Georgetown McDonough

History

In 1789, John Carroll founded the Georgetown College by securing 60 acres of land on a hilltop overlooking the village of Georgetown. Classes commenced in 1792 and in 1817, the School awarded its first two Bachelor’s degrees. The Civil War that broke out in 1861 led to the shutdown of Georgetown College due to the decline in the number of enrolments. In 1876, the students of Georgetown selected colors blue (Union) and grey (Confederate) as the School’s official colors. Under the leadership of Edward Bunn, S.J., Georgetown created the School of Business Administration in 1957, an outgrowth of the School of Foreign Service. Robert Emmett McDonough endowed the School with a gift of $30 million and the School was renamed as McDonough School of Business in his honor in 1998. In 2009, the School moved into its current building Rafik B. Hariri, named after former Prime Minister of Lebanon late Rafik Hariri.

MISSION STATEMENT

Georgetown McDonough’s mission is to educate students to be ethically responsible and effective business leaders. Our goal is that student be able to improve the management of existing organizations and create new ones in order to responsibly help raise global standards of living. The learning goals focus on business knowledge; management, analytical, and communication skills; and unique Georgetown perspectives.

Core Strengths of the School

The full-time MBA program at McDonough School of Business aims to equip the students with requisite analytical and problem-solving skills necessary for them to succeed in their professional endeavors. The uniquely structured and integrated curriculum of the program prepares the students to take on the challenges faced by the students during internships and full-time jobs. The students gain hands-on experience while working in a close-knit collaborative environment and learn valuable lessons on teamwork and interpersonal skills through team-centric classes, co-curricular activities and club services. Students get exposure to the quantitative tools and do systematic analysis through the core courses of the program. There are elective courses for students to gain expertise in the field of their choice and focus on specific industries to accomplish their career objectives.

Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

McDonough MBA program seeks to distinguish itself from other business schools by imparting global business education to its students through its Global Business Initiative. Students are given a myriad of opportunities to travel abroad and work as consultants for Fortune 500 companies. The International Consulting Projects are mandatory for MBA students, where they learn about the ways of conducting business and trade policies of a foreign country. Students get the opportunity to study for an entire semester at the partner Schools of France, China and Spain through the Study Abroad Opportunities provided by the School. The Stanton Distinguished Leaders Series brings distinguished business leaders from renowned companies such as Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and Tom Ford International to the campus to impart their knowledge and experience on leadership principles and theories. The Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy IBD combines the MBA core courses with studies in areas such as international relations, political economy and international trade. IBD classes have an intensive case method approach to analyze the key economic and political issues impacting the different facets of corporate operations.

The Business, Society and Public Policy Initiative connects the students with the business and political leaders in order to develop an understanding on the global challenges facing the corporate world today. Students learn about the impact of public decisions on business and the influences of business-decisions on society.

The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative enables student-entrepreneurs to take advantage of the resources and opportunities provided by the School to bring their entrepreneurial dreams to life. The Chalk Talk is one such resource, where students connect with Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (entrepreneurs from varied industries) and discuss their business idea with them to seek guidance. The Entrepreneurs-in-Residence serve as mentors during the entire process of launching their startup by throwing light on the common mistakes and pitfalls that could be avoided. The StartupHoyas Knowledge Base is another useful resource for students with a database of articles and information regarding the legal technicalities catering to startups. The Startup Hoya Challenge is a series of four pitch competition (Twitter Pitch, Rocket Pitch, Social Pitch and Hoya Challenge), where student-entrepreneurs refine their business plan, build their presentation skills, and get access to startup capital. The MVP Workshop Series enables students to develop a prototype of their product and apply Lean methodology (rapid iteration, hypothesis testing, customer discovery and minimum viable products) at the early stages of the startup.

CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

LOCATION ADVANTAGES

The McDonough School of business is located in the vibrant city of Washington D.C., which is home to international bodies, government agencies and non-government organizations. Students get the opportunity to interact with numerous research, government and cultural institutions of the city. Entrepreneurs are allured by the growing startup scenario of the city and leverage the resources provided by the city to embark on their entrepreneurial journey. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is celebrated in honor of the friendship between the U.S. and Japan. The city witnesses several tourists at the end of March every year to admire the beauty of the blossoming cherry trees. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival conducts an educational presentation on the culture of a nation, region, state or theme.

CAREER SUPPORT

The Summer Webinar Series commences before the start of the MBA program to prepare an effective career portfolio for the students. The career management coaches work personally with each student to develop individual career strategy. The career coaches guide the students at crucial junctures of their careers such as career switches or career advancement. The Job Search Course delves into these aspects of the career development strategy. The Promotions Course enables the students to make effective promotion conversations to take their careers to the next level. Career Days are an excellent opportunity for the students to seek guidance from top MBA employers over various MBA career paths. Students become aware of the various professional opportunities available in the market through the annual Career Trek events. The MBA Career Center provides situational support, resources and strategizes the next steps for the alumni by enabling them to connect with the industry-specific career coaches. The Hoyas helping Hoyas and Hoya Gateway are career events organized by the Center, where students can connect with alumni and MBA Hoyas to have meaningful career-related discussions.