The College of Charleston School of Business MBA program, which recently updated it admissions requirements in response to COVID-19, has been named first in the country for job placement, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The College’s accelerated one-year MBA program tied for first place with La Salle University, St. John Fisher College and the University of South Florida for job placement three months after graduation. College of Charleston’s 2019 MBA cohort had a 100 percent job placement rate – nearly 15 percent higher than the average placement rate for ranked, full-time MBA programs that year. U.S. News & World Report previously ranked CofC’s MBA program No. 1 for job placement in 2018.
According to U.S. News data, of the full-time programs ranked this year, the College’s MBA program is not only a Top-10 public one-year program, but also the most affordable accelerated MBA program in the country. Out-of-state students pay the same low-cost tuition as in-state students. That, coupled with the duration of the program and job placement ranking, lends itself to a high return on investment.
U.S. News & World Report also recognized the College’s MBA program as one of the best MBA programs in the United States, ranking the program No. 95 out of 477 on its Best Grad School Rankings list.
The university also returned to its 2018 status of having the highest percentage of female students in a full-time MBA program ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
CofC’s MBA program has changed its admissions requirements in response to COVID-19. Effective immediately, the program has waived its $50 application fee. Additionally, GRE/GMAT test waivers are available upon request for qualified individuals. The general application deadline has also been extended to June 1, 2020.
Alan Shao, dean of the School of Business, is proud of how far the young program has come since its launch in 2009. Shao attributes the job placement accolade in large part to the school’s relationship with the Charleston business community.
“It’s a not-so-hidden secret that the School of Business fosters an unparalleled network of executives who are eager to mentor our students through the MBA Mentor Program,” Shao says. “This close-knit board of advisors holds a phenomenal reputation not only with the city but nationally and internationally, which means advancing opportunities and connections for our MBA students as they leave.”
One such advisor, Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, has had many positive experiences mentoring, working with and hiring College of Charleston MBA students.
“I find the MBA graduates from the College of Charleston practical, hard-working and ready to prove themselves,” Newsome says. “Hiring them is one of the best moves a company can make.”
Ron Magnuson, director of CofC’s MBA and Professional Programs, says the post-graduate success of each MBA cohort begins from the moment the students are accepted into the program.
“Even before our students step foot in the classroom, our dedicated career services staff work with them to identify their short- and long-term professional goals and begin mapping out a strategy to achieve them,” says Magnuson. “This is complemented by our faculty who coach the cohort in what today’s employers tell us they seek when hiring: hard and soft skills.”
