Purdue University Krannert Graduate School of Management

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School Says - General Information
When you're ready to take your career to the next level with an MBA or other master's-level business degree, your choice of a school should be the same as the organizations you could one day help lead. That choice is Krannert.

What makes our graduates a top pick of recruiters and other business professionals? Companies know that when they hire Krannert students, theyÂ'll get employees who work hard and work smart---team players with strong analytical skills, entrepreneurial drive, and a solid ethical foundation.

Your journey begins with your application to one of Krannert's four full-time master's programs in management or one of its three part-time executive programs. It continues with your exploration of the schoolÂ's diverse option areas and elective course work, study abroad and internship opportunities, and career services offerings.

School Says - Student Body
When asked to describe the atmosphere at Krannert, students often use words such as "diverse," "welcoming," "family-friendly," and "team-oriented." With fewer than 400 students enrolled at any given time, we're relatively small compared to other top-ranked institutions. People say hello when you walk through the halls. Faculty and staff members know your name and freely share their time.

Krannert encourages informal interaction through weekly social hours, club events, evening and weekend outings, and other recreational activities. The opportunities extend to the Purdue campus and surrounding community, which provide a safe, clean environment and a variety of cultural offerings. Those who desire the occasional bustle of a big city donÂ't have far to travel, either. Chicago is a two-hour drive to the north, while Indianapolis is only an hour south.

School Says - Academics
The synergistic MBA program is stimulating, intense, and develops highly effective business management professionals. The in-class experience includes numerous simulations of management decision-making scenarios, extensive interaction between the faculty and the students, personal communication and presentation skills enhancement, and team exercises. In addition to the in-class experience, there are various programs for continued growth, including a Friday Management Development Series aimed at bringing leading-edge practices and emerging topics to the students.

School Says - Admissions
The high quality of Krannert students drives the success of the school's programs. We offer an outstanding program precisely because we accept only those applicants with the most outstanding backgrounds. Our review of your application begins with an emphasis on these factors:
- Academic record
- GMAT scores
- Work experience
- Additional requirements for international applicants

These factors will help us determine your ability to take on the challenges of a master's program. Just as importantly, we look at your ability to contribute to a dynamic learning environment. For that reason, we ask applicants for essays, letters of recommendation, and information about community involvement. Occasionally, our Admission Committee will also request interviews to get to know a student better.

School Says - Campus Life
Rawls Hall houses 13 electronically equipped classrooms, a professional career center, a multimedia-based auditorium, 25 breakout rooms, distance-learning facilities, and sophisticated computer labs.
The building is named for Krannert master's alum Jerry S. Rawls in recognition of his generosity. Rawls, the president and CEO of Finisar Corp., donated $10 million to Krannert, the largest gift in KrannertÂ's history.

Students Say - Academics
Purdue University's Krannert School of Management is a heavyweight in the MBA universe, especially when it comes to its "areas of strength: quantitative methods, operations, finance, and economics." Those looking to develop a "strong analytical and quantitative background" can hardly go wrong with a Krannert MBA. Best of all, at state school prices, Krannert "provides a great return on investment." But it's not just the school's low tuition that lends Krannert a kinder bottom line. As one student explains, "Many of us are actually doing this program at almost no cost thanks to the number of scholarships and assistantships [on offer]. This is very unique for a top MBA program. My friends at Wharton, MIT, Tepper, etc. are paying way more!" Krannert excels even outside its quantitatively-focused standout disciplines. Students encounter a faculty experienced "in every aspect of management, from operations and finance to marketing and HR" here. But Krannert's academic excellence comes with high expectations. Academics are tough; there's a "‘no BS' atmosphere here. Here you are expected to ‘work hard, work right, and work together.'" MBAs assure us that Krannert "will push everyone to the limits, truly creating upending experiences that develop the individual along several dimensions." This is true not merely in terms of in-class work; the program "also provides several experiential learning opportunities through [its] consulting projects and study abroad programs." "The experiential learning projects give us good exposure to real-world work before we actually take the plunge," students tell us. In terms of size, Krannert is just right. The program "is small enough for each student to stand out and become a leader if they would like to," yet "large enough and diverse enough to really learn a lot from your classmates." Krannert keeps class sizes small, which "means that students have greater one-on-one time with professors and they remain closely knit even years after graduation." Krannert professors "work to continue to contribute to research and stay involved in their respective fields," yet remain "genuinely interested in helping their students and are open and available to them any time we need."

Students Say - Admissions
To apply to Krannert School of Management, all candidates must submit an official undergraduate transcript, GMAT scores, a resume, letters of recommendation, and several admissions essays. The entering class had a mean GPA of 3.4 on a 4.0 scale, and an average GMAT score of 662. Women comprised 29 percent of the entering class. While some students have significantly more or less professional experience before the class of 2006, the average post-college work experience was 4 years.

Students Say - Campus Life
Krannert "had the best building of any school I visited," one student notes, referring to the "well-equipped facilities in the recently completed Rawls Hall," which "is consistently rated the best building on campus (inaugurated in 2003). It is in the best location on campus, next to the student union building, and the main hill where all the shops and stores are, and only literally ten steps from the most popular bar in town." The building is a nexus of activity, hosting "classes, student club activities, social gatherings, coffee [houses], call outs, company presentations, guest speakers, team assignments, study groups, etc." The school "really tries to make a community for all of its students," through campus "organizations that help new students, international students, and families become accustomed to life in West Lafayette. They host many cultural events to show the diversity of its student body and educate everyone [on the different] cultural background[s]." Campus life offers "a huge number of activities that one can take part in or lead. Be it clubs, the entrepreneurship center (Burton D. Morgan), international trips, club trips, case competitions, taskforces, GCSMI (Supply Chain Initiative), social activities, etc." Hometown West Lafayette has "plenty of restaurants to choose from and cost of living is very affordable." Purdue athletics is another big attraction, of course. The student body includes "a truly international population that provides for diversity in culture, thoughts, and work styles." "It has truly been a melting pot experience," one student writes. Students are also diverse in age: "There are a number of students who are married with some of them having kids," while "at the same time, there are quite a few students that graduated from undergrad within a year of starting the MBA program."

Students Say - Careers
Students can prepare for interviews, contact employers, research companies, and complete career counseling through the Krannert Graduate Career Services office. The office receives mixed reviews. Some praise career services staff as attentive and "very committed to the students." Others demur, complaining that "The school should do a better job at alumni networking and improve its career services." This problem is particularly acute, we're told, when it comes to career services for international students, no small issue at a school with a 43 percent international student enrollment. Recent employers of Krannert MBAs include: Bank of America, Citibank, Cummins, Discover Financial, General Electric, Guidant, IBM, Intel, Pratt & Whitney, Procter & Gamble, Raytheon, Samsung, United Technologies, and Wyeth. Manufacturers claimed 19 percent of Krannert's MBAs from 2007 to 2009; in that same period, 18 percent found work in consumer products, 16 percent in pharma/biotech, and 15 percent in each of technology and financial services.

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