The International MBA program’s recent graduates are experiencing huge returns on investment with record employment rates and competitive compensation within 90 days of graduation.
IMBA graduates reported the best-ever 100 percent job placement three months after graduating. The reported average salary for International MBA program students was $95,475.
Full-Time MBA program managing director Jennifer Ninh said numerous factors contributed to the 100 percent employment rate.
“International MBA students benefit from a customizable curriculum that offers four functional specializations, graduate certificate options and unmatched real-world experience,” Ninh said. “They also become part of an extensive global network of alumni and international institution partners.”
The top job placement rate is partly a result of the Moore School’s significant restructuring of full-time MBA programs four years ago. This restructuring led to all IMBA students now receiving in-depth business analytics training.
“After an extensive review of our International MBA curriculum and guidance from alumni, hiring partners, our academic centers and especially the Folks Center for International Business, the International MBA program structure was reset beginning with the 2018-2019 incoming cohort,” Ninh said. “Quantitative courses became the focus and starting point of the program in year one, with international business core beginning terms two and three, followed by an internship.”
Ninh points to the three core business analytics courses IMBA students take in early July their first semester that make them attractive and knowledgeable candidates when they interview that first fall for their internship.
“We wanted to ensure that no matter what organization type our IMBAs placed for internships — multinationals, start-ups, public organizations or non-governmental organizations — Moore School IMBAs would set themselves apart by being able to take on any data analysis task and quickly contribute to their employers’ data-driven decision-making,” she said. “Whether working in proprietary systems, Microsoft Power BI or Tableau, our goal is for our students to quickly adapt. We have seen employment success rates increase as we have moved into year three of this advanced data skill requirement.”
Another strength of the IMBA program is using real-world experience to prepare IMBA candidates for the job market post-graduation.
The IMBA program provides students the longest in-country immersion among U.S. institutions, Ninh said. Adding their coursework and internship opportunities, IMBA students get to experience real-world scenarios as they apply the concepts they’re learning.
From the beginning of the program to narrow their focus for their IMBA, candidates are trained to focally align their skills to and extensively research their chosen functional area, the industries they’re interested in and the desired geographic location where they want to live, said Doug Hanslip, director of graduate career services and employer relations at the Moore School’s Office of Career Management.
“The Office of Career Management employs both macro and micro approaches in working one on one with our International MBA students with truly a concierge-level of support from day one of the program to the day they graduate with jobs in hand,” he said. “The more focused our IMBAs are, the more successful they generally are at securing employment because they enter each interview that much smarter about the role and companies they are pursuing, thereby becoming more effective candidates with each interview.”
Every IMBA student goes through a thorough process of resume and cover letter composition, LinkedIn profile creation and editing, company research training, interview preparation and networking training, Hanslip added.
The intensive career preparation has paid off; recent IMBA graduates have been employed by a variety of industries, from automotive and consumer staples to banking, finance, technology and consulting.
Top employers for IMBA graduates include Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Nike and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Hanslip said IMBA graduates enter their first jobs adding value on day one.
“Our International MBA students have been technically trained within their area of study, gained requisite aptitude with data and data analysis, honed their verbal and written communication skills and practiced reasoning and problem-solving skills in professional settings,” Hanslip said. “Their individual work ethic and collaborative teamwork skills are battle tested. Our students understand how to build meaningful professional relationships after their time in the IMBA program.”
Much like the IMBA graduates, the one-year MBA program graduates attract employers with their practiced soft and hard skills — the one-year MBA graduates achieved 95 percent reported employment within 90 days of graduation, Hanslip added.