College of William and Mary The Mason School of Business

Statistics

Programs & Curriculum

Employment

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Rankings & Lists

School Says - General Information
The College of William & Mary, founded in 1963 is the second oldest educational institution in the United States. Alma mater of three presidents (Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler) and countless other Republic luminaries, the College offered its first business class in 1798. The College established the Master of Business Administration in 1966. The Mason School of Business has deep roots in the history and traditions that have made the College of William & Mary one of the most distinguished liberal arts universities in the nation.

School Says - Student Body
The Full-time MBA Program has a diverse student body that unites in a collegial team-centered living/learning Mason School community.
Men: 65%
Women: 35%
International Students: 37%
Minority Students: 15%

School Says - Academics
Full-time MBA candidates complete a lock-step core curriculum in the first year providing a general management foundation and Mason Career Services. Following the summer internship, the second year focuses on applied learning, including immersion in a real time business environment through Career Acceleration Modules (CAMs) and the Field Consultancy Program. Students are required to select two CAMs: Brand Marketing, Business-to-Business Marketing, Consulting, Enterprise Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Corporate Finance, Financial Markets and Real Estate. The final semester includes Field Consultancy and a mixture of core and elective courses. All students participate in the Leadership Advantage Program, a curriculum unique to The Mason School of Business that includes 360 degree feedback assessments, action planning, defining of the personal and professional brand and exclusive one-on-one coaching by senior executives from our network of 118 Mason School of Business Executive Partners.

School Says - Admissions
William & Mary is looking for revolutionary thinkers who intend to do great things and make a difference in the world. Successful candidates come from a variety of academic, professional and cultural backgrounds. We require GPA, GMAT or GRE, TOEFL/IELTS/PTE, resume, essay, letters of recommendation and interview offered by invitation and conducted on-campus, via Skype and phone. Admissions deadlines are divided into four rounds: 11/1, 1/10, 4/7, 5/2 and rolling thereafter.

School Says - Campus Life
Alan B. Miller Hall is a symbol of the enduring spirit of William & Mary. For the same entrepreneurial spirit that built W&M, the alma mater of a nation, lives on in Miller Hall, the home of The Mason School of Business. Special features include:
- Building size: 166,000 square feet
- 350 windows
- 2 fireplaces
- 11 classrooms
- Electronic trading room, Acuff Financial Markets Center
- 4,000 sq. ft. of conference space for lectures and presentations
- Enhanced business library and communications laboratory
- Team meeting rooms with electronic scheduling capability
- Boehly Cafe and Java City Coffee House, feature indoor and outdoor patio seating

Students Say - Academics
MBAs love the "personalized approach to teaching" at the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary. This approach results in part from the program's "smaller class sizes" and dedicated "professors who want to teach and who care about students' success." Mason's professors utilize a "holistic approach to teaching both in terms of content (challenging academics, but also specific classes on communication and leadership skills) and form (case studies, hands-on projects, traditional)." It is also the result of several value-added features of the program that many students feel are Mason's greatest assets. Chief among these is Mason's Executive Partner Program, "a fantastic resource that pairs us up with leaders in business who live in Williamsburg (coincidently, a lot of people retire from Wall Street and move to Williamsburg)." Through the program, "Each student gets a mentor who meets with him or her on a regular basis. These executive partners are readily available to students for career advice, interview guidance, and feedback on projects and presentations." "The Executive Partner program really brought it home that [the program is] committed to teaching us the soft skills…. The aim is to teach MBAs to think and not just do," one student explains. Other unique features of the program include the "immersive Career Acceleration Modules," which "allow for you to actually work with clients and provide solutions" in such areas as "corporate finance, financial markets, entrepreneurship, B2B and B2C marketing, and consulting." Finally, there is Mason's "capstone course, a field consultancy program that allows us to consult with real companies to solve real problems." Students report that the Mason curriculum places an "emphasis on both qualitative and quantitative skills, presentations, and teamwork to create a well-rounded education that has helped students to excel in the business world." Students also appreciate that the program "offers many opportunities to develop as a leader. There are so many options to get involved with and the cross-program bonds are stronger than any other MBA school that I have asked people about. It is commonplace to socialize with a law student just as much as a business student." Mason's administration "is open to doing things better, and if you have an idea or project, they encourage you to do it….For example, we now have green-belt six sigma certification and a project with the Department of Defense because a student took the initiative to get it started. This is just one of many examples. Students play a very active part in the school and have a large say in what happens here."

Students Say - Admissions
Applicants to the full-time, flex, and executive MBA programs must submit official academic transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate work; an official GMAT score report; letters of recommendation; personal essays; and a resume. International applicants whose first language is not English must submit official score reports for either the TOEFL or the IELTS.

Students Say - Campus Life
Mason recently moved into a "new 166,000 square foot facility" that students say is "fantastic." "The study rooms or the conference rooms are comparable to the offices in any high-tech company," one student writes. Within the building's confines, "students are heavily involved in projects that originate in the classroom but often move to the weekends and off time. This is balanced with social events, intramural sports, clubs, committee involvement, and community service." Clubs "ranging from community service to marketing" are "student-run and all give us experience trying out real-world situations." The student body forms a "small community…with a high level of cooperation and teamwork and very little of the competitiveness rumored at other business schools." William and Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, a "historic, safe, and picturesque" town "small enough that you go out and see your classmates and enjoy getting to know them in a non-professional setting" but with "great access to both large cities within an hour-and-a-half drive or a great oceanfront within an hour-and-a-half drive." Regardless of where they are, "students find a way to make it fun. Whether having mug night at the Greenleaf, or celebrating Diwali with the Indian students (with professors dancing!), or the Chinese New Year with the Chinese students, or random intramurals, hanging out at Miller Hall, or just having a conversation, I am thoroughly enjoying my experience here," one student writes.

Students Say - Careers
Placement and recruiting services at the Mason School of Business receive mixed reviews from students. Some praise the "high quality of jobs and high job placement" and conclude that the "program is exceedingly strong," Others are less complimentary. A common complaint focuses on the fact that Mason "is a small school" in a location that isn't "ideally placed to attract MNC's and conglomerates to recruit here," putting the school "at a disadvantage when it comes to on-campus recruiting. Most companies focus on larger schools. Therefore, we need a more robust career services department to help mitigate the disadvantages that go along with that." Top employers of Mason MBAs in recent years include: Anheuser-Busch, BearingPoint, Booz Allen Hamilton, Capital One, Deloitte, Dominion Resources, Ernst & Young, Fannie Mae, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Lafarge, Legg Mason, Landmark Communications, National City Corporation, Rich, Seapak, Target, and Wachovia. One in four 2009 MBAs found work with the government; 15 percent took jobs in the finance sector; and 14 percent entered the consulting business.

Other Schools To Consider Top Programs