Kent State University, Graduate School of Management Admission
Kent State University, Graduate School of Management Undergraduate Program
Kent State University, Graduate School of Management Application

The Facts

Kent State University is a rather large, public institution located in the town of Kent, Ohio, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 23,500 students. The university's Graduate School of Management, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 384 graduate business students. Approximately 75% of the currently enrolled students have had an average of 2 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 26, however, ages range from 23 to 50. Approximately 25% of the currently enrolled students enter directly from undergraduate school, while about 5% of the students already have a graduate degree of some sort. The school is perhaps best known for its global emphasis through the use of technology and the internet, as well as for its combination of case study and theory-based methods. The school offers graduate business degrees in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Accounting (MSA), Master of Arts in Economics (MAE), Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MSFE), as well as a doctoral program in business administration, and joint degrees in nursing (MSN/MBA), as well as library science (MIS/MBA). Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of global management, technology, marketing, as well as finance.

Admission to the university's Graduate School of Management is fairly competitive among the relatively few students who apply; last year, over 142 students applied for admission to the school and approximately 114 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 47 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.29, as well as an average GMAT score of about 551. The admissions committee requires all applicants to have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least a 2.7, as well as a minimum GMAT score of at least 450. Students are able to begin graduate course work in the fall, spring, or summer, and are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis.

The school has 58 full-time faculty members, of whom 95% hold a doctorate degree. The school is also home to 2 part-time faculty members. The average graduate business class usually numbers around 35 students, and most faculty members teach an average of 3 courses at any given time.

Placement Services

The university's Graduate School of Management has rather extensive placement services available to both current students and alumni. Some of these services include on campus recruitment events, referrals, as well as online databases. Last year there were many companies actively recruiting on campus, and the majors most in demand by these companies included management information systems, finance, accounting, as well as marketing. The average starting salary for the most recent graduating class was around $38,500, however, it ranged from $25,000 to $80,000. Over 85% of the same class were able to find jobs within three months of obtaining their degrees.

What's Good

"The career services here are wonderful; they're a really useful resource that everyone should take advantage of."

"We have a pretty wide range of courses to choose from here; the variety is quite nice."

"There are quite a few really fascinating speakers that come here throughout the year. It's a nice add-on to the course work."

What's Bad

"There is not much financial aid available to us graduate students unfortunately."

"There can be some unpleasant competition between students, particularly when it comes to recruitment."

"There are some professors who seem to think their course is the only one you have."

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