U.S. News & World Report, a media company that publishes an annual set of education rankings, placed the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business (MSB) undergraduate business program 14th overall among 532 colleges nationwide, and third for its international business program, in rankings released Sept. 24.
U.S. News bases their business school rankings on survey responses from deans and senior faculty members at peer institutions. In the spring and summer of 2024, faculty at universities accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a business accreditation nonprofit, were asked to rate the quality of the program on a five-point scale.
Sarah Brannigan (MSB ’28) said hearing about the ranking was a pleasant surprise.
“I was excited to hear that, especially as a first-year knowing that I have four years to take classes,” Brannigan told The Hoya. “It’s exciting for the student body to see the attention that the MSB is getting. I think that this distinction will give students even more resources to succeed and discover their passions.”
The undergraduate MSB program offers seven different majors, which students pair with the Georgetown liberal arts core curriculum. In the International Business program, students choose between a concentration in International Business Regional Studies and International Political Economy and Business. Both concentrations require some similar baseline courses; however, Regional Studies students take six credits of study in a specific region, and International Political Economy and Business students are required to either study abroad or complete an internationally focused internship. Both concentrations are also expected to attain intermediate proficiency in a language.
Brannigan said the size of the school fosters close relationships with peers and faculty.
“My largest class right now in the MSB only has about 35 students, and I’m also taking a class in the MSB with 10 students,” Brannigan told The Hoya. “All students in the MSB have name tags on their desks, so when you’re interacting with your professor and other students in the class, you’re referring to them by their names, which is a good way to connect.”
Mason Hall (MSB ’26) said the connections between students and faculty both inside and outside the classroom contribute to positive student experiences in the MSB.
“In my first-year seminar, my professor was really nice and had us over to his house for dinner,” Hall told The Hoya. “In my management major classes, the professors have specific office hours just to get to know their students.”
“They’re also really interested in connecting you with their former students and people that they know in different industries.” Hall added.
Ella Forkin (MSB ’27) said that when deciding where to go for college, she appreciated the flexibility in the MSB.
“I love Spanish and I’m also a huge history buff, so I knew I wanted to minor in those but also focus on a major in business,” Forkin told The Hoya. “I knew that Georgetown really had that, where you can minor across schools, so I really liked how I could combine all the academic interests that I was looking for.”
Hall said that she was excited about the MSB because of the wide variety of majors available to choose from.
“The thing that really drew me to the MSB was their variety of majors,” Hall said. “I was really excited because I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. I really like math, so I wanted to be able to use that, but I felt like the MSB had a really great tasting menu of all the different majors, which helped me decide.”
The MSB provides opportunities to get involved and gain valuable experience, including participation in different student organizations, research and internships, as well as a peer ambassador program that connects first-year students with an upperclassman mentor.
Brannigan said the environment surrounding these opportunities and in her classes have been very supportive.
“The business school has been super collaborative, off the start,” Brannigan said. “We’ve had tests that we study for together, and we all worked together on a paper for my first-year seminar. The upperclassmen are also very available, especially your peer ambassador, so if you have any questions about specific topics, you can always reach out to someone.”
Forkin said that the school is a community of like-minded peers who are genuinely passionate about what they do.
“In the consulting club we’re actually consulting for real organizations, and in the finance club we’re investing in real stocks on behalf of the endowment,” Forkin said. “McDonough goes a step further by providing students with opportunities to take what you learned in the classroom and what teachers provide you with and actually do something tangible in the real world with it.”
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