Clark University - School of Business

Finance and accounting are standout disciplines here (“Many of the finance professors have impressive concurrent careers, running hedge funds by day and teaching courses by night; they typically have highly recognized professional certifications in addition to their PhDs,” one student notes), but MBAs report other curricular strengths as well, including concentrations in sustainability and and in social change, “which allow students to take elective courses in the International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE) Department at Clark . . . There is also a three-year dual-degree program (MBA/MA in CD or ESP) between these two departments.” Clark’s forward-looking, green-leaning proclivities are further revealed in “the dual-degree program offered in environmental science and policy and the MBA” as well as in the course Accounting and Finance for Sustainability. The School of Management also offers a full-time and part-time MSA program.

Clark’s professors are “demanding but fair.” Some “are outstanding. They come from experienced fields and they help you live the experience of the new material in all its aspects. Suddenly statistics and finance become easy and enjoyable with them.” Others, however, “are dull and give you tedious work that takes hours but is not interesting.” Students appreciate that “the school makes sure to take the student’s opinion into account when re-enlisting a professor to teach for the upcoming semesters.” The program also offers “many opportunities to help real businesses in the city” in order to gain “real life experience.” More of this sort of thing could be on the way; as one student observes, “I have seen a steady progression in Clark’s course offerings that indicates that they understand the ‘real-world’ challenges facing students and are adapting appropriately. I am particularly encouraged by the apparent increase in courses addressing innovation, social sustainability, entrepreneurship, and management leadership.”

The Center provides a range of services including individual advising, resume and cover letter assistance, workshops, career fairs, on-campus recruiting events, alumni networking events, alumni professional seminars, internship placement, and job and internship post- ings. Although internships are required of students with fewer than three years of profes- sional experience, some students consider that “it shouldn’t be a requirement to attain an internship as a graduate student.” Others state the office does “not do a sufficient job of getting employers interested in Clark’s students.” Employers who have recently hired Clark GSOM graduates include Ernst & Young, PwC, Deloitte, JP Morgan Chase, and Macy’s.

About 60 percent of Clark’s MBAs are full-time students. Many spend a lot of time on and around campus. While “undergraduate student groups are closed to graduate students,” MBAs enjoy “fun social events that the business school’s student council puts on, and an interesting stock market activity that happens each semester.” Some report that graduate student life “feels very disconnected from the rest of the school” and that it can “get boring at times because we are a very small community.” Others state that the school “provides some networking alumni activities to help us to search jobs, and for international students, they organize some specific activities, such as Asian New Year, to make students [come] together and feel [at] home.”

Clark’s part-time students “are mostly native[s of] Worcester or Massachusetts, with dif- ferent ages and backgrounds.” Full-timers typically “come from different Asian countries,” with India and China especially well-represented. International students “add a richness in perspective,” although some “are weak in English.”