Continuous Curriculum Innovations Drive Georgetown McDonough’s MBA Success

Each year, the Georgetown McDonough MBA program sets records for admissions and recruitment efforts, and last year was named #1 in the world for producing the best-trained graduates by employers participating in the Bloomberg Businessweek survey.

Senior Associate Dean Prashant Malaviya shares his thoughts on the success of the Georgetown MBA and how it has been able to adapt to a rapidly changing business world.

Q: Why do you think employers named Georgetown MBAs the best trained in the world?

A: We are fortunate at Georgetown to have an amazing MBA Career Center team dedicated to fostering an individualized approach to help students on their career journeys. They have instituted a summer career course that prepares students for the search process before classes even begin, implemented new technologies to help with the search process, and created a proprietary tool that assists students in narrowing their desired industry, function, and target companies.

We also continuously review and improve our curriculum — something that is essential as the business world continues to change at a rapid pace. We are finding more ways to incorporate experiential learning, especially using the many facets of Washington, D.C., as an extension of our classroom.

Q: You mention changes to the curriculum. What are some new courses you have implemented recently? 

A: Last year, we added electives in data visualization, data science, and fintech. We also have updated our leadership curriculum to include courses in Leading Teams for Performance and Impact, which explores the dynamics of diversity and inclusion, implicit biases, conflict and civility, and giving and receiving feedback.

We are entering our fourth year for the Executive Challenge, which is a day-long case competition and final exam for our students that allows them to role-play difficult boardroom conversations with alumni judges. We also have added new certificate programs for MBA students in consumer analytics and insights, nonmarket strategy and just approved a new certificate on Business for Impact, which strengthens our tradition of educating women and men leaders who work towards the common good.

One other large change was the evolution of our Evening MBA to the Flex MBA, which has been updated to better serve our population of working professionals through innovations in the use of technology, delivery of courses, and adjustable duration to ensure our students can best balance their academic, professional, and personal commitments.  

Q: How have these changes impacted your admissions and career efforts?

A: This year, we set another record average GMAT score for our Full-time MBAs at 694 and welcomed a strong contingent of international students comprising 30% of the class. We find students are interested in the distinctive qualities of our program — earning an MBA in the global capital city of Washington, D.C, with exposure to policy, international relations, diplomacy, and, of course, numerous business headquarters; gaining access to programs at Georgetown’s other top schools; and being part of a community that is connected by the university’s rich Jesuit tradition.

In our most recent MBA Employment Report, the class of 2019 once again set a new record for average salary — up 6% to $124,119. A total of 95% of graduates received an offer within three months of graduation, and 92% accepted the offer within that time. This year, the most sought-after industries included consulting (35%), financial services (27%), technology (14%), and real estate (7%).