Northeastern University, D'Amore-McKim School of Business

Northeastern offers both full-time and part-time MBA tracks, as well as online MBA options. The part-time program has three options: an Evening MBA, an Executive MBA, and a High Tech MBA. The biggest perk of a part-time MBA is “flexibility.” Students can keep their full-time jobs and organize their class schedules around them. The full-time program is two years long and includes the famous “Corporate Residency” in which students are given paid internships for six months with a business in the Boston area. Most students admit this is why they chose Northeastern for their MBA. “The opportunity to work with a company for six months will allow me to learn more about the company, be involved in a project from start to finish, and impress hiring managers.” Also, the program “has a great reputation.” Students who enter the school hoping for a career change find the internship indispensable. In addition to the opportunity to gain tangible field experience and get paid for it, many mention “Northeastern also provided more scholarship funds than any other school.” Other highlights of the program are “the required international field study” and the “manageable class sizes of around thirty-five students.” Also, “the quality of professors is very high.” “Northeastern has done an excellent job recruiting professors from top-tier schools.” “All of them have Ph.D.s, and the Boston area has such an academic wealth that many teachers are of very high quality.” Professors are “easy to approach” and incorporate a “great teaching style” in their classrooms. “Courses are designed to allow students to understand each discipline in a managerial/decision-making way.” Professors also “coordinate projects and exams with each other” and are “very available outside of class.”

Students do notice that some courses aren’t as engaging as others. “There is a noticeable difference in energy between the first-year, full-time classes and the second-year, evening classes (not nearly as strong).” Still, most students feel the school “deserves a better ranking.”

“There is a great deal of emphasis placed on each student’s career development. The career center team makes sure that every student has the opportunity to get placed in a six-month paid corporate residency position.” Students also praise the “variety of busi- nesses” participating in the program. “You are given an executive-level mentor and even participate in six executive networking lunches during your first year.” The luncheons are limited to six students, so each gets “individual attention” from the executives, who are from “top companies.” In addition to the Executive Luncheon Series, there are “Insider Insight Sessions, guest speakers, and an alumni database.” These opportunities are why most students say they chose Northeastern. The career center doesn’t stop at internships; it also places students in full-time positions. Students say Northeastern has “high placement rates.”

Of the past year ’s graduating class, 71 percent had accepted job offers by graduation, and 95 percent had accepted offers three months after graduation. Students were hired by the following companies: IBM Corporation, Raytheon, Staples, Inc., W.R. Grace & Co., and Ernst & Young.

“The NEU MBA program is very social.” “There is a sense of friendly competition, but at the end of the day, everyone wants to see each other succeed.” “The students in my program opened up quickly to each other.” “Our class became one large group of friends by the end of the first year.” Students describe each other as “easy going, intelligent, spirited, inspirational, and fun.” Another says fellow classmates are “outgoing, realistic, pragmatic, and down to earth.” Some students did mention a social gap between those entering fresh from undergrad and more experienced students. However, they all tend to be “supportive of each other.” The small class size “leads to very strong bonds.”

Most students mention location as one of the main reasons why they chose Northeastern. “The location of the school within Boston cannot be better. It is next to the Museum of Fine Arts. It has its own stop on the subway and is connected to the greater Boston area via public transportation.” “Most students stay on campus all day.” The school is located in what is known as the Fenway Cultural District. Even though it’s in an urban setting, it has trees, green quads, and is a beautiful space.