The Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management in Nashville offers a range of management education options to accommodate professionals at all stages of their career. The traditional two-year MBA program is a full-time, on-campus option that features a core curriculum of management classes and a summer internship after the first year. These classes incorporate a high level of practical learning, 鈥渁n element of group assignments,鈥� and real-world projects. They also work on a modular academic calendar, wherein students take seven-week intense courses followed by an exam week. While these modules 鈥渄efinitely feel like sprints where each class is packed with a firestorm of information,鈥� students find that 鈥渢he pace is fast but manageable.鈥� That may be because, while students are required to complete a concentration in order to graduate鈥攃hoosing from Brand Management, Corporate Finance, Human and Organization Performance, and Investment Management鈥攖hey are given freedom as early as the second module of their first year. This allows them to customize their curriculum with electives of personal interest and to take cross-disciplinary courses at Vanderbilt鈥檚 other graduate schools, which can make the work more engaging and therefore more motivating to complete.

At Vanderbilt, class sizes 鈥渁re small enough to get to know everyone in your class and those the year above and below you,鈥� and 鈥渢he collaborative nature of the work鈥� is one of students鈥� favorite aspects of their time here, as it helps to 鈥済et comfortable with communicating and working with other people with various styles.鈥� To further those skills, there are 鈥渙pportunities to lead and work on teams because of the class size,鈥� with many here treating club leadership positions 鈥渧ery much like a full-time job.鈥� Overall, Vanderbilt offers 鈥渁 rigorous, high quality, yet personal education in a vibrant location鈥� where 鈥減rofessors know your name [and] you get individualized attention/development.鈥� As one student puts it, 鈥淵ou have every opportunity to learn, lead, and grow.鈥�

Each student is expected to spend their first summer at Vanderbilt in an internship, which is an automatic career jumpstart. The school has 鈥渨ide recognition 鈥� as a highly reputable academic school,鈥� which helps a student鈥檚 odds of landing a job from that first position: 50 percent of the most recent class returned from their internship with a job offer. Similarly, the Career Management Center has 鈥渟trong recruiting partnerships鈥� and arranges for students to visit with executives and alumni in cities across the country in order to get firsthand experience and explore job options. These opportunities include programs such as Wall Street Week, Consulting Trek, and Day in the Bay: San Francisco. There are also career-focused short courses such as Brand Week, a Real Estate Capstone, and structured trips to major international business cities. As for alumni, they are 鈥渆xtremely helpful and want to see the current students succeed.鈥� One enrollee shares, 鈥淚t makes you want to give back if you are lucky enough to be in the position鈥� to 鈥渁dvise on what should be the best career path.鈥�

Nashville is 鈥渁 great city with plenty to do,鈥� but students often stick close to Owen, as 鈥渢he school does a great job of providing opportunities to stay engaged and build community.鈥� And even though Fridays are considered part of the weekend, 鈥渢hey are typically spent in Owen doing work and preparing for Mondays.鈥� Group projects automatically build connections between students, but the school also has 鈥渁 plethora of clubs,鈥� many social activities, and 鈥渁 thing to do every night if you want.鈥� One student says, 鈥淏etween companies hosting recruiting events, Vanderbilt sporting events, and club/social activities, you will never be bored at Owen.鈥� Even with so much going on, peers here are 鈥渆ager to help one another,鈥� and the general culture is one of 鈥渃ooperation, teamwork, and making sure that the business school experience isn't a zero-sum game.鈥� To give everyone equal opportunity, the school is 鈥渆xtremely welcoming to partners [of students] and seeks to intentionally include them in events and clubs.鈥� This leads to a 鈥渟mall-town feeling amongst the students鈥� that is helped even more by 鈥渇un schoolwide events like our crawfish boil and bubbly brunch that bring together the whole school.鈥� Another attendee shares, 鈥淔rom the professors to your fellow classmate's pets, everyone gets to know everyone.鈥� To that end, Vanderbilt works with the goal of promoting 鈥渘etwork building among the various schools,鈥� and there is also an 鈥渁mazing library with enough study rooms and study space for everyone.鈥�