mba - duke insider

7/22/2019 MBA - Duke Insider

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Insiders Guide to thFuqua School of Busines

Duke Universit

Durham, NC

2011-201


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Since Ambassadorial Speechwriter and MBA Jeremy Shinewald founded mbaMission in 1999, we have worked

closely with business school candidates from around the world, successfully guiding them through the entire

admissions process (from start to finish) and ensuring that each of their unique attributes is showcased in acreative, compelling and focused way. We are published authors with elite MBA experience who work one-

on-one with clients to discover, select and articulate the unique stories that will force admissions committees

to take notice. We work on all aspects of the application process, helping to reduce candidates stress levels

and maximize applicants chances of gaining admission to top American and international business schools.

mbaMission offers all candidates a free half-hour consultation (www.mbamission.com/consult.php).

About mbaMission


4/924 Insiders Guide to the Fuqua School of Business - mbaMission Inc .

After more than a decade of helping hundreds of MBA applicants get into top American and internation

business schools, we have learned a thing or two about what it takes to compel an admissions committee to se

that coveted letter of acceptance. While we always work closely and meticulously with our clients to ensutheir unique stories and qualities shine through in their applications, some of our advice boils down to k

fundamentals: approach each essay with a brainstorming session, draft an outline, make personal statements tru

personal, tailor your resume to the admissions committees needs, approach your recommenders strategica

and prepare extensively for your interviews. Now, via this e-book, we offer you our thoughts on these subje

so that you too can begin your journey toward the MBA of your dreams.

Many applicants are terrified at the prospect of applying to business school, and some approach the applicati

process in a haphazard and ill-advised manner. As a result, the process often becomes extremely stressful, a

results can be disappointing. We truly believe that with some basic organization, a simple strategy and helpprofessional guidance, applying to business school can actually be enjoyable and rewarding, not to mentio

successful!

We encourage you to visit our Web site, www.mbamission.com, which includes complete and detailed analy

of all the top American and international business schools essay questions, as well as a free weekly essa

writing tip. Explore our blog frequently, as we are constantly updating it and adding new, free resources.

Of course, the information in this guide and the analysis and tips on our site are no substitute for working w

a dedicated mbaMission professional. Each MBA candidate is unique. We all have distinct personal storiestell, and we all face challenges in telling them. mbaMission consultants are specifically trained to ensure th

you tell your stories in the most interesting and compelling wayand that you take advantage of even t

tiniest opportunity that might help you gain admission to your ideal MBA program.

We hope you enjoy this guide. If you need any advice at all with respect to any element of applying to busine

school, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

Jeremy [email protected]

www.mbamission.com

646-485-8844

Skype: mbaMission

Introduction



Te following g uides are also available from mbaMission (online at www.mbamission.com/store.php),

and more are being added regularly:

mbaMission Complete Start-to-Finish Admissions Guide

mbaMission Brainstorming Guide

mbaMission Essay Writing Guide

mbaMission Interview Guide

mbaMission Letters of Recommendation Guide

mbaMission Long-Term Planning Guide

mbaMission Optional Statement Guide

mbaMission Personal Statement Guide

mbaMission Resume GuidembaMission Waitlist Guide

mbaMission Insiders Guide to Columbia Business School

mbaMission Insiders Guide to Duke Universitys Fuqua School of Business

mbaMission Insiders Guide to Harvard Business School

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

mbaMission Insiders Guide to MIT Sloan School of Management

mbaMission Insiders Guide to New York Universitys Leonard N. Stern School of Business

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the Stanford Graduate School of BusinessmbaMission Insiders Guide to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the UCLA Anderson School of Management

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the University of Virginias Darden School of Business Administration

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

mbaMission Insiders Guide to the Yale School of Management



7 Te MBA Program in Context: Choosing Fuqua8 Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town

12 Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger16 Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core

22 Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method26 Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers30 Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage33 Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience35 Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?

Te Fuqua School of Business

39 Summary43 Professional Specializations43 Consulting46 Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital48 Finance51 General Management and Operations52 Health Care56 International Business59 Marketing

62 Real Estate63 Social Sector66 Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes68 What Is the Admissions Committee Saying?71 Social/Community Life74 mbaMissions Exclusive Interview with Duke Universitys Fuqua School of Business

Associate Dean for Admissions Liz Riley Hargrove

Appendix: Fuqua Facts and Figures

82 Basics82 Admissions (Class of 2012)83 Employment Statistics (Class of 2010)85 Academics

88 Bibliography

Table of Contents



Over the years, we have met many aspiring MBA students who have tried to identify their target schools and

quickly become overwhelmed, wondering, What are the differences between the top MBA programs? and

How do I choose the one that is right for me?

Frustrated, many applicants short-circuit the process and choose schools based simply on rankings or the

opinions of friends or alumni. Although rankings and alumni opinion have a place in your evaluative process,

you should do all the necessary research to identify the program that best fits your personality. In doing

so, you will find significant differences between the University of Californias Haas School of Business

in Berkeley, California, with its 240 students per class, and Harvard Business School (HBS) in Boston,Massachusetts, with its more than 900 students per class. As you are undoubtedly already aware, an MBA

is a huge investment in the short term and a lifetime connection to an institution in the long term. So we

strongly encourage you to take the time now to profoundly contemplate this decision and thoroughly consider

your options. We hope this guide will prove helpful to you in doing just that.

At mbaMission, we advise candidates to consider the following eight specific characteristics (in no particular

order) that shape MBA programs when evaluating their potential target schools:

1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger

3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core

4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method

5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers

6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage

7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience

8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?

You wil l not likely find a single MBA program that meets allof your needs and preferences across the eightcriteria listed here, but you might identify the factors that are most important to you and then screen for

programs that match these specific criteria. Although this guide is intended to help you identify your target

schools, nothing will prove more valuable in your decision making than visiting the schools that appeal to you

and experiencing them firsthand. Inevitably, even after you have conducted your research, some schools will

e MBA Program in Context:

Choosing Fuqua



simply click with you and others wont. So, collecting information about programs using tools such as th

guide is an important step, but should not serve as the sole basis for your final decision.

Note: Te authors at mbaMission have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the informati

included in this guide. However, some discrepancies may exist or develop over time between what is presented he

and what appears in the schools official materials, as well as what may be offered by other content providers

print or online. Te opinions expressed by the people interviewed are those of the attributed individuals and may n

necessarily represent the opinion of mbaMission or its affiliates.

We also wish to thank the students, alumni, faculty members, and administrators who gave generously of their time

provide valuable insight for this guide.

1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College own

MBA programs can be quite intense, and at times, students can feel as though they live at the busine

school, yet the environment and community surrounding the school can still profoundly affect and ev

shape students MBA experience. For example, imagine yourself stepping out of a class at New Yo

Universitys (NYUs) Stern School of Business and finding yourself caught up in the energetic bustle of N

York Citys West Village. Now imagine yourself walking outside after a course at the Tuck School of Busine

at Dartmouth and finding yourself surrounded by the tranquility and natural beauty of New HampshirUpper Valley. Neither scenario is necessarily better than the other, but one may speak to you more.

Urban Campus Schools Urban/College HybridSchools

College own Schools

Chicago Booth

Columbia Business School

Harvard Business School

MIT Sloan

NYU Stern

UCLA AndersonUPenn Wharton

Northwestern Kellogg

Stanford GSB

UC-Berkeley Haas

Yale SOM

Dartmouth Tuck

Duke Fuqua

Michigan Ross

UVA Darden

An urban campus can undoubtedly offer students social and cultural opportunities that a college town simp

cannot match. is is not to suggest, however, that college towns are devoid of cultureindeed, inten



intellectual and cultura l programs exist in college townsprecisely becausethe academic institution is at the core

of the communitybut, for example, Ann Arbor (home of Michigan Ross) clearly cannot offer the scale of

opportunities that a cultural capital like Los Angeles (home of UCLA-Anderson) can.

Still, proponents of college towns will argue that students make trade-offs when they choose an urban

campus, where distractions abound and can even, in some cases, undermine a sense of MBA community.

Quite often, students at business schools that are located in college towns live very close to campus (or even

oncampus, as in the case of Tuck), and the school grounds are truly the focal point of students academic and

social lives. In these college towns, many students tend to work and play with classmates exclusively and

thus have few social relationships outside their class.

While college towns tout their intimacy and the tight bonds classmates form in such a setting, thisenvironment can be welcoming for some students and overwhelming for others. In contrast, urban campuses

are more decentralized, with students often living all over a city and even in surrounding suburbs. Someone

who has a greater need for privacy might therefore find this environment more appealing. In addition, in

major urban centers, many studentsparticularly those who lived in the city before enrolling in business

schoolmay already have well-developed social groups, and this scenario may again be better for those who

find an academically and socially al l-encompassing environment less attractive.

One aspect of the MBA experience that students often overlook is weather. Although factoring such an element

into your MBA school decision may initially seem superficial, if you know you cannot comfortably manage atough winter or a particularly hot summer, certain schools should be stricken from your list. You may scoff at

this idea, but we encounter many candidates each year who wisely stave off a potentially miserable experience

by choosing to not apply to certain schools in locations that they just do not feel are livable for them.

In summary, for some, the intimacy of a college town can be appealing in that it creates strong bonds, whereas

for others, it can be overwhelming because it can undermine privacy. Furthermore, for some, a slower pace

of life is calming, whereas for others, the beat of the city is a necessity. If you strongly prefer one or the other,

you should be able to quick ly eliminate certain schools from your list.

Durham, North Carolina, where Duke Universitys Fuqua School of Business is located, is

generally not considered a large metropolis, but it likewise is not a town that exists only because of

the school. Dukes presence is felt throughout Durham, primarily because of the number of people

it employs, its status for basketball, and its reputation for being one of the worlds major universities

for undergraduate and graduate programs. Te cities of Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh


10/9210 Insiders Guide to the Fuqua School of Business - mbaMission Inc.

together make up an area known as the riangle, which boasts one of the highest concentratio

of PhDs in the United States and offers many cultural offerings, such as concerts and opera, danc

and theater productions, as well as numerous restaurants.

One second-year student from Philadelphia commented to mbaMission, I want a nice meal every

often, and Durhams a good place for that. A first-year student we interviewed added, I apprecia

not being in a huge city with tons of distractions. In addition to college sports through Duk

the University of North Carolina (UNC), and North Carolina State University, area residents ca

enjoy Carolina Hurricanes hockey in Raleigh, Carolina Panthers football in Charlotte (two hou

away), and minor league baseball with the Durham Bulls, the namesake of the 1988 movie B

Durham, starring Kevin Costner.

From a recruiting perspective, IBM and GlaxoSmithKline are located in nearby Research riangPark (RP). Both firms have hired Fuqua students, nicknamed Fuquans, for full-time role

including international students. Biogen Idec and Fidelity Investments, also located in RP, ha

also recruited at Fuqua. At the time of this writing, according to rtp.org, RP includes more tha

170 companies and, according to the Durham Chamber of Commerces Web site, is the largest an

most successful planned research park in the United States.

Durham is located in the middle of North Carolina and is considered part of the Mid-Atlant

region, just a day-trip away from the Great Smoky Mountains and the Outer Banks. One alumn

with whom we spoke remarked that she never felt like she was too far Down South or in the middof nowhere. According to Weather.com, the citys average high/low temperatures in Janua

and July are 49F/28F and 89F/70F, respectively. Te temperate weather may contribute to th

regions outdoorsy lifestyle, to borrow a phrase from a first year we interviewed. One alumnu

told mbaMission, Te areas really into health, running, hiking, and of course, golfare all ve

vibrant in Durham. In fact, golf was mentioned by numerous people we interviewed. An alumn

also told us, Te riangle is so physically beautifulI really miss it.

Students we interviewed commented that the areas location helps bring people at Fuqua togethe

One second-year student told mbaMission, Most of my classmates moved here specifically attend Fuqua, so [we] were all exploring the region together for the first time ... and few of us ha

colleagues and friends before getting here, so were all there together. He added that this p

everyone on a fairly equal footing and, as a result, We bonded more. Noted another second year w

interviewed, I think geography and [having] Wednesdays off both contribute to the cohesivene

in a big way, suggesting that if students had Fridays off rather than Wednesdays, many mo


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students would likely travel over the weekendthis way, students stay on campus instead and end

up spending more time together. Another second year added, Everyone gets to know one another

better than [they could] ... in a large metro area.

According to a second year with whom mbaMission spoke, roughly 80% of Fuqua students live

in one of two apartment complexesAlexan Place and Station Nineand the students in these

complexes are evenly divided between the two. He noted a definite demographic split between the

two residences, in that students who choose to live in Station Nine are generally single and from the

United States, whereas Alexan Place residents are typically married, in committed relationships,

and/or are international. International students reportedly also tend to prefer the apartment

complex Pinnacle Ridge. All of these complexes are independent of Duke University and are

located within four miles of the business school. All have ample parking and impressive amenities,

such as pools, 24-hour health clubs, laundry rooms/laundry machines, and club houses. Studentsoften live in the same complex for both years of the MBA program.

Of these complexes, Station Nine is considered a little more upscale, having been built more

recently than Pinnacle and Alexan Place. Station Nine, which opened in 2004, has 323 units, a

bar, a restaurant, and even a spa right in the complex. Pinnacle Ridge, on the other hand, is nearly

20 years old, though it still has such amenities as a pool, tennis court, club house, and many units

with terraces; it is 2.8 miles from Fuqua and has 350 units. Based on mbaMissions research for this

guide, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the area is approximately $760 per month.

Students we interviewed commented that many specials on rents are available, especially over BlueDevil Weekend, the welcome weekend for admitted Fuqua students in early April.

Students we interviewed cited Pinnacle Ridge as housing a higher number of international Fuqua

students because of its lower rents. Because none of the primary apartment complexes we have

mentioned here have many apartments larger than two or three bedrooms, many students with

families reportedly choose to live in houses near campus instead. According to one online property

rental Web site (MyNewPlace.com), the average rent in Durham for a three-bedroom apartment is

$1,086 per month.

According to those we interv iewed for this guide, living in the same apartment complexes can help

with team projects but also serves a social purpose. Noted one alumna, Its easier to be social if you

can walk to parties. It also allows students to mix more with people from outside Fuqua, especially

those from Dukes other renowned graduate programs. Some undergraduates also live in Station

Nine, but most opt for on-campus housing provided by Duke.



Some students we interviewed mentioned safety when talking about Durham, referencing crim

rates (e.g., muggings) in certain pockets of the city. An alumnus we interviewed said, I wouldn

want my wife walking around downtown Durham alone at night, but thats far away from where wnormally go anyway. For the most part, students exercise the same caution they would in any cit

informing themselves about the areas of town that are not generally considered as safe.

Students go out to eat and to bars in Durham and also in nearby Chapel Hill, about 20 minut

away, home of UNC. Here, bars, clubs, and restaurants are largely located on or near the main dr

of Franklin Street. Raleigh, 31 miles away, offers more of a young professionals scene, accordin

to one second year we interviewed. Most every Fuqua student has a carample parking is availab

for students within a five-minute walk of the Fuqua campusand people often carpool when goi

out at night. Also, the Fuqua MBA Association (MBAA) charters buses for many of the schooannual balls and parties (see the Social/Community Life section).

2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger

Another element that affects the broader environment of a schools MBA program is class size. Indeed

240-person class at UC Berkeley Haas offers a very different experience than does a 415-person class at N

York Universitys Stern School of Business or a 900-person class at HBS. You might want to reflect on yo

high school, college, and work environments to help you determine whether you would feel more comfortabin a large class or a small one, or whether this is even a factor for you at all.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000


UPenn Wharton


Chicago Booth


Michigan Ross

Duke Fuqua

NYU Stern

Stanford GSB

UCLA Anderson

UVA Darden

MIT Sloan

Dartmouth Tuck

UC-Berkeley Haas

Yale SOM



Students at smaller schools (which we define as having approximately 350 students or fewer per class) tend

to interact with almost all their peers and professors during the typical two-year MBA period. erefore,

the smaller schools are generally considered more knowable, and their communities tend to be quite closelyknit. Also, consider that assuming a leadership position is easier in a smaller environment, because, for

example, the Finance Club may have only one president at both a 240-person-class school and a 900-person-

class school, but obviously the competition for such a position would be greater in the larger program.

Again, for some, a tight-knit community may be overwhelming, and such students might prefer to be at a

larger school where they have the option of maintaining their anonymity if they so choose. A student at a

school with a 900-person class will not likely get to know each and every one of his/her classmates by the end

of the program, and some might prefer this. Further, advocates of larger classes tout the advantage of being

able to interact with more people during ones MBA experienceand to thereby develop a broader networkof peers. Note that many schools, both large and smal l, divide students into sections, clusters, or cohorts,

in which approximately 6090 students take a number of classes together, and this approach can help foster

a stronger sense of community within the larger programs.

School Students per

Section

Comments

Chicago Booth No Sections Sections exist for only one class (LEAD); different

mix of students in each class

Columbia Business School 65 All first-year core classes are taken with the section

(except waived courses); no sections in second year

Dartmouth Tuck 70 All core classes taken with the section; sections

shuffled after the midyear break and again in the

spring

Duke Fuqua 70 All core classes are taken within the section

Harvard Business School 90 All classes are taken with the section in the first year;

no sections in second year

Michigan Ross 80 All core classes (except waived courses) are taken with

section

MIT Sloan 60 Students are placed in cohorts, which stay together for

all first-semester core courses


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One early culture-forming experience for sections is New Student Orientation, which is both

practical, in that it addresses the topics of time management and financial aid, and fun, featuring

scavenger hunts and an 80s dance party. Many orientation activities are grouped by section, andthe weeks events ultimately culminate in the Section Olympics, a series of competitive events

such as three-legged races, egg-carrying races, and a dance contest a second year described to us

as one of the most fun and silly things we did for the first couple months. (Te winning section

earns a few hundred dollars toward its social budget.) Students often continue to identify with their

section even after they complete the core curriculum. One alumna with whom we spoke referred

to the many dinners, movies, barbeques, wine tastings, and intramural sports events her sections

Social Committee organized throughout her Fuqua experience.

Fuqua does not have classes on Wednesday, and students we interviewed for this guide explainedhow important this midweek day off is to Fuquas culture and community. According to one second

year, if students free day were Friday rather than Wednesday, a lot of people would leave town.

Because students instead tend to stay near campus on the weekends, she reasoned, they are more

involved in school-related parties and events and thus get to know one another better. Added an

alumna with whom we spoke, We live here, we work here, we play with each other. Its a home

versus a place to camp out Monday through Tursday. Another alumna felt that the unity among

students at Fuqua was stronger than that at many other leading MBA programs, referencing her

spouses experience at another top school as evidence. As for how the midweek break relates to more

academic pursuits on campus, one second-year student told mbaMission, A class-free Wednesdayalso splits the week in two, which gives me a bit of breathing room for scheduling team meetings.

Students we interviewed also noted that this schedule works well for the myriad student-run

conferences, case competitions, and individual projects that take place throughout the year at

Fuqua and that are usually held on Wednesdays. A member of the Fuqua administration with

whom we spoke commented, Given how student run the school is and the short, six-week academic

terms, Wednesday becomes a critical time [for students] to get caught up on academics, recruiting,

and [leadership initiatives]. We did encounter some students who did not like Wednesdays off,

however. One alumna noted that it is hard[er] to bring in keynote speakers on a Wednesday [thanon a Friday], and the break also affects recruiting, especially in consulting (see the Consulting

section under Professional Specializations).


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ultimately suffer. A significant body of academic writing has been devoted to critiquing programs that give

students a narrow view of business, notably Henry Mintzbergs Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the

Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development(Berrett-Koehler, 2004) and Rakesh Khuranas FromHigher Aims to Hired Hands: Te Social ransformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of

Management as a Profession(Princeton University Press, 2007).

Further, proponents of a core curriculum would also argue that having all students take the same classes

creates a common language and discussion among the classmates, because, for example, the students can

share the experience of the days case. In addition, advocates contend that a rigid core curriculum facilitates

student learning, because students who have applicable experience bring their knowledge to the classroom

and can thereby help teach others. Finally, schools with rigid cores generally keep students together in their

sections each day, and students who interact every day for a semester or longer forge strong bondsthis canquickly create a sense of community among the students.

In contrast, advocates of a flexible curriculum model feel that students benefit from the opportunity to

specialize immediatelythat time is short and students need power and choice. So if, for example, a student

were determined to enter the world of finance, an advocate of flexibility would argue that the student should

be able to study finance in depth throughout the MBA program, possibly even from day one, so as to gain

as much experience as possible in this areaand especially before interviewing for a summer internship.

Furthermore, advocates for flexible curricula caution that experienced students could end up wasting hours

taking courses in subjects in which they already have expertise. Finally, they would argue that a flexibleschedule allows students the opportunity to meet a greater number and wider variety of their classmates,

though such interactions would be less consistent and less likely to result in strong, long-lasting relationships.

School Core/All Classes

Waive CoreCourses?

Comments

Chicago Booth 33% Yes Students have tremendous choice

in fulfilling requirements as part of

broad core curriculum; have only one

mandatory class

Columbia Business School 40% Yes Two full courses and 12 half

courses make up a flexible core

that dominates first year (three FY

electives); second year is al l electives



School Core/All Classes

Waive CoreCourses?

Comments

Dartmouth Tuck 49% Yes Students take 15 core courses andcomplete the mandatory First Year

Project. Two core courses can be

waived.

Duke Fuqua 44% Yes Students complete most core

requirements in Fall 1 and Fall 2 and

can take electives as early as Spring 1

of first year (or earlier if they have been

exempted from a course)

Harvard Business School 50% No All of the first-year curriculum is

required, no exceptions

Michigan Ross 49% Yes Nine of 11 core courses can be waived;

if a student waives a core class, he/she

can choose any elective to replace that

course

MIT Sloan 25% No Six core classes taken in first semester;

the remaining classes are electives

Northwestern Kellogg 37% Yes Nine core courses; if introductory level

course is waived, student must take a

higher-level course in the same subjectarea

NYU Stern 43% Yes Four mandatory core courses; students

then choose five to seven flexible core

courses; with the exception of one

course, second year is all electives

Stanford GSB 47% No Students must take 19 required courses

in first year plus complete a Global

Experience Requirement; second year

is all electives

UC-Berkeley Haas 40% Yes Twelve core courses taken in the first

year; students may waive courses at the

discretion of the professor and must

replace waived courses with electives



UCLA Anderson 40% Yes Ten first-year core courses and three

electives; in second year, al l students

must conduct a two-quarter Applied

Management Research project

UPenn Wharton 47% Yes Students are required to take 19 credits

(may take up to 21), nine of which are

core courses

UVA Darden 43% No Students take core courses until the

final quarter of first year, when they

take three electives; second year is all

electives

Yale SOM 45% No Students take 19 required core courses

and can take four units of electivesin the first year; second year is al l

electives

Te first year for incoming students at Fuqua begins with five weeks of mandatory courses that

students take between New Student Orientation and the first term of the first year. Te academic

year is then divided into four terms, each six weeks long, called Fall 1, Fall 2, Spring 1, and Spr ing

2though we learned in our research that students often refer to these periods as simply erms 1,

2, 3, and 4.

During the initial five weeks of required classes, all new students must take part in New Student

Orientation, which is immediately followed by the three-week Global Institute. According to the

Fuqua Web site, the institute begins the process of helping [each student] become a collaborative

leader with a deep understanding of the multifaceted global business environment, and consists

of two classes: Leadership, Ethics and Organizations (LEO) and Global Institutions and

Environments (GIE).

In 2007, Fuqua overhauled its academic experience and core curriculum, and the Global Institute

was one of the biggest first-year changes, according to a member of the administration weinterviewed, who described GIE as a qualitative coursean introduction to how U.S. business

operates overseas and how foreign companies operate in [their] homelands. Te course might

cover accounting differences between countries, he noted, but is more about the business climate

than actual accounting standards. LEO, meanwhile, starts students thinking like leaders of



consequence, a favorite topic of [Dean Blair] Sheppards. Leadership not just in careers, but

Fuqua, too. Tis administrator also commented that the Global Institute gives internation

students a chance to take the lead early on in the year, given that students from outside the UnitStates are sometimes tentative in many ways as they acclimate to the new culture here.

Students next take part in the Integrated Learning Experience (ILE), which features team

building activities, such as a ropes course and a project with a local Habitat for Humanity chapte

Te administration groups students into ILE teams of four to six students each, such that t

teams are ultimately diverse, based on gender, nationality, language proficiency, and profession

background. Before classes begin, second-year students also participate in a three-day ILE and

one-day reorientation.

However, some incoming students arrive on campus even earlier, during the summer before the

first year, to take any of several optional courses offered to help new students prepare for the MB

program. Tese courses include the Language Institute (which addresses cultural norms in th

United States and is therefore intended primarily for international students), Math Camp, an

Health Sector Management Bootcamp (discussed in more detail in the Health Care section und

Professional Specializations). Fuqua also hosts a two-day kickoff event for students participatin

in the Program for Entrepreneurs (discussed in more detail in the Entrepreneurship, Priva

Equity, and Venture Capital section under Professional Specializations) in July, designed to he

entrepreneurially minded students with the process of forming start-up teams. Other incominstudents come early just to get settled and to get to know people and the area, explained a firs

year student we interv iewed.

All incoming students must complete Fuquas core curriculum, which includes 11 requir

elements:

Business Computer Applications

Financial Accounting

Foundations of Strategy

Global Financial Management Global Institute (includes Leadership, Ethics, and Organizations and Global

Institutions and Environments)

Management Communication I

Management Communication II



Managerial Economics

Marketing Management

Operations Management Probability and Statistics

Students take most of these courses in the first half of their first yearduring the initial five

weeks before the official start of the first year and in erms 1 and 2 (Fall 1 and 2). Only one course

is required during second yearILE II. In Fall 1, first-year students take Probability and

Statistics, Managerial Economics, Financial Accounting, Management Communication

I, and Business Computer Applications, though students also have the option of completing

Business Computer Applications either online or independently before arriving on campus.

In Fall 2, students typically take Global Financial Management, Marketing Management,Foundations of Strategy, and Management Communication II. Students then take Operations

Management in Spring 1, along with two electives, followed by three electives in Spring 2, giving

students a chance to prepare for their internships.

Although Fuquas core curriculum requirement is not as flexible as that of the Stanford GSB or

Chicago Booth, for example, it is not as extensive as that of HBS. As mentioned earlier, beginning

with the Class of 20 09, Fuqua made some changes to its core curriculum and the overal l academic

experience, eliminating a number of classes from the core to allow first-year students to take more

electives and adding the Global Institute. One second-year student told mbaMission that he felthe had a distinct advantage over fellow interns from other schools because he had been able to

choose electives for five of his six classes in the second half of his first year, which allowed him to

better prepare for his summer internship. Similarly, a second-year student wrote on her blog, It

is definitely great to have the flexibility as a second year to pick all of your classes for the year. I

appreciate the foundation that Fuquas core classes provided me, but it is very nice to design your

own schedule for this year.

Several students we interviewed for this guide mentioned that the professors who teach the core

curriculum classes are excellent. Said one second-year student, At many schools I visited, inhearing about professors for the core, there was often a strong professor and one you really didnt

want. At Fuqua, you never hear that someone sucks or that Its too bad we didnt get the other guy.



With four six-week terms in each academic year, the time apparently passes quickly. One secon

year commented that the pace of the year is fast and furious, adding, I like quick terms, becau

if the topics not as interesting, its over quickly, but if I like it, I can always take an elective it. Overall, I get exposed to more topics with shorter terms. Students generally take only thr

classes at a time, as opposed to five at many other programs that instead have just two semeste

per year. Some students told us that Fuquas term structure allows them to more easily schedu

meetings with their team membersfewer classes usually means fewer teams to juggle. On th

other hand, however, a second-year student told mbaMission that so many deadlines and projec

in quick succession makes scheduling just as hard, because we seem to have quizzes, midterms, an

projects due constantly.

Students with whom we spoke reported that when they are signing up for courses, they generally gthe electives they want, and a second-year student noted that the administration does a pretty goo

job of increasing class size or adding sections when a course gets popular. He added, though, th

there are always more courses I want to take than what I have time for. o register for elective

students rank classes online.

Exempting (or waiving) a core course can take one of two forms at Fuquaadministrative and

examinationand these can vary from course to course. For example, Probability and Statistic

can be exempted only by exam, whereas the core Foundations of Strategy course can be waive

only via administrative approval (which is based on prior coursework), for which a student muappeal to the relevant department. Te exemption exams are offered at the beginning of ea

semester. Exemption from a course does not reduce the total number of credits needed to comple

the MBA degree, however. Tose students who exempt out of a course in Fall 1 can take a differe

core class earlier (typically Marketing Management or Global Financial Management) in i

place. Students who waive a course in either Fall 1 or 2 can instead take an elective in Fall 2.

4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method

Students will likely encounter many different styles of learning during their time at business school, includi

participating in simulations, listening to guest speakers, and partak ing in hands-on consulting projects, b

the two most typical everyday learning styles are case method and lecture.



School % Case Study % Lecture % Experiential Learning/eam Projects/Other

Chicago Booth* N.A. N.A. N.A.

Columbia Business School 40% 40% 20%

Dartmouth Tuck 50% 23% 27%

Duke Fuqua 33% 33% 34%

Harvard Business School** 100% 0% 0%

Michigan Ross 25% 20% 55%

MIT Sloan 33% 33% 33%

Northwestern Kellogg 30% 30% 40%

NYU Stern 25% 20% 55%

Stanford GSB 40% 20% 40%

UC-Berkeley Haas 50% 20% 30%

UCLA Anderson 30% 40% 30%

UPenn Wharton 35% 30% 35%

UVA Darden** 100% 0% 0%

Yale SOM 40% 40% 20%

* Schools report such a degree of variation from class to class that they cannot define percentages.

** Overwhelmingly case method; other projects exist but are not statistically significant.

Note: Schools often report different data to different sources; conflicts may exist.

N.A. = Not available.

What exactly is the case method or case-based learning? Pioneered by HBS, case-based learning requires studentsto read the story (called a case) of an either hypothetical or real protagonist who is facing a managerial dilemma.

As the student reads, he/she explores the protagonists dilemma and is provided with various quantitative and

qualitative data points that will facilitate further analysis. After reading the entire case, the student typically

understands the profundity of the problem and is often asked a simple question: What would you do? In other



words, how would the student act or react if he/she were in the protagonists place? (Cases can vary in length b

are typically 1020 pages long.)

After completing his/her analysis using the facts provided about the case, the student typically meets with t

members of his/her study group or learning team, and together the group/team members explore and critique o

anothers ideas and teach those who may not have been able to progress as far on their own. Often, though n

always, the team will establish a consensus with regard to the actions they would take in the protagonists plac

en, in class, the professor acts as facilitator and starts a debate on the case that he/she will steer througho

the classroom session. Class discussions can often become quite vigorous, and the professor will guide the cla

toward resolving the dilemma. At times, though, the professor might introduce the protagonists actual decisio

and the subsequent resultsor may even bring the protagonist into the classroom to discuss the process an

outcomes in person.

In short, the case method places the analytica l process at the forefront, emphasizing that the problems present

have no clear-cut right or wrong answers. For a student to disagree with the protagonists chosen pathev

after it has proved to be successfulis not unusual. After all, another approach (or even inaction) may ha

produced an even better result.

Note that case-based learning is not specific to one academic discipline. Cases are available in finance, strateg

operations, accounting, marketing, and still other areas. Further, many cases are interdisciplinary, meaning th

they may address more than one skill area at a time, such as requiring students to think about how a financdecision might affect the operations of a manufacturing company, or the ways in which a marketing decisio

may involve significant financial considerations. Importantly, students in case environments are often grad

on their contribution to the class discussion (measured by the level of ones participation in discussions an

analysis, not on the frequency with which one offers correct answers), so the case method is not for those w

are uncomfortable speaking in classthough it can be incredibly helpful for those who want or need to practi

and build confidence speaking publicly.

Lecture is the method of learning that is familiar to mostthe professor stands in front of the class and explor

a theory or event, facilitating discussion and emphasizing key learning points. Often, students have read chaptof a textbook beforehand and have come to class with a foundation in the specific area that will be explored th

day. Although the case method gives students a context for a problem, many of those who favor lecture believ

that the case method is too situation specific and prefer a methodical exploration of theory that they feel can

broadly applied across situations. In lecture classes, the professor and his/her research or theory are technica

paramount, but students still participate, challenge ideas, and debate issues.



Note that at some schools, professors may alternate between cases and lectures within a single semester of classes.

Bloomberg Businessweek s profile of Fuqua cites a teaching-methods breakdown of 33% case study,33% lecture, 24% team projects, and 5% each for experiential learning and simulations. Students

told mbaMission that all methods are indeed used to varying degrees and that professors often

incorporate several methods simultaneously. Although cases are used in approximately one-third

of classes, students we interviewed remarked that professors vary in terms of how strictly they rely

on cases as a learning tool. One alumnus commented that at times, [cases are] merely used as a

reference to prove a point, and at others, the experience of exploring a case throughout the class is

the primary vehicle.

Professors also vary in how much they cold-call. One alumnus told mbaMission, Few professorsare committed to cold-calling, adding that, in his opinion, students who were eager to speak often

got more air time than those who were hesitant to do so. A second year with whom we spoke felt

that Fuquas collaborative culture hindered students from criticizing their classmates comments

too strongly: Few people would argue that a thick skin is requisite for a career in business, and that

a healthy difference of opinion can only be good.

In core classes, many assignments are group based, with students nearly always working within

the teams created for the ILE early in the first year. One alumnus told mbaMission, Ones ILE

team has a humongous effect on the academic experience in the first few terms, adding that theteam experience serves as a microcosm of the business experience, where you cant choose whom

youre assigned to work with on the job. He referenced team members language ability as having

a significant impact on group dynamics, both when discussing cases and problem sets verbally and

when creating written deliverables for class assig nments.

One simple issue is goals regarding grades, continued this alumnus. One student may be

pursuing consulting [where grades are often revealed], whereas another might want to get a basic

understanding but isnt concerned with getting the highest grade. Whats fair? An administrator

told mbaMission that very few people change ILE teams. For group work in electives, studentsusually form new teams themselves, though professors will occasionally randomly assign them.

Each year, approximately 25 second-year Leadership Fellows are selected and trained by staffers at

the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics and by outgoing Leadership Fellows. Tese

Leadership Fellows coach and guide first years on how to effectively communicate with their ILE


26/92



to consider whether a school meets their academic needs by supplementing the information we present here

with additional context from the target schools career services office and even by connecting with the heads

of certain clubs on campus.

Rather than traditional majors, Fuqua offers areas of concentration, and students can choose to

pursue up to two concentrations or none at all. For each concentration, a student must take six

coursesfour that are primary to the concentration, and two from other study areas to broaden

his/her general business knowledge. According to Fuquas Web site, this structure is unique

among leading business schools. An administrator we interviewed noted that concentrations

help recruiters, as it sends a signal from the students about their interests. Te concentrations

offered are as follows:

Decision Sciences

Energy and Environment

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Finance (both Corporate Finance and Investment Finance are available, as well as a dual

finance concentration)

Financial Analysis

Leadership and Ethics

Management

Marketing (both Market Analysis and Strategy and Product Management are available, aswell as a dual marketing concentration)

Operations Management

Social Entrepreneurship

Strategy

According to Fuquas Career Management Center (CMC), most of the students in the Class of

2010 went into marketing and consulting functions (29% and 28%, respectively), followed by

finance (23%) and general management (13%). Te biggest drops observed versus the Class of

2009 were in consulting and general management, which were 35% and 19%, respectively in 2009.Te percentage of students going into marketing went up in 2010only 22% of the schools 2009

graduates entered this field.



Fuquas Health Sector Management (HSM) program appears to influence the schools recruitin

balance. One second-year student told mbaMission she felt that HSM alone may have generated

many as 100 internship offers (nearly 25% of the first-year class) in 2009, though she also believthe school was pretty balanced among popular fields pursued by business school students.

Fuqua alumni from all industries and numerous companies visit the campus each year and gi

mock interviews, which are usually organized by the schools various clubs. A second year to

mbaMission, Good teams at all the firms are dedicated to hiring people from Fuqua. Te to

employers for full-time positions for the Class of 2010 and the numbers hired are as follows:

Deloitte Consulting: 18

Johnson & Johnson: 12 Bank of America: 11

Apple, Inc: 8

Accenture, LLP: 8

McKinsey & Company: 7

Procter & Gamble: 7

Walmart Stores, Inc.: 6

Microsoft Corporation: 5

Samsung: 5

Dell, Inc: 5

Fuquas Master of Management Studies (MMS) in Foundations of Business degree program

launched in 2009, has added a few new angles to the schools recruiting scene. (See the Summa

section for more detail.) First, companies that might not have come to recruit at Fuqua otherwise c

now select from a pool of candidates for more junior jobs, in addition to MBA candidates, makin

recruiting trips more productive. One second year we interviewed said that the M MS program ge

more commitment from the recruitersit makes it more worth the trip to come here.

In addition, Fuqua first years have the opportunity to assist MMS candidateswho are primarirecent graduates of undergraduate or other (non-MBA) graduate programs who lack prior busine

trainingwith their job searches. Te MMS students will usually be moving into jobs recent

vacated by Fuqua first years in the first place, noted a second year with whom we spoke. Added

first-year student we interviewed, Many MBAs exit jobs that the MMS [students] want and ca

mentor them in applying and succeeding at them.



Fuqua offers six dual-degree programs in conjunction with five other graduate programs (see the

Appendix for full list). Te JD/MBA (offered with the Duke Universit y School of Law), MD/ MBA

(with the Duke University School of Medicine), and Master of Environmental Management/MBA(offered with the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences) are the most popular,

according to an administrator we interviewed. All dual-degree programs entail separate admittance

into the respective graduate programs and have slightly shortened curr icula so that the student can

finish both degrees in less time than if he/she completed the two programs one after the other.

Fuquas CMC coordinates all official company presentations, though student representatives often

assist in the process, which also allows these students more exposure to the visiting executives

and a chance to express firsthand their interest in the participating firm. One second year told

mbaMission, I was glad to host Krafts company presentation, as it showed them how interestedI was in working with them, and it probably helped me get my internship. Approximately 6065

second years ser ve as Career Fellowsselected by CMC sta ff members and outgoing Career Fellows

from the roughly 100 applicants for the position each yearand are paid to assist first-year students

with resume and cover letter preparation, mock interv iews and general job-search-related advice.

A number of Fuquas career-oriented clubs organize half-day symposia each year, typically in

September, that are designed to educate first-year students about possible career paths. Tese

events generally feature a range of keynote speakers, lectures, case presentations, and question-

and-answer sessions about job functions, career tracks, specific companies, and the like. Manyclubs also engage second-year students and alumni to assist first years with internship preparation,

and some even organize panels for internship postmortems, wherein second years who just

completed their summer internship speak to fellow students about the experience. One alumna

told mbaMission, eam Fuqua is in ful l effect here ... students help one another quite a bit, which

I dont think happens as much in less-collaborative environments.

In a 2009 interview with mbaMission, Fuquas Associate Dean for Career Management Sheryle

Dirks explained that numerous spring recruiting events are substantial to students job searches,

such as the West Coast Forum, Sustainable Business Career Fair, Carolina Connections MBACareer Fair, Southeastern MBA Schools Interview Forum, International MBA Virtual Career

Fair, and the Duke Just-in-ime Fair. In addition, the CMC launched the Duke MBA Gateway

Initiative during the 20082009 academic year to address hiring cutbacks during the recession that

left second years jobless at graduation. Tis program serves as a kind of internship experience for

graduating second years, in which the hiring company pays the graduate a $600 monthly stipend



($400 for nonprofit organizations). Initiative positions serve as short-term opportunities to brid

the gap until the graduate can find a full-time position, and can sometimes expand to become ful

time roles themselves. Te CMC facilitates the recruitment process for the Gateway Initiative promoting the program to companies and job seekers, and by organizing interviews.

As part of the elective course Mentored Study in Entrepreneurship, taught by Professor Ji

Sheldon, students participate, for course credit, in part-time internships with local start-u

and early stage companies, including venture capital firms, real estate developers, nonpro

organizations, and other entrepreneurial ventures. Such opportunities offered as part of th

academic year appear to be beneficial for Fuqua students in their greater job search. Sheldon to

us, Student feedback, particularly from career switchers, indicates that the internship credenti

is often a critical factor in obtaining job offers [in students field of interest].

6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage

e size and depth of a schools alumni base may be important to you as you seek to break into specific fiel

or certain regions/countries. Some schools have had large classes for many years and can thus boast sizeab

alumni networks, whereas others may have pockets of strength in particular parts of the world or in speci

industriesor can claim a smaller but tighter-knit alumni network overall. For example, Dartmouth Tu

has a smaller absolute number of alumni than most top U.S. schools but has been sa id to have the highest raof annual alumni giving.

Although acquiring a country-specific breakdown of each schools alumni base is sometimes difficult, y

may want to consider whether the school you are targeting has alumni clubs in your chosen professional ar

(i.e., some schools have industry-specific alumni groups) or preferred post-MBA location. Furthermore,

you are determined to live in a particular city/country/region after graduating, then earning your MBA in

near that area, if possible, may be a good idea, so that you can more easily connect with alumni while you a

in school, particularly if you are going to pursue a niche professional area and do not expect to participate

on-grounds recruiting.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that on-grounds recruiting al lows students to more easily find job opportunit

across the United States and around the world. Indeed, major firms want to maintain relationships wi

all top MBA programs and have access to their students. So, for example, Columbia Business School a



Stern are certainly not the only Wall Street feeder schools, just as Haas and Stanford are not the exclusive

feeders for Silicon Valley. Further, technological developments have greatly facilitated outreach, meaning

that alumni are no longer a flight away, but are now just a phone call, email, or even Skype session away.

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000

Yale SOM

Dartmouth Tuck

UVA Darden

Duke FuquaStanford GSB

MIT Sloan

UCLA Anderson

UC-Berkeley Haas


Michigan Ross

Chicago Booth



UPenn Wharton

NYU Stern

Note: Some schools include MBA program graduates only in their alumni total; other schools may also include alumni

from their part-time, executive, doctoral, and/or other programs, so totals may not be directly comparable.

Fuqua has nearly 15,351 living alumni, 9,278 of whom are from the Daytime MBA program. In

addition, Duke University as a whole has roughly 150,000 alumni, according to an administrator atthe Duke Alumni Association office, with whom Fuqua alumni can also network. Of the business

schools 12 international alumni clubs, seven are in Asia, two in Europe, two in Latin America,

and one in the Middle East. wenty-one alumni clubs are based on geography in North America,

and a handful of affinity clubs are also available, such as the Black & Latino MBA Organization,

Fuqua Pride (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered alumni), the INDUS/South Asian

Business Affinity Group, and the Rollins Scholars. Based on our research for this guide, however,

some of these affinity groups appear more active than others. Although mbaMission found various

LinkedIn and Facebook groups of Fuqua alumni organized according to profession, we did not find

evidence of any officially sanctioned alumni groups based on professional specialization, except forDuke Global Entrepreneurship Network, which appears to be incredibly active, organizing start-

up pitch, networking, and other events.



From alumni we interviewed for this guide, we learned that although Fuqua has alumni chapte

around the world, the communication among the groups and individuals is not yet at the level th

some think it should be. Some pretty basic things are missing to make alumni communicatiomuch more effective, observed a graduate we interviewed. One alumnus lamented to mbaMissio

that the school has no alumni-wide mailing list, and that lists organized according to geograph

industry, and special interest are scattered at best. He added, Im sure well eventually have thi

but a list for alumni communications, ideally moderated, would keep us better connected.

Approximately 11% of the schools alumni live outside the United States. Within the countr

Fuqua alumni are distributed geographically as follows:

South: 34.7% Northeast: 19.5%

Mid-Atlantic: 14.0%

West: 13.0%

Midwest: 10.5%

Southwest: 8.1%

Other: 0.17%

As mentioned in the Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus section, alumni often retu

to campus to recruit, make company presentations, and even assist students with mock interviewOne second-year student mbaMission interviewed said, Alumni are very involved in t

recruiting process and work hard to get Fuqua students hired in their companies, adding, It w

my experience that it was very easy to set up a time for informal chats.

Another second year reported that in the recruiting process[, alumni] were phenomenal, especial

the recent consulting alumni. Tey always gave their time, and I never once felt like I was wastin

their time with my questions or case practice ... and I have some contacts that I will likely kee

for a while because of the relationships we were able to form. However, he pointed out that som

students attempts at alumni outreach had been less successful. A number of my friends who wedoing off-campus searches and contacting alumni where they had no connection except Fuqua ha

a tougher time getting responses, he explained, adding, I think Duke could do a much better jo

at getting more of the alumni to promote the Duke MBA. Yet another second-year student w

interviewed estimated that about 60% of alumni would respond to my requests, and half of the

would like to further help.



Fuquas career services offerings continue to be available to Fuquans even after they graduate. In

fact, the CMC has a full-time staff member specifically dedicated to serving alumni and their career

needs. In addition, as the economic crisis took hold, members of the CMC began v isiting select U.S.cities to conduct programs and refreshers on job searching, networking, and career switches.

7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience

When contemplating an MBA program, you should not overlook the schools facilities. In recent years, we

have seen a building boom (an arms race of sorts?) on MBA campuses, as some schools have gotten bigger

and others have unified disparate areas or upgraded existing spaces. Some schools boast on-campus housing

or athletic facilities, others have new green spaces and meeting places, and still others have updated or addedclassrooms, theaters, libraries, and more. A campus visit is always the best way to evaluate firsthand what

a school has to offer, but we nonetheless dedicate this space to a discussion of the facilities available at the

profiled school.

Te Fuqua School of Business is located on Duke University s West Campus near the intersection of

Science Drive and owerview Drive. Students often congregate in the Fox Center, a 70,000 square

foot facility that was built in 2002. Linking the main wings of the school and featuring a caf,

enormous windows, and spacious indoor winter garden, the Fox Center is the hub of the school.

Students can eat breakfast and lunch here, grab a coffee, conduct team meetings, or just take abreather between classes or during the 15-minute break in each class period. Most Fuqua Fridays are

held here (see the Social/Community Life section), as are the larger company information sessions.

Students who wish to work in some exercise usually do so at Card Gym, Duke Universitys primary

gym for graduate and undergraduate students, which is located just a five- to seven-minute walk

from Fuqua grounds. Most students also have gyms in their apartment complexes. Showers are

available at the Fox Center, along with a changing room, which could come in handy in advance of

interviews as well as before or after a workout.

In August 2008, Fuqua opened the 91,400 square foot Doug and Josie Breeden Hall, the new front

door of the School for students and visitors, as it is described in the Fuqua Bulletin (the Bulletin

of Duke University 20102012: Te Fuqua School of Business). Named after former Dean Douglas

Breeden (20012006), the building boasts a three-story atrium, two auditoriums (which seat 126



and 146 people), the expanded Ford Library, three 70-seat lecture rooms, a suite of team rooms, a

a rooftop terrace. All told, Fuquas campus now covers nearly 500,00 0 square feet and boasts 58 tea

rooms, 10 classrooms, and 7 seminar rooms (plus 8 team rooms specifically for MMS students us

Te aforementioned Ford Librar y was also recently improved based on research observatio

of how students actually studywith books, laptops, seating, etc. explained a member of th

administration with whom mbaMission spoke. Here, Fuqua faculty and students can acce

hundreds of academic databases, including over 50 subscription databases from major informati

producers such as Bloomberg, Te Economist, Euromonitor, Factiva, Forrester, Frost & Sulliva

Gartner, Hoovers, Jupiter Research, Lexis-Nexis, Mergent, Morningstar, OneSource, ProQue

Reuters, Standard & Poors, and Tomson, according to theFuqua Bulletin.

Te library also offers 250 print business journals, 1,200 online business journals, 50,000 book

and numerous career search guides, including the Vault Online Career Library and WetFe

Insider Guides, as well as resume books that are compiled each year by the CMC for recruiti

companies and that include most Fuqua students resumes. Members of the Fuqua community c

even choose from approximately 3,000 movies on DVD.

Te Financial Markets Room, located on the lower floor of the Fox Center, contains Daktroni

stock tickers, Bloomberg systems, and a multimedia presentation system for use by clubs an

guest speakers. Fuqua students also have access to all of Duke Universitys resources, includinits extensive library system. According to the Fuqua Bulletin , as of June 2009, Duke Librari

contained approximately 6,100,000 volumes and ranked among the twenty largest academ

libraries in the United States. More than 61,000 serials are received regularly. Te collectio

includes more than 11,000,000 manuscripts, 130,00 0 maps, and 4,300,0 00 microforms.

Te Fuqua complex also includes the R. David Tomas Executive Conference Center, built

1989 and connected to the main Fuqua building by a covered walkway. Named after the found

of Wendys International, Inc., the 112,000 square foot facility has 111 guest rooms, two executiv

suites, meeting and catering space, and a 230-seat dining room.

In 2010, Fuqua customized its HCA classroom with Cisco elePresence technology, givin

students access to professors, business leaders, and guest lecturers located around the globe

according to the schools Web site. Te classroom includes three 103-inch plasma displays, s

1080p cameras, two document cameras on the podium, and 66 custom push-to-talk microphone



8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?

Rankings should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, given that they tend to fluctuate dramaticallyfrom year to year and from publication to publication. For example, if you had relied on the Financial

imes rankings to choose Chicago Booth as your business school in 2007, you probably would have been

disappointed to see the school then slide from 6 in 2007 to 9 in 2008 and then to 11 in 2009. In contrast, if

you had selected Haas in 2004 based on the schools Bloomberg Businessweekranking at the time, you would

have been delighted to see the program rise from 17 in 2004 to 8 in 2006.

Could an MBA programwhich is made up of so many moving partsreally change so much in just one or

two years? Furthermore, how can one reconcile that the Yale SOM is tied for tenth position in the U.S. News

& World Reportrankings and tied for seventh (among U.S. programs) in the Financial Timesrankings, yet doesnot even crack the top 20 in the Bloomberg Businessweekrankingsall at the same time? Of course, the various

rankings should and likely will provide some context for your decision, but resist the temptation to choose a

school based on rankings alone, because rankings may ultimately betray you, possibly even before you graduate.

One thing to keep in mind, particularly for international students, is that a schools reputation domestically can

be quite different from its reputation abroad. Years ago, mbaMission worked with an international candidate

who was accepted into the MBA programs at Johnson (Cornell) and Tuck. When this individua l shared the

good news with his manager, his manager said, I thought you would have gone to an Ivy League school like

Princeton! Of course, Dartmouth and Cornell arein fact Ivy League institutions, and Princeton does not evenhave an MBA programthe managers reaction illustrates how possible misconceptions can arise. So, after

considering an MBA programs strengths, you might factor in that some schools have greater brand power in

certain parts of the world, especially if you plan to live and work abroad after you complete your studies.

We advise you to consider your MBA a long-term investment that wil l pay dividends throughout your life,

and such an investment should be based on more than a one-time ranking. In fact, most MBAs who are five

to ten years out of school are not even aware what their school is now ranked, and perhaps more importantly,

if you were to ask one whether the schools position in the rankings has any effect on his/her current career,

the response would certainly be an ardent No!

Fuqua consistently ranks highly in the popular business school rankings, nearly always in the top

20, and gained positions in the most recent Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial imes, and U.S.

News & World Reportrankings (though it dropped in Te Economists rankings). In addition, Duke

University has a strong reputation, so Fuqua benefits from the overall halo effect. However, a



Fuqua admissions representative confirmed with mbaMission that the business school does n

use rankings to drive admissions, explaining that culture is of more significance to the schoo

It is important to be respected among peers, she told us, but we want thoughtful people. Onalumnus we interviewed seemed to echo this idea of eam Fuqua, saying, When I visited oth

top-ranked schools, people talked about themselves. When I came to Fuqua, people were talkin

about the school.

Fuquas other programs are also well ranked: the 2011 and 2012 U.S. News & World Reportrankin

both placed Fuquas MBA prog ram fourth in the United States with regard to its internationa

focused offerings, and Bloomberg Businessweek s 2010 rankings put Fuquas Executive MB

program tenth among U.S. programs. In addition, Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE) h

consistently been ranked number one by both Bloomberg Businessweek and the Financial imsince 2003. Duke CEs former dean, Blair Sheppard, is now dean of Fuquas Daytime program

and one administrator told mbaMission that Sheppard is extremely driven to dramatically impro

the business school: He has a lot to work withfrom the new facilities and curriculum, to ne

programs like MMS and the Global Initiative; hes not content to settle with the status quo. (S

the Summary section for more information on the MMS degree program and the Global Initiativ

One alumna told mbaMission that Sheppard is recklessly ambitious, which is what the scho

needs to continue to move up the various rankings. A second-year student we interviewed said th

the dean is unapologetic about wanting to be the #1 ranked MBA program . . . He certainly refeto the rarity of a non-urban-based MBA program thats so consistently well ranked. Studen

interviewed by mbaMission generally agreed that the deans initiatives, particularly the Glob

Initiative, seem to be helping the schools brand overall.



U.S. News & World Report(2012) Bloomberg Businessweek(2010)

1 Stanford GSB 1 Chicago Booth

2 Harvard Business School 2 Harvard Business School

3 MIT Sloan (tie) 3 UPenn Wharton

3 UPenn Wharton (tie) 4 Northwestern Kellogg

5 Northwestern Kellogg (tie) 5 Stanford GSB

5 Chicago Booth (tie) 6 Duke Fuqua

7 Dartmouth Tuck (tie) 7 Michigan Ross

7 UC-Berkeley Haas (tie) 8 UC-Berkeley Haas

9 Columbia Business School 9 Columbia Business School

10 NYU Stern (tie) 10 MIT Sloan

10 Yale SOM (tie) 11 UVA Darden

12 Duke Fuqua 12 SMU Cox

13 UVA Darden 13 Cornell Johnson

14 UCLA Anderson (tie) 14 Dartmouth Tuck

14 Michigan Ross (tie) 15 Carnegie Mellon Tepper

16 Cornell Johnson 16 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler

17 UT Austin McCombs 17 UCLA Anderson

18 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 18 NYU Stern

19 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler 19 Indiana Kelley

20 Washington St. Louis Olin 20 Michigan State Broad


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Duke Universitys first class of MBA students had only 12 people, and matriculated in 1970. e schools

business program was later named for J.B. Fuqua, whoso the story goesgrew up poor but wanted an

education, and went around to several colleges in the area asking if he could borrow books. Only Duke

obliged, and in 1980, J.B., who had become wealthy, made his first donation of $10 million to the business

school in recognition of the universitys gesture years earlier. In a May 2009 interview with Bloomberg

Businessweek, Liz Riley Hargrove, Fuquas associate dean for admissions, said, We renamed the school in his

honor. e running joke is that his initial donation was to pay his overdue library fine.

Considered a midsize school, with approximately 440 incoming students each year, Fuqua often places

among the top ten U.S. business schools in the Bloomberg Businessweekrankings, which is generally regarded

as the most respected of the MBA rankings. e school seems to offer a particularly strong HSM program,

but overall, the MBA program appears balanced in terms of the industries its graduates pursue. Of the Class

of 2010, 29% entered marketing, 28% consulting, 23% finance, 13% general management, 4% operations

management, and 3% other functions.

e concept of Team Fuquawhich was mentioned by nearly all the students, alumni, and administrationmembers we interviewed for this guideseems to dominate the schools culture. One alumna described

Fuqua as a very supportive and nurturing place, and a second year added, e collaborative environment

really appealed to me. Another second year we interviewed stated, Its definitely something that is instilled;

one of the defining characteristics about Fuqua is the team aspect, and added, Teamwork is emphasized at

every business school, but here, we take an extra stepthere is constant evaluation of your teammates and

opportunities to provide candid feedback. For people who didnt get to work in teams a lot before school, its

very valuable. A first year spoke of the appeal of one student body thats integrated, as opposed to a banker

clique or a consulting cliqueit felt much more open to me than other schools, and an alumna said simply,

Four hundred and thirty people have your back. I feel Ill never have anything quite like that again.

An administrator we interviewed explained that the underlying ideal at Fuqua is not to be a school of

followers, but to adhere to the premise that one tenet of leadership is to lead by working together. Remarked

Associate Dean for Admissions Liz Riley Hargrove in a May 2009 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek,

Te Fuqua School of Business

Duke University

Summary



Most of what the students will do in their MBA program will be done in some sort of team dynamic. B

we also expect in this environment that they wil l take risks and hone their leadership skills. Riley Hargro

went on to add, We train [Fuqua students] to be analytically prepared and globally aware, so the resuis that we produce leaders of consequence. In an October 2010 interview with mbaMission, she furth

explained, Fuqua students learn when to be strong team players and when to step up and lead. ese a

interwoven concepts at Duke and are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, much of the school is student run, and as a result, Fuquans enjoy a large number of leadersh

opportunities. With minimal input from the administration, students are in charge of such pivotal events

New Student Orientation week and Blue Devil Weekend, when admitted candidates come to campus to g

a feel for the school. Other student-led initiatives include numerous professional conferences, FuquaVisio

(Saturday Night Livestyle video skits that spoof school life and are aired at the end of each term), the MBGames (a weekend-long competition in early April that draws teams from 1216 other North Americ

business schools to support Special Olympics North Carolina), and Week In Cities (recruiting trips

companies based on industry or geography).

However, one first-year student told mbaMission that the level of student involvement can be both a blessi

and a curse ... 30% of the students [are] doing all the stuff, and they get overcommitted. Neverthele

explained an alumnus, all the responsibility is excellent preparation to be an executivenot just doing yo

job, but fifty million other things.

In doing our research for this guide, we learned that a discussion about Duke almost inevitablyand fai

quicklyturns into one about basketball. Most of the schools students rally around the Duke Universi

Blue Devils, a perennial college basketball powerhouse and 2010 winner of the NCAA Championship.

teams coach, Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced Sha-chef-ski)known better as simply Coach Kal

coached the 2006 U.S. Olympic basketball team and speaks about leadership to a captive Fuqua audien

several times each year. In fact, according to a February 2011 press release from Duke University, Coach

and the Duke mens basketball team will head to China and Dubai in August 2011 to showcase their ski lls f

students in the Duke MBACross Continent program (described later in this section), in part to highlig

Dukes global focus on business education, health, arts, civic engagement, and policy-oriented programs.

A second year commented to mbaMission that she hadnt been into college basketball before coming

Fuqua], but the thrill of winning and bonding with classmates made her a convert for life. e Devi

rivalry with the UNC Tar Heels is considered even more intense than that between the New York Yanke



and the Boston Red Sox, though it does not impede the joint events between students at Fuqua and at UNCs

Kenan Flagler business school that take place several times a year, primarily at the student club level.

Blair Sheppard first joined Fuquas faculty in 1981 as a professor of organizational behavior, and in July 2007,

he became the business schools new dean. e founder and former CEO of Duke CE, Sheppard helped

build that program not only into a $50M business but also into the top-ranked such program in the United

Statesranked number one by both Bloomberg Businessweekand the Financial imessince 2003.

According to a second-year student we interviewed, Dean Sheppard is considered blunt, someone who likes

to shake things up, but also a visionary and an inspiring leader. Another second year told mbaMission, He

always makes you feel like youre going to be a part of this big thing thats going to happen. And according to

an alumna we interviewed, Sheppards goal is not to simply notch Fuqua up a spot or two in the rankings, butto place the school among the top three or five schools and keep it there. Another second year summed things

up for us this way: eres no question in his mind that hell not only change Fuqua, but also change what a

business school does for the world. And a first-year student said, He seems to have his plan, his vision, for

the school and is doing everything he can to execute [it]. Hes a huge proponent of what were doing here and

is very well respected among the students.

One program Sheppard has introduced thus far in his tenure as dean is Fuquas MMS degree. is one-year

pre-experience masters degree is for undergrads with liberal arts degrees and some PhDs. e program

teaches these students the fundamentals of business, including the basics of marketing, strategy, andfinance, as well as how to read an annual report. e MMS degree program, which a member of the Fuqua

administration described to us as very common in Europe, but uncommon in [the United States], with [the]

notable exceptions of Northwestern and MIT, is well timed because of the economic downturn, given that

graduating college students and PhDs who might have trouble finding jobs without work experience can get

their MMS and prepare for a career in business.

MMS appears to have been somewhat controversial among Fuquans when it was first introduced. Multiple

students interviewed by mbaMission before the program started seemed somewhat worried that the school

might become too crowded with the addition of the MMS students to campus, referencing the possibility oflonger lunch lines and difficulty finding open team rooms, but these concerns seem to have been unfounded.

A second year told mbaMission, Team rooms are stil l tough to get (on weekends especia lly), although

they did make a few new team rooms which they designated for the MMS students. e Fox Center isnt

that much more crowded since they have staggered the lunch hour for Fuqua Daytime students and MMS



students to eat at different times. And another second year said, Personally, I didnt sense any cultu

changes effected by MMS. Team rooms and all other facilities were as available as before.

e approximately 100 MMS students each year do not actually attend classes with Fuqua Daytime

Executive MBA studentsinstead taking separate courses on a slightly different class scheduleand th

presence is reportedly felt only minimally. One second year told mbaMission before the program bega

It will be very different to have non-MBAs in the building, but months after MMS started, a secon

year st

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