University of California, Irvine, Graduate School of Management Admission
University of California, Irvine, Graduate School of Management Undergraduate Program
University of California, Irvine, Graduate School of Management Application

The Facts

The University of California, Irvine, is a rather large, public institution located in the appropriately titled town of Irvine, California, and has a combine graduate and undergraduate population of over 21,885 students. The university's Graduate School of Management, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to approximately 630 graduate business students. About 99% of the currently enrolled students have had an average of 6 years of full-time professional experience, a factor taken into serious consideration by the admissions committee when reviewing applications. As a result of this fact, the average age of enrollment is around 30, however, ages range from 23 all the way up to 44. Approximately 1% of the currently enrolled students entered the graduate school directly after their undergraduate education, while about 15% of students already have a graduate degree of some sort. UC Irvine's Graduate School of Management is perhaps best known for its heavy emphasis on team projects as well as the blending of case method with practical theoretical applications. The school offers graduate degrees in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), as well as a doctoral program in administration, and a unique joint degree in medicine (MD/MBA) in conjunction with the College of Medicine. There are also cross-registration opportunities as well as foreign exchange programs in 8 countries. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of information technology, marketing, finance, as well as information technology management.

Admission to UC Irvine's Graduate School of Management is extremely competitive among those who apply; last year, over 1,135 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 480 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 265 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.3, and an average GMAT score of about 681. The admissions committee requires all applicants to have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.0, as well as a minimum GMAT score of at least 550. Students are able to begin their graduate course work in either the fall or the spring, and students are notified of their admission status on a rolling basis.

The Graduate School of Management at UC Irvine has 44 full-time faculty members, all of whom hold a doctorate degree. The school is also home to 32 part-time faculty members, of whom 41% hold a doctorate. The average graduate business class usually has no more than 55 students, and most faculty teach an average of 4 courses at any given time.

Placement Services

The Graduate School of Management has rather extensive placement services available to both current students and alumni for an unlimited amount of time after receiving their degree. Last year, 35 companies recruited actively on campus, 90% of which were national corporations. The majors most in demand by these companies included finance, marketing, as well as consulting. The average starting salary of last year's graduating class was around $70,000, however, it ranged from $30,000 to $110,000. Additionally, more than 70% of the most recent graduates were able to find jobs within three months of receiving their degrees.

What's Good

"The career development office is excellent when it comes to honing in on your best skills and polishing up your resume."

"The professors all have tons of experience in the actual business world, so you know they aren't just spouting out theories and dogma."

"The area surrounding campus has a lot of business that you are able to intern with. It makes things a lot simpler."

What's Bad

"A lot of the classes are too big for my taste. It can be difficult to have any cohesive discussions."

"There are some professors that are so busy teaching other classes that it can be tricky to get a hold of them outside of class."

"The administration is quite bureaucratic and it's hard to get solid answers."

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