty members bring with them backgrounds from Top 20 schools like Northwestern, University of Chicago, Harvard and Wharton.

Which Undergraduate Degrees Give Me the Best Shot at an MBA?

Dr. Don Wardell, the program Director for the Full-Time MBA, answers that question clearly: Any of them. What we care about most are students who perform well, who have work experience, and who know what direction they want to take. No matter your degree, background or talents, we build on those aspects and help you gain new invaluable experiences through the MBA program.

Deep Resources Help You Learn How to Identify Commercialization Opportunities

At the Lassonde New Venture Development Center, our graduate students select a few of the best technologies to come out of university research to develop business plans and commercialize those ideas. Join Lassonde Director Troy D’Ambrosio in analyzing three different U of U technologies to gauge their marketability.

Learn more about Tech Ventures at the Lassonde Center.

U of U: #1 in Technology Commercialization

Jump right into the #1 technology commercialization program in the country. The University of Utah is the top school in the nation for producing campus-launched start-ups, surpassing even MIT. What’s more, we did it on a fourth of MIT’s budget. (When this program was filmed, the U of U was tied with MIT. The latest ranking released in December 2010 shows that we have surpassed MIT to take the #1 spot exclusively.) Discover how we have created more than 100 businesses in the last five years with a nearly 90% success rate. Companies recruit heavily out of the David Eccles School of Business because of this intense, real-world, applied learning experience.

Learn more about the Technology Commercialization Office.

Students Jump Start 3 Companies

Lassonde Center Director, Troy D’Ambrosio shares the stories of three different companies started at the University of Utah. He explains how students researched each individual business idea, created business plans, performed market and competitive analyses, pursued seed money, developed relationships with strategic partners and went through FDA approval. He then discusses how one student landed a job specifically because of the research he performed.

Eccles Experience Helps Student Launch Profitable Business

The Lassonde New Venture Development Center helped former student Josh Eckman to win the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (including $40,000 in seed money), form strategic partnerships and raise significant funding through government grants and venture capital sources. See how Josh tapped resources at the David Eccles School of Business to turn an idea written on the shower wall into a profitable business.

Find out more about student business plan competitions.

Investor Network Provides Unique Opportunities

In the past five years, more than 100 companies have been spun out of the University of Utah. That can’t be done without the right network and funding. We have a strong ecosystem of investment groups, industry leadership and government support at the University of Utah to help entrepreneurs launch successful businesses. Stan Knarowski, co-founder of Park City Angels and CEO of Scintilla Communications, explains the unique network available to David Eccles School of Business MBA students.

Power Surge – The PAC-12 Effect

This year, the University of Utah accepted an invitation to join the recently expanded PAC-12 Conference. Not only is this move great for athletics, but it also put the U of U in league with the leading conference nationally in terms of academics. We’ve joined a celebrated club that includes Stanford, UCLA, USC, Berkeley and Washington. This impressive intercollegiate association will be a draw for the best faculty, bringing with them a quality of instruction that equals any in the nation. For our alumni, this exciting change will boost the value of the MBA they received from the David Eccles School of Business.

ESPN announces the U of U has joined the PAC-10 (video plays on this page.)

The Foundry Educates Entrepreneurs for Life

The Foundry is an incubator that turns ambitious students into entrepreneurial leaders capable of building world-class, enduring organizations. Matt Hoffman and Rob Wuebker show how they have set up The Foundry as a free resource for students to launch start-ups of any kind. The Foundry offers a unique environment that allows you to work among a group of peers to solve problems and build a network that will help you now and in the future.

Visit The Foundry’s Web page to learn more about this unique program.

Who is a Good Fit for The Foundry?

Rob Wuebker, the mastermind behind The Foundry, answers the question: “What’s an appropriate fit for someone joining The Foundry?” The answer is simple: The Foundry is for those who want to launch a company, and for those who want to contribute to young companies. As Wuebker puts it: The Foundry “puts individuals at risk to learn something” through a game called “Your Start-up.”

Visit The Foundry’s Web page to learn more about this unique program.

Student Entrepreneurs Share Success Stories

Two student entrepreneurs discuss how The Foundry helped them build their start-ups into successful companies. Both credit their success to The Foundry’s resources such as remarkable mentors, honest and candid feedback, diversity of opinions, peer-driven advice, group collaboration, and other intangibles they couldn’t get anywhere else.

Visit The Foundry’s Web page to learn more about this unique program.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Taking On a Full-time MBA

Don Wardell, the program director for the full-time MBA, answers that question clearly: Any of them. What we care about most are students who perform well, who have work experience, and who know what direction they want to take. No matter your degree, background or talents, we build on those aspects and help you gain new invaluable experiences through the MBA program.

The Good

The panel discusses the unique good things a full-time MBA at the University of Utah offers. Highlights include the ability to interact with students from a wide range of backgrounds, how recruiters and employers perceive students with full-time MBAs, networking opportunities, the flexibility of the program, and the opportunity to connect with the community at large.

The Bad

Cindy Hung, a University of Utah MBA student, talks about the cost of the MBA program, how she financed her way through each semester, and – most importantly – how her investment in time and money helped her double her income after graduation.

Go inside the Board Fellows program.

The Ugly

Alumna Stormy Sweitzer says the full-time MBA program at the David Eccles School of Business is a tough program that challenged her, pushed her and made her better for it. The program provided opportunities and skills she says she never would have experienced otherwise.

Why it’s All Worth It

Stormy Sweitzer explains how the David Eccles School of Business full-time MBA program gave her the business acumen she needed for her career. Cindy Hung was surprised at how well our full-time MBA program trained her to think critically and gave her the real hands-on experience that employers look for. Above all, what you gain through a full-time MBA will pay off throughout your life, not just in the next job.

Power of the Worldwide Alumni Network

David Eccles School of Business MBA alumni can be found in the largest cities and organizations in the world. Some well-known alumni include the CEO of Proctor and Gamble, the CEO of Tesoro, and Wall Street investors in nearly every investment firm. Dean Taylor Randall concludes by saying the School of Business has unbelievable momentum and is on its way to becoming a top 25 business program in the next five to seven years.