Duke University, Fuqua School of Business Admission
Duke University, Fuqua School of Business Undergraduate Program
Duke University, Fuqua School of Business Application

The Facts

Duke University is a rather moderately-sized, private institution located in the town of Durham, North Carolina, and is affiliated with the Methodist Church. The university has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 11,000 students, however, the graduate Fuque School of Business is significantly smaller, and is home to about 480 graduate business students. Approximately 99% of the currently enrolled students have had an average of 5 years of full-time professional experience, a factor taken into serious consideration by the admissions committee when reviewing applications. Perhaps as a result of this fact, the average age of enrollment is around 28, however, ages range from 22 to 40. Approximately 1% of currently enrolled students entered directly from undergraduate school, while over 7% of students already have a graduate degree of some sort. The graduate Fuqua School of Business is perhaps best known for its emphasis on strategic and functional abilities, as well as its use of group projects that encourage teamwork. The graduate Fuqua School of Business offers graduate business degrees in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), as well as several doctoral programs, and joint degrees in law (MBA/JD), engineering (MBA/MS), public policy (MBA/MAP), forestry or environmental management (MBA/MF or MBA/MEM), medicine (MBA/MD), as well as nursing (MBA/MS). The school also offers plenty of work-study and internship opportunities, as well as a foreign exchange program with 14 different countries. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of finance, marketing, operations, as well as decision sciences.

Admission to Duke University's graduate Fuqua School of Business is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 3,207 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 646 of those students were admitted. Eventually however, only about 340 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.59, as well as an average GMAT score of about 701. The admissions committee requires all applicants to have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0, and a minimum GMAT score of at least 500. Students are able to start graduate course work in the fall only, and are notified of their admissions status only after the deadline.

The school has 75 full-time faculty members, all of whom hold a doctorate degree. The school is also home to 25 part-time faculty members, of whom 75% hold a doctorate. The average graduate business class numbers around 66 students, and most faculty members teach an average of 3 courses at any given time.

Placement Services

The school has rather extensive placement services; last year there were a whopping 360 companies actively recruiting on campus, 86% of which were national corporations. The majors most in demand by these companies included marketing, finance, operations, general management, as well as health management. The average starting salary of the most recent graduating class was around $86,450, however, it ranged from $65,000 to $150,000. An impressive 96% of the same class were able to find jobs within three months of receiving their degrees.

What's Good

"There are so many companies always recruiting here; you tend to be very comfortable with the potential of finding a job."

"The professors are really dedicated to this school, and they are quite passionate about the subjects they teach."

"I really appreciate the career development center; they've done a lot for me."

What's Bad

"I think some of the classes are larger than they should be. It would be nice to have more small discussion groups."

"The administration is far more concerned with the undergraduate students, which is kind of annoying for us when we may have a question or two."

"There isn't much in the surrounding area. You have to go pretty far for your internships."

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