Duke Fuqua

History

Duke University in Durham, N.C. found its roots in 1838, when Methodist and Quaker families in rural Randolph County employed Brantley York as a permanent teacher for their subscription school. York’s successor Braxton Craven pioneered the effort of re-chartering the academy as the Normal College in 1851. The name of the College was changed to Trinity College in 1859. In 1892, Trinity opened in Durham owing to the endowment offered by Washington Duke. Later, due to the continuous support of Duke Family, the school flourished and came to be known as the Duke University. The Graduate School of Business Administration was formed in 1969. The name of the School was changed to The Fuqua School of Business to honor the contribution of $10 million made by businessman and philanthropist J.B.Fuqua.

MISSION STATEMENT

As a school, Fuqua is dedicated to advancing the understanding of management through research, putting research knowledge at the service of business and society, and providing the highest quality education for business and not-for-profit leaders worldwide. Sustained excellence in terms of management education, research, and the advancement of management practice has been the school’s mission with the end product (our graduates) being leaders of consequence.

Core Strengths of the School

The Fuqua MBA program transforms its students into multidimensional technically-competent thinkers, who can understand the complexities of an interdependent global economy and are able to lead the organizations to achieve its vision. The Fuqua students become graduate business leaders with a global mindset, who display exemplary characteristics such as innovation, entrepreneurship, teamwork, integrity, resilience and strive for excellence. It is these qualities that are much sought after by the leading multinational companies, and having ingrained these qualities in themselves, the Fuqua graduates have an edge over their competitors from other business schools. The curriculum integrates classroom instruction with applied learning opportunities, thus, building a solid understanding of the evolving business principles. Students emerge as true business leaders as they gain insights into the surrounding context and are able to analyze the consequences of their business decisions. The team-based assignments help the students leverage the knowledge and capabilities of their peers and broaden their learning experience. The team-based learning commences right from the beginning of the program through an intense month-long orientation, where students are introduced to the “Team Fuqua” culture.

Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

Fuqua offers a range of experiential learning opportunities such as consulting and social entrepreneurship, where students can apply their knowledge across various functional areas and industries. By engaging themselves in such real-world projects, students hone their skills and learn to capitalize on their knowledge. The Global Academic Travel Experience GATE is a wonderful chance for the students to indulge into the culture, economy and business of countries like Brazil and Argentina. Students have collaborated with small scale businesses, global organizations, non-profits and social entrepreneurs of developing markets such as China, Brazil and South Africa over consulting projects through the Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum FCCP. Through FCCP, students have gained hands-on experience on developing business models, developing a marketing strategy or starting a new venture. Students who dream to launch their ventures can get the much needed entrepreneurial experience through Program for Entrepreneurs P4E, where they get to know the challenges of starting and managing a new venture. On similar lines, the New Venture Clinic gives an opportunity for the students to work with Duke Researchers to establish new ventures related to Duke-based intellectual property. Fuqua has outgoing and incoming exchange programs for students who want to broaden their international experience. Fuqua on Board is a golden opportunity that allows the students to work as a board member for a non-profit organization and explore the areas of growth in the non-profit organization. Students can work independently under the guidance of a renowned faculty member over a project of their interest through the Independent Study program. Students wanting to switch careers or explore a new functional area of business can work with a senior company official from a local start-up, non-profit or venture capital firm through the Mentor Study program and gain insights into the field of their interest. The Case Competitions such as the Fuqua Case Bowl, Elite 8 Case Competition, Deloitte National Case Competition, Capture the Cup and VCIC Case Competition are the quickest way to apply the knowledge and skills learned within the confines of the classroom. Students can get an overview of the latest business practices and current trends in the market through the Distinguished Speaker Series DSS.

CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

LOCATION ADVANTAGES

The School is located at Durham, North Carolina. The city has a diverse music culture with artists playing jazz, hip-hop, soul, folk, Americana, blues, punk, metal and rock. Branford Marsalis, Iron & Wine, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and The Mountain Goats are some of the popular bands and musicians of the city. Carolina Theatre, a performing arts and cinema complex, plays host to several concerts and plays. The city’s vast and diverse culture can be visualized during the numerous events held in the city such as jazz festivals, plays, blues festivals, symphony concerts and art exhibitions.

CAREER SUPPORT

The Career Management Center CMC provides lifelong support to the students by proactively driving their career search process, organizing career development workshops and webinars, preparing for interviews, creating their personal brand and utilizing their professional network effectively. The CMC staff helps the students polish their resume and cover letter to create a positive first impression. Students learn to establish their personal brand and market themselves efficiently, so that they can convert potential employment opportunities into full-time job offers. The CMC also provides access to the alumni, who are spread across different industries and companies of all sizes ranging from a start-up to a global organization. Networking with the alumni working in diverse industries adds flexibility and breadth to the career options available to the students. Further, CMC brings over 200 companies to the campus through events such as career fairs, company presentations and interviews, thus, enabling the students to connect with prospective employers.