Undergraduate Program Advances to 2nd in Poets&Quants Ranking, 1st for Alumni Experience
The Undergraduate Program at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business climbed to 2nd in the annual ranking by Poets&Quants for Undergrads, up three positions from last year.
Poets&Quants, a leading online publication for graduate and undergraduate business education news, equally weighted three categories in calculating the ranking: admissions standards, academic experience, and employment outcome data. This year, Georgetown McDonough advanced to 1st in alumni experience, 4th in the admissions rank, and maintained its position as 2nd in career outcomes.
“We strive to deliver a business degree that places principled leadership, global perspectives, and collaboration at the forefront of our academic experience,” said Patricia Grant, senior associate dean for the Undergraduate Program. “This ranking is a testament to the exceptional community we’ve cultivated at McDonough, where students learn to be bold, innovative, and caring leaders that use their education for the good of society and those around them.”
The survey data was collected both from the individual schools and through feedback from the Class of 2019. Recent graduates were surveyed on experiential components such as faculty availability, extracurricular opportunities, and accessibility of the alumni network.
Alumni rated McDonough 1st for how well the program’s extracurricular opportunities improved their skills in business, the school’s ability to connect them to professionals and alumni, the effectiveness of the career advising services, and how accessible and willing alumni were in helping students connect to employers.
The Class of 2019 also placed McDonough in the top five for believing their degree would raise their socioeconomic status, that the degree was worth its cost in time and resources, the availability of faculty to be mentors and advisors outside of class, and how well they believe the school’s alumni network and connections will help them throughout their careers.
“The McDonough School of Business has some of the most resourceful, compassionate, and loving deans,” said Jerome Smalls (B’19) in an interview for Poets&Quants’ Best & Brightest Business Majors feature. “The deans have offered more than just academic or career advice. In many ways, I have been able to create friendships with them, friendships that I believe will last a lifetime.”
The alumni who completed the Poets&Quants survey that contributed toward the ranking were among the first classes to fully engage with the school’s Undergraduate Career Development Center, which is housed in the business school and provides students with one-on-one career coaching, securing internships and jobs, connecting with alumni, and accessing other career resources at Georgetown.
The Undergraduate Program also expanded their extracurricular activities to provide new opportunities to engage in Jesuit traditions and leverage Georgetown’s global reputation. The Class of 2019 participated in the Lemonade Day Service Project to provide business mentorship and support to young children as they learned how to build their own lemonade stands and take on entrepreneurial pursuits. This class also had the opportunity to enroll in McDonough’s signature Global Business Experience elective, where undergraduate business students consulted for an organization abroad and then traveled to the country to present their findings to executives.
“Here at Georgetown, we are grounded in a Jesuit tradition that places people at the center of our educational mission,” said Grant. “Our programs and activities focus on opportunities to build meaningful relationships between faculty, students, and alumni. We are deeply committed to the success and well-being of our students and it is wonderful to see these values recognized in leading rankings such as Poets&Quants.”
Georgetown McDonough is distinguished by its location in the global capital city of Washington, D.C., its access to the broader academic community within Georgetown University, and its strong Jesuit heritage. Within the Undergraduate Program, students gain a D.C. advantage with access to leaders and organizations spanning business, policy, government, diplomacy, nonprofits, and startups. With a focus on interdisciplinary study, students complete the Georgetown liberal arts core in addition to their business studies.
Students also participate in innovative courses like the First Year Seminar, complete academic research with professors and organizations, and engage in unique co-curricular activities such as global case competitions and ongoing speaker events. A focus on the university’s Jesuit values has built a culture where students are shown how to care for one another and the common good while pursuing academic excellence, inter-religious understanding, and inclusion for all.
To learn more about the undergraduate program, please visit msb.georgetown.edu/undergraduate