Paul Merage

History

The School was founded in 1965 and named as the Graduate School of Administration. Three graduate degrees were originally offered by the School- Master of Science in Administration, Master of Public Administration, and Master of Public and Business Administration. In 1981, the School became Graduate School of Management and the first MBA degree was awarded to the participants. The School acquired AACSB accreditation in 1987. Paul Merge, a renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist donated $30 million to fund the program and the School was renamed as “The Paul Merage School of Business” in his honor.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine is to enhance socially responsible and sustainable business growth in the global “innovation economy.”

Core Strengths of the School

The School acts as a change agent in the career of its participants, thus transforming them into innovative future business leaders. The School offers ideal environment for its participants to innovate, collaborate and grow. The small size class structure enables the students to effectively utilize the facilities and resources available to them in addition to getting personalized attention from the eminent faculty. This fosters an environment for increased interaction with faculty members who provide timely feedback to the students and ensure that their feedback gets implemented. The School believes that collaborating with students from diverse backgrounds enhances the learning experiences of every student and provides a real-world working environment. The School believes in the philosophy that teamwork sparks innovation and prepares students for the dynamic organizational challenges of the leading companies and industries. The School plays a pivotal role in building the business acumen of its students along with giving enough global exposure to its students that would aid them to make a successful career ahead in the field of their interest. Strategic Innovation, Information Technology and Analytical decision-making are ingrained into the visionary curriculum of the School, as the School believes that these elements have revolutionalized the business world today and students need to imbibe these in order to come up with innovative solutions for future business challenges. The Merage School MBA encourages students to become smart decision-makers by leveraging information, evaluating it and developing strategic solution using state-of-the-art technologies for long term sustenance and growth.

Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

The Merage School provides real-world experiential learning opportunities to its students through the Field Projects and Business Plan Competitions. Companies hire Merage MBA students instead of professional consultants in order to get cutting-edge, innovative and sustainable solutions to their business problems. This is an opportunity for the students to indulge themselves into a real-world business issue and implement their business knowledge. Students get a chance to interact with the top-executives of the client firm and enhance their knowledge regarding the current business practices. The Business Plan Competition is a platform for the students to display their entrepreneurship potential and gain investment for their business venture in case they win the competition.

Though, the School’s motive is to create business leaders for tomorrow, but the School is well aware of the social responsibility of a leader towards his society. In order to generate this awareness among its students, the Merage MBA program partners with Non-Profit organizations and encourages students to consult for such organization. This Social Responsibility Initiative SRI taken by the School emphasizes the importance of corporate and social responsibility of the business leaders.

Students have the opportunity to travel to an international location for a week and learn about the business and economy of the visiting country through company visits and seminars. Students travelled to Shanghai, China and learnt about China’s dynamic and growing economy and its impact on the global business. Students can further enroll themselves for a quarter-long International Exchange Program, where they can visit the partnering schools of Asia, Europe and Latin America. Students can enhance their knowledge on the best business practices and strategies followed in other countries.

The Center for Global Leadership and Team Development has a variety of workshops and programs that enhance the leadership, teamwork and managerial skills of the students. The Center is the culminating point for global leaders, researchers, scholars and students, where innovative business ideas are generated. The Distinguished Speaker Series held at the Center had renowned leaders such as the President of Disneyland Resort address the students at the campus on topics like leadership and business ethics.

The Beall Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is the converging place for researchers, visionaries, business leaders and Venture Capitalists. The Center has an array of workshops and activities lined up for students who want to enhance their entrepreneurial tendencies and want to be successful in their ventures. The Business Plan Competition, Venture Capital Investment Competition, Entrepreneurial Skills Workshop series, Breakfast Speaker Series and one-to-one Consulting are some of the programs offered by the Center.

CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

LOCATION ADVANTAGES

UC Irvine campus is located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Orange County, California has a thriving business community and is home for budding entrepreneurs. The proximity to the University Research Park attracts companies and ensures higher employment opportunities to the students. The auto design studios for Hyundai and Kia Motors developed their innovative models at this place. UC Irvine campus is the home for world renowned researchers at the UC Irvine Stem Cell Research Center, the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the National Fuel Research Center who have made innovative breakthroughs that are yet to be capitalized. Hungtington Beach, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are just at 10 minutes walking distance from the campus.

CAREER SUPPORT

The Merage MBA Career Center has unique Career Visioning programs that help students to select the career that aligns with their goals and interests. The first part of Career Visioning is exploration. Tools like CareerLeader help in profiling the student’s goals, interests, strengths and weaknesses. The second part of Career Visioning is preparing the Career Development Plan in alignment with the information collated during the exploration process. Students are trained to make a successful career path through a series of workshops on Behavioral and Case Style Interviewing, and Job Offer Evaluation and Negotiation. These workshops are presided over by experienced career advisors who prepare the students for carving a successful career path. CareerSearch, Vault and Wetfeet are some of the online resources that support the students in the job search process.