McDonough School of Business - Georgetown University (2024)

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Academics

Faculty

Across its six academic areas of focus, the McDonough School of Business employs 104 full-time faculty members, 74 of whom hold tenure or tenure-track positions. Faculty members both teach courses and help staff the school’s 10 research centers and initiatives, which investigate topics ranging from global social enterprise to financial markets and policy.

Curriculum

Professors at McDonough utilize a variety of teaching methods, including case studies and lectures. The McDonough academic calendar runs on a two-semester system, with each semester lasting twelve weeks. Core Courses can last either a full semester, or only last for a six-week module. Elective Modules run for six weeks or half a semester. The fall semester begins in late August and runs until mid-December. Following a three week winter break, the spring semester starts in early January and ends in mid-May; graduation takes place shortly thereafter. There is a brief exam period every six weeks after a module is complete, with career weeks and holiday breaks occurring between modules.

At the start of the program, incoming students complete a three-week-long Opening Term in which they take two courses, Leading Teams for Performance and Impact and Structure of Global Industries. They then spend the year fulfilling the remaining 13 core requirements. The incoming class is divided into cohorts that complete the core curriculum and residences together. The core features foundational business concepts in finance, ac¬counting, statistics, economics, marketing, management and operations. Students may waive certain core courses and opt to take electives in lieu of familiar coursework. In the spring semester of their first year, MBA candidates pursue two electives of their choosing.

During their second year, students must complete an additional 15 electives out of the roughly 70 offered across accounting, finance, management, marketing, operations and analytics, and strategy. McDonough students are not required to declare a major, although there are special initiatives focused on entrepreneurship, global social enterprise and real estate finance in which students can participate. To allow students to gain international exposure, McDonough has created a Global Business Experience program. Beginning in the spring semester of the second year, Global Business Experience requires students to complete classwork and a consulting project for an international organization. Students then travel to the client country to discuss their solutions with senior managers and also present their findings to classmates at the end of the spring semester.

Other MBA Degree Options

Outside of the full-time MBA program, McDonough offers a four-year MBA/JD program with the Georgetown University Law Center and a five-year MBA/MD program with the Georgetown Medical School. Other options include a MBA/MPP program with the McCourt School of Public Policy and a MBA/MSFS program with the School of Foreign Service, both of which take three years to complete.

Part-time offerings include a 24- to 60-month Flex MBA program and a 21-month Executive MBA program. The Flex MBA can be completed online or in a hybrid format.

Special Initiatives

• Entrepreneurship
• Global Business
• Business of Sustainability
• Business and Public Policy
• Consumer Research
• Markets and Ethics
• Financial Markets and Policy
• Global Real Estate
• AI, Analytics, and the Future of Work
• Business for Impact

Degree Offerings at McDonough

Full Time and Flex MBA
https://msb.georgetown.edu/mba/

Executive Education
https://msb.georgetown.edu/executive-mba/

Dual Degrees
JD/MBA, MBA/MD, MBA/MPP, MBA/MSFS
https://msb.georgetown.edu/mba/dual-degree/

Campus Life

Clubs, Conferences & Competitions

McDonough students have many opportunities to become involved in extracurricular activities, with over 40 student organizations to choose from catering to a range of professional and personal interests. For example, many MBA students participate in community service activities through the clubs MBA Volunteers and Net Impact. Meanwhile, students can prepare for potential post-MBA careers by joining clubs such as the Business and Government Alliance, the Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance and the Graduate Marketing Association. A popular tradition on campus is the International Festival, hosted each fall by McDonough’s international clubs, which showcases international cultures through dance, music and food. The student government also hosts informal social events on Thursdays, meant to help students relax at the end of the week.

Every year, McDonough’s student organizations run a variety of conferences on campus. Conferences have included, among others, the Georgetown Graduate Women in Business’s annual conference regarding the professional development of businesswomen. McDonough students also participate in a large number of business competitions each year, such as the Georgetown Ventures & Values Pitch Conference and the Venture Capital Investment Competition.

Campus Space

The McDonough School of Business is located in the Rafik B. Hariri Building in the center of Georgetown University’s campus in northwestern Washington, D.C. Opened in 2009, the building includes student lounge spaces and breakout rooms, a 400-seat auditorium, 120 faculty offices, 15 classrooms, 15 conference rooms and nearly a dozen rooms for interview purposes. Due to limited on-campus graduate housing, most MBA graduate students at Georgetown University live off campus, many find housing in the surrounding neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. If admitted, the MBA Admissions team provides a Housing Guide that references neighborhoods and types of communities where current students live.

MBA Careers

Career Services

The MBA Career Center provides McDonough students with a vast array of resources, including career fairs and corporate presentations. The Center also organizes annual treks off campus to allow students to explore industries such as consulting, marketing and real estate, as well as key business regions like Wall Street, San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Students can receive additional help with their job searches by pairing with an industry-specific Career Coach to help guide them through the job search process. On-campus interviews for full-time positions begin in early September and run through mid-December, while those for internships begin in early January.

Career Statistics

Roughly 93% of the Class of 2023 received a job offer within three months of graduating and 92.5% accepted job offers within that time frame. These newly minted MBAs received an average salary of $149,256 and an average signing bonus of $43,325.

The most popular post-MBA industry was consulting, chosen by 35% of graduates, followed by financial services at 25%. Eighteen percent of the class accepted positions in technology. Five percent each entered manufacturing/transportation/energy, consumer goods/retail, or real estate/hospitality industries.

In regards to regional placement, 39% of McDonough MBAs stayed in the Mid-Atlantic region. Thirty-one percent headed to the Northeast and 10% headed West. Six percent settled in the South U.S. and five percent in the Midwest U.S.

Financing

The tuition for the 2024-2025 year at McDonough is $67,184. Given other expenses such as fees, housing, travel and books, however, the school estimates that students will pay $106,781 during that time. The MBA program provides students with financial assistance through merit-based scholarships. First-year MBA students are automatically considered for these awards upon admission and do not need to fill out any additional applications. The school notes, however, that applicants who apply to McDonough’s MBA program during the first or second rounds of admission are given priority consideration for scholarships. McDonough offers an array of loan options to students, with federal loans available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents and private loans. Students interested in private loans are encouraged to compare lenders through ELM Select, including international students with a U.S. citizen co-signer. McDonough also offers research and teaching assistantship opportunities to graduate students.

Cost of Attendance

• Tuition & Fees$71,079
• Avg. Living Allowance $26,826
• Avg. Books $2,646
• Avg. Travel $3,130
• Federal Direct Loan Fees $3,100
• Total$106,781

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