Washington University Olin MBA Program Details

About Washington University Olin Full-Time MBA Program

The full-time MBA at the Olin Business School of Washington University in St. Louis began awarding MBA degrees in 1950 as the School expanded its graduate offerings amidst the post-war business boom. Over its roughly 70 years, the Olin full-time MBA has evolved into a two-year immersive cohort with a STEM option, 12 specializations and a strong emphasis on experiential learning and personalized career engagement. Situated in St. Louis, the programme integrates a global orientation (including multiple immersions), robust analytics training and deep connections to industry via the Olin Center for Experiential Learning. With a class size typically around 100 students, record-high diversity (53% women, 34% underrepresented U.S. minorities for the incoming Class of 2026) and a strong employment outcome (average compensation for the Class of 2023 around US $151,965) the Olin full-time MBA offers driven professionals a compact, connected environment to pivot into consulting, analytics, product leadership, entrepreneurship or operations.

 

Experienced MBA admission consultants by your side

If you are looking for professional help for your MBA applications, our seasoned MBA admission consultants provide authentic, end-to-end mentoring for the complete MBA application process. Our MBA admission consulting model assigns a team of five specialist mentors who guide brainstorming and storyboarding, essay finalization, application work, and interview preparation. To learn more and schedule a free profile evaluation and strategy session, please inquire about our MBA admission consulting offering.

 

Washington University Olin MBA Latest Class Profile

 

Washington University Olin MBA Latest Placement Details and Employment Report

 

 

List of Primary Recruiters at Washington University Olin

Accenture, Amazon / Amazon Web Services (AWS), AnheuserBusch InBev, The Boeing Company, Chevron Corporation, Cognizant, Dell, Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, Capital One, Edward Jones, Eli Lilly & Company, ExxonMobil, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Intel Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, L.E.K. Consulting, Mastercard, Microsoft, Merck, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble (P&G), SAP, Starbucks, Tesla Motors, Whirlpool Corporation, World Wide Technology, ZS Associates

The employment data above is for the class of 2023.

Useful Resources:

Washington University Olin MBA program page

Washington University Olin MBA application details, essay questions, deadlines, and more…

Washington University Olin MBA admission consulting by Experts’ Global

How to Make the Most of the Washington University Olin Full-Time MBA Program

Clarify your career target early

Begin your MBA at Olin by defining the specific role, industry and geography you intend to pursue—for example a strategy consulting role in Chicago, analytics leadership at a technology firm, or launching your own venture. With Olin’s two-year timeframe and an emphasis on experiential projects, every decision—elective selection, global immersion, internship, club leadership and networking outreach—must connect to your target. Map your current skill set and identify your gaps (such as data analytics, cross-functional leadership or global business understanding). Then link each component of the Olin curriculum—core courses, electives, specializations, and experiential learning—to closing those gaps.

Transform core courses into tangible outcomes

During the first year you will take foundational courses like Financial Reporting & Analysis, Managerial Finance, Marketing Strategy, Operations & Supply Chain, Critical Thinking and Impactful Communication, and the Integrated Case Experience. Rather than only absorbing theory, use each course as an opportunity to produce a meaningful deliverable. If your goal is analytics leadership, use your Quantitative Methods or Analytics elective to build a predictive model using data from a partner firm or a public dataset. If your goal is consulting or operations, use your operations or strategy module to craft a process improvement proposal for a real company. Document each output: the business challenge, your role, the methodology, and the result. These deliverables become evidence in networking and interviews.

Choose your specialization and electives strategically

In the second year at Olin you can choose from 12 specializations—such as Consulting & General Management, Corporate Finance & Investments, Entrepreneurship, Marketing Analytics, Operations & Supply Chain Management, Business Analytics, Financial Technology, Healthcare Management and more. Select the specialization that supports your target career trajectory. If you aim for analytics leadership, select Business Analytics or Financial Technology and choose electives like Predictive Analytics, Data Visualisation, Machine Learning for Business. If your aim is consulting, choose Consulting & General Management and pair electives such as Strategy Consulting, Change Management, High Growth Strategy. For each elective define a signature project—perhaps a consulting engagement with a St. Louis-area firm, an analytics dashboard built for a startup, or a venture launch—and include it in your career portfolio.

Engage fully with the St. Louis ecosystem and global immersions

Olin’s location in St. Louis and its global immersions present unique advantages. Use the local ecosystem (companies like Panera, Boeing, Anheuser-Busch, Mastercard, World Wide Technology) to arrange internships, corporate projects or site visits aligned with your target role. Secure your summer internship in an organisation that reinforces your story and ideally feeds into your signature project. Additionally, the programme incorporates global immersions—students visit Washington, D.C. and international locations to engage in consulting or business projects. Use these opportunities intentionally: select a global immersion aligned with your target industry or region (for example a supply-chain project in Europe or a fintech immersion in Asia) and turn it into a measurable deliverable you can include in your portfolio.

Build deep relationships with peers and faculty

Your cohort at Olin is intimate and highly collaborative, which offers a rich environment for peer learning and leadership development. Early in your first year form a core project team of classmates you will work with throughout the programme. Rotate leadership roles within the team to sharpen your influence, coordination and adaptability. With faculty, engage beyond the classroom—attend office hours, pitch your elective or project idea, ask for mentoring, and seek introductions to industry contacts. A professor who knows your ambitions and work can become a strong advocate during your job search.

Lead measurable leadership initiatives outside the classroom

Leadership outside coursework helps you stand out. At Olin join or launch a student-led initiative aligned with your target role: for instance the Consulting Club, Analytics & Data Science Club, Entrepreneurship Society or Supply Chain Association. Then design and lead a measurable initiative: host a case competition with corporate sponsors, lead an analytics hackathon partnering with a local start-up, or organise a start-up pitch event with venture capital involvement. Track and record metrics: number of firms participating, students involved, sponsorship dollars, outcomes achieved. Use this data in your portfolio and résumé: “Led the Analytics Club hackathon engaging 10 corporate sponsors, 120 participants and produced two pilot projects; role: president.”

Curate a portfolio of standout deliverables

By the time you graduate from Olin you should have three to five signature deliverables you can confidently discuss. These could include: a consulting engagement completed during the summer internship, an analytics tool built in an elective, a venture plan you developed, or a leadership initiative you launched. For each deliverable record: context (the business challenge), your role (what you did), methodology (how you did it), measurable outcome (quantitative where possible) and relevance to your target job. Example narrative: “During my Olin MBA I led a four-person analytics team at a St. Louis fintech to create a churn-prediction model that reduced projected churn by 11 %; role: team lead; relevance: analytics strategy role.” Store these in a digital portfolio and prepare concise 60-second summaries for interviews.

Leverage Career Engagement and alumni networks proactively

Olin’s Career Engagement office offers coaching, employer engagement, resume workshops and alumni access, but your transition must be self-driven. Early in term one schedule a meeting with your career advisor and present a one-page career action plan: target companies, roles, timeline, deliverables you will build, networking targets. Set weekly metrics: number of alumni conversations held, job applications submitted, interview invitations. After your summer internship and signature project, review what worked and what needs adjusting. Align your deliverables, networking outreach and job search strategy into a coherent narrative.

Network strategically and track outcomes

The Olin alumni network spans 62,000+ in over 85 countries. Build a structured list of 30–40 alumni or employer contacts aligned to your career goal. For each, prepare a brief: your background story, one of your deliverables, your aspiration and a specific request (referral, insight, introduction). After each interaction send a short thank-you and summary of your next step. Track the number of conversations, referrals received, and interviews triggered. Networking should be outcome-oriented and measurable.

Reflect monthly to deepen leadership readiness

While functional skills are expected of MBA graduates, what sets you apart is leadership presence, adaptability, and influence across functions. Allocate one hour each month to reflect: Which leadership behaviour did I grow this month? What challenge did I face and how did I respond? What leadership trait will I focus next month? Use feedback from your peer team, faculty mentors and internship to deepen your capability to lead across ambiguity and change. Keep a leadership journal and pull weekly stories—e.g., “Led our team’s supply-chain simulation under a 48-hour deadline and improved process flow by 20 %”—to strengthen your narrative.

Align your narrative, brand and transition

As graduation approaches, align your resume, LinkedIn profile, deliverable portfolio, and interview stories around your target role and evidence from your time at Olin. Secure at least two strong references: one faculty or advisor who knows your deliverables and leadership growth, and one supervisor from your internship or project. In interviews craft a clear story: “During my Olin MBA I led an analytics initiative at a St. Louis fintech to reduce projected churn by 11 %; I served as team leader; now I bring analytics-driven leadership, consulting mindset and the Olin network to your team.” Keep your story crisp, outcome-focused and aligned with the employer’s needs.

Maintain momentum beyond graduation

Graduation is a milestone but not the end. Stay actively engaged in the Olin alumni network, attend chapter events globally, mentor incoming MBAs, update your portfolio annually and revisit your leadership reflections. The habits you developed—purpose clarity, deliverable creation, leadership through action, structured networking and reflection—will serve you throughout your career. Your Olin MBA becomes the foundation; it is what you build after that defines your professional legacy.