University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business Admission
University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business Undergraduate Program
University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business Application

The Facts

The University of Southern California is a rather large, private institution located in the city of Los Angeles, California, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 29,000 students. The graduate Marshall School of Business, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to approximately 1,777 graduate business students. About 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 admission committee when reviewing applications. Perhaps as a result of this fact, the average age of enrollment is around 28, however, ages range from 23 all the way up to 51. Approximately 12% of the currently enrolled students enter directly from undergraduate school, while about 1% of students already have a graduate degree of some sort. The graduate Marshall School of Business is perhaps best known for its emphasis on case studies as well as teamwork and practical application of theory. The school offers graduate degrees in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Business Administration (MSBA), Master of Accounting (MAcc), Master of Business Taxation (MBT), Master of Medical Management (MMM), as well as a doctoral program, and joint degrees in law (MBA/JD), planning (MBA/MPL), real estate (MBA/MRED), pharmacy (PharmD/MBA), nursing (MBA/MSN), gerontology (MBA/MSG), industrial and systems engineering (MBA/MS), dentistry (MBA/DDS), as well as East Asian Studies (MBA/MA). Some of the most popular programs include courses in the areas of accounting, finance, strategy, leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship, international, operations management, as well as entertainment.

Admission to USC's graduate Marshall School of Business is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 2,540 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 540 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 275 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.35, as well as an average GMAT score of about 684. The admissions committee requires all applicants to have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.0, as well as a minimum GMAT score of at least 550. Students are able to begin graduate course work in the fall only, and are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis.

The university's graduate business school has 181 full-time faculty members, of whom 82% hold a doctorate degree. The average business class numbers around 36 students, and most faculty members teach an average of 4 courses at any given time.

Placement Services

The Marshall School of Business has rather extensive placement services that are available to both current students and alumni for an unlimited amount of time after receiving their degree. Last year, 124 companies were actively recruiting on campus; the majors most in demand by these companies were finance, marketing, consulting, operations, as well as management. The average starting salary of the most recent graduating class was around $75,134, and an impressive 83% of graduating students were able to find jobs within three months of receiving their degrees.

What's Good

"There are always companies hanging around campus recruiting; you don't have to actively search, they come right to you."

"We get a really diverse combination of courses, and it's nice to get such a well-rounded perspective."

"Being right in the center of Los Angeles is great, because there is a lot going on here in the way of new business."

What's Bad

"Some of the professors are difficult to get a hold of outside of class. They're always rushing off to something else."

"The administration is a lot more concerned with the undergraduate students, and you're interests can feel a little neglected sometimes."

"There aren't as many financial aid opportunities as I would like."

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