The MBA program at the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego has been recognized as one of the top programs for entrepreneurship in the U.S. by the Princeton Review and Bloomberg Businessweek. The school’s MBA program ranked 16th in The Princeton Review’s “Top 25 Graduate Schools for Entrepreneurship of 2019,” and 24th in the Bloomberg Businessweek “Best Business Schools” entrepreneurship category.
Both rankings recognize the best programs for students aspiring to launch their own businesses. In the Princeton Review ranking, the Rady School ascended from 25th to 16th in this year’s 2019 ranking, placing the school’s MBA program among the elite programs for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
“Since its founding, the Rady School has been dedicated to providing an outstanding education focused on innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “This ranking recognizes that the Rady School is a leader in entrepreneurial education. The incredible companies founded by our students and alumni are transforming our world and are proof-positive of the quality of entrepreneurship education the school provides.”
Since the school’s first MBA class graduated in 2006, students and alumni have started over 150 operational companies, contributing over $2 billion to the economy. The rapid success of startups originating at the school can be attributed to the unique structure of the Rady School’s MBA program, which integrates entrepreneurial education into the program through its capstone Lab to Market course sequence.
Two Prestigious Organizations Laud Rady School of Management MBA Program for Excellence in Entrepreneurship was last modified: November 14th, 2018 by Hallie Jacobs
As I entered my first year at the Rady School, I prepared to hit the ground running in search of my summer internship. It is true what the Careers Connections team warns about during orientation – the recruiting season is well underway by the time first year students start at Rady. It is important to start the job search early! In October of 2017, I attended an on-campus IBM panel featuring IBM employees in different roles, including distinguished engineers, offerings managers and Summit Program representatives. After the event, I used LinkedIn to connect with the Summit Program panelist to set up a call to get a more detailed perspective on what the Summit Program entailed. The Summit Program representative had gone through the program and was able to answer my questions and provide guidance on how to apply for the internship successfully. What I was not aware of initially was that this representative had direct access to the program’s recruiting team and recommended me on the back-end for a position.
Assignment
A few months before the start of the internship an IBM in San Francisco, the Summit Program managers paired me with an industry leader for the State of Washington. My assignment was to conduct a sales prospecting analysis to help implement best practices for the territory sales team. Working closely with each team member was valuable in that I got 15 different perspectives on what it is like to be an IBMer and learn about the company culture simultaneously.
Travel
The Summit Program sponsored travel to Dallas for orientation and to your host region for summer assignment purposes. Since the territory I was assigned was Washington State, my host manager and I planned for me to fly to Seattle twice, one for client-facing meetings and the second for internal planning meetings. The opportunity to travel was a nice perk to have as an intern and it also gave me a taste of life at IBM.
Takeaways
Participating in a summer internship is an invaluable experience for an MBA student pursuing the corporate track. What better way to “test drive” a new industry, company and geography? My experience this summer allowed me to explore the tech industry and live in the Bay Area where tech is king. While my summer was filled with travel and a heavy workload, I was able to find networking opportunities inside IBM and in the San Francisco area. Needless to say, it was nice to have a month off before my second year at Rady commenced!
Elizabeth Castaneda is a member of the Rady School of Management Class of 2019 MBA cohort. She is also the president of the Women of Rady student organization.
My Summer Internship at IBM was last modified: October 1st, 2018 by Elizabeth Castaneda
The MBA may be the most well-known choice for people looking to enhance their career prospects in business. However, it’s far from the only option. In fact, many students are choosing specialized master’s degrees over the traditional MBA path.
Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular option, along with one San Diego school helping students position themselves for career success with specialized master’s degrees.
The MBA may be the most well-known choice for people looking to enhance their career prospects in business. However, it’s far from the only option. In fact, many students are choosing specialized master’s degrees over the traditional MBA path.
Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular option, along with one San Diego school helping students position themselves for career success with specialized master’s degrees.
Consider the case of Swagata Chakraborty, a recent graduate from the Master of Science in Business Analytics program of the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego. After working for two years on Citi’s Global Decision Management team in India, he’d reached an impasse.
“Towards the end of my tenure at Citi, I was trying to figure out whether I wanted to pursue an MBA or wanted to hold on to my engineering roots. On one hand, I loved working with datasets and writing codes to come up with analytical insights and on the other hand, gaining a formal degree to prepare for the business side of industrial problems seemed imperative to me,” says Chakraborty.
Rady School of Management UCSD
Enter the Business Analytics specialized master’s degree at the Rady School. “When I learned about the Business Analytics Program at the Rady School, I realized that this is exactly the specialization I was looking for,” continues Chakraborty.
Not only do specialized master’s degree programs support the acquisition of advanced knowledge, but they often do so in less time and for less money — without the extensive work prerequisite.
Another appeal of specialized master’s degree programs? They can be tailored to respond to financial, environmental and other global disruptions,” according to The Globe and Mail. In other words, if you want a degree that will enable you to hit the ground running as an authority in an emerging area, specialized master’s degrees provide exactly that.
One other thing to keep in mind about specialized master’s degrees, recently declared by Forbes to be “the hottest new MBA [that’s] not an MBA at all?”, is that they do not preclude the possibility of continuing on to an esteemed MBA degree in the future if and when career advancement or a shift into general management mandates it.
Rady School of Management
Introducing Specialized Master’s Degrees at the Rady School
MFin program executive director and instructor Michael Melvin says, “The MFin program is a one-year quantitative program aimed at giving the students the skills required to be competitive in today’s financial industry. It is more technical than an MBA program and specializes in finance with an emphasis on data analysis.”
Meanwhile, MSBA executive director Raymond Pettit insists, “Our graduates learn not just how to code, for example, but also how to take results and relate them to business objectives. In addition, the program exposes the students to all the major areas of business where analytics play a key role. This cross-fertilization of learning and techniques across multiple business dimensions actually strengthens the insights and methods that our students can bring to the table when they do arrive on the scene of their respective jobs.”
This mindset of customizable curriculum and hands-on industry experience is also being rolled into the Rady School’s most recent specialized program, the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc), which is currently enrolling its first cohort. In addition to preparing students for the CPA exam, networking and career services are a key component to helping MPAc grads get a jump on their careers.
No mention of Rady is complete without mention of its extraordinary location. Chakraborty says, “The location and the culture of California serve as an advantage. Proximity to the various companies in the Bay Area as well as the several startups that are booming in California just make networking and collaborating in the professional frontier easier for us.”
Pettit adds, “Data and the ability to make sense of data is endemic across nearly every facet of business today. Our students have outstanding local assets in the biotech, health sciences, communications, government, and analytical services industry, and our network and reach of possible experiences, internships, capstones, and job placement is rapidly extending further to include key US business centers, such as San Francisco, Boston, and New York.”
And while these programs may be shorter than their MBA alternatives, the intensive curricula are designed to pack in a lot, including sought-after practical experience.
“Every student gets a chance to work with a company to implement a real project. We get to interact with companies and solve real-world problems. This provides students with the experience and confidence required to navigate through the new field of analytics,” enthuses MSBA alumnus Snehanshu Tiwari.
Tiwari is also quick to point out Rady’s extraordinary faculty. “Each and every professor has a very strong research background. Profs [professors] go out of their way to help the student succeed in the program. They are always open to discussions and open to feedback. In fact, “Every staff member in the school wants us to succeed and do well,” Tiwari says.
The takeaway for everyone from recent grads to mid-career employees hoping to level-up? A specialized master’s degree may make sense from an advancement perspective.
But it is also important to note that all specialized master’s degree programs aren’t created equal. According to Forbes, education consulting firm Eduvantis founder Tim Westerbeck recently cautioned that “among the many useful programs are a few that were ill-conceived, and are less likely to give graduates the outcomes they want.” Because of this, choosing to pursue a specialized master’s degree is only part of the equation.
Also critical? Choosing the right school — which brings us back to Rady. If you’re looking not just for a degree, but also for the quality assurance that goes along with a degree from a top-ranked institution, Rady’s specialized master’s programsmay be the perfect fit.
The Benefits of Completing a Specialized Master’s Degree in San Diego was last modified: October 1st, 2018 by Joanna Hughes
Negotiating for what you’re worth can be a challenge even for seasoned professionals. Typically, people don’t like this part of the interview conversation or talking to their boss about a raise, yet they still fixate on it. Negotiating is an art, not a trick. At the UC San Diego Rady School of Management, graduate students learn these helpful tips from their Careers Team:
Forget about the money. Too much time is spent “researching” salaries and anticipating a low offer. Focus on getting the interview, then winning the interview. Without this, you won’t have an offer to negotiate. It is when the hiring manager determines that you’re the right person for the job that you now have leverage. Focus on what’s important.
Understandyour worth. That’s right, it is about your history, what you’ve learned in grad school, and how that all matches with what the employer is seeking. Also, all candidates are not made equal. Specific skills and experience are worth more to certain employers — it’s not only about the degree or years of experience. It’s best is to talk to someone close to the industry or the hiring market to get real time input on realistic salary expectations.
Be careful when doing the research – size of the company, the industry, where the job is located all factor into the numbers. A small public company in the southwest will pay differently than a public company in the northeast. Use validated compensation data tool, such as Payscale.com, which includes the complex factors, or again talk to someone close to the industry to help set your expectations.
Be a good judge of your counter negotiation. It’s not about the dollar difference, but the percent difference. If someone offers you $80,000, I’d strongly advise that you don’t counter with $100,000. You may be thinking “it’s only $20,000 more” but it’s really a 25% increase. I doubt anyone is going to try and lowball their offer to you by that much. It’s not logical. So take emotion out of it and think about what a reasonable response is (I suggest starting with a “thank you for the offer…can we discuss” approach). And remember, if you like the offer, it is ok to accept without negotiating. Some companies start with their best offer, knowing the market is tight and the best talent is important for the company’s success.
Last, set yourself up for a non-emotional conversation when it comes to compensation. Build a spreadsheet of either your last or current compensation package in one column (line item specific – base salary, bonus, 401K, vacation, benefits, stock, etc.) and then the offer in the adjoining column. This side-by-side comparison opens the conversation up to a simple business discussion and allows both sides to come to an offer that is fair.
Yes, it can be that simple! Remember, both sides want the offer to work out and to start you out as a happy employee. Keeping this in mind should decrease some of the stress you’re already feeling. Good people want to hire good people – the rest is simply a professional conversation. Happy negotiating!
Negotiating is an Art: Tips from Rady Graduate Career Connections was last modified: July 18th, 2018 by Terra Saltzman-Baker
Amy Bernal (MBA ’14) is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Aira.io, a local startup that is changing lives of individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired through the interaction of smart wearable devices, artificial intelligence and real, remote people, called Aira Agents. Founded just over two years ago by CEO Suman Kanuganti (MBA ’14), the company has grown quickly, with almost 200 users, and plans to scale to over 2000 this year. Aira was recently awarded “Best New Technology” from PCMag, “Bet Accessibility Tech” from CTA, as well as “Most Innovative Product” by CONNECT San Diego.
Prior to Aira, Amy was a Senior Program Manager at Intuit in the Consumer Tax Group. Before moving into tech, Amy worked for West Health and the Gary and Mary West Foundation, partnering with organizations to reduce the cost of health care for older adults through technology or preventative care. She is a proud alumna of UC San Diego Rady School of Management, Flex Evening class of ‘14. In her personal time, Amy promotes women in technology through her involvement with Athena, Women Give San Diego, and the Rady Alumni Board. During her time at Rady she was part of the first US/Israel Center for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship trip.
What impact has Rady had on your career progression?
Rady has changed my career path in three major ways: allowed me to break out of the “non-profit” sector, something I felt was going to be extremely challenging to accomplish without a new network, it brought me into tech, and most recently, it brought me into the Startup Sector.
Has your Rady MBA enabled you to change industries or functional areas or even achieve a promotion?
All of the above! My first answer covers the high points but I would say when I started Rady I intended to get into the marketing field, however in the Evening program it is hard to swallow when someone’s advice is to quit your job and get an internship with the hopes you get hired on. I didn’t find a path to marketing, and when I graduated felt a bit dismayed with the ability I would have to radically change my career. It took almost 3 years but I did just that through joining Aira.
What event or realization served as a ‘turning point’ for you during your Rady School and/or professional career?
Half way through the first year I went from a Foundation to Intuit- that transition helped class material come alive for me, it felt relevant from operational costs to innovation frameworks.
Why did you decide to come to the Rady School?
I knew it was the best, and if I was accepted, I needed to challenge myself and go. I seriously feared how math and science heavy I perceived it to be, and I felt that it would be the only way I could actually challenge myself to get the new skills I was seeking.
What was your favorite class and why?
Strategy Planning — I had never thought this way before. I felt like a whole new world was opened up, a new conversation, that clearly had always been happening without me participating. I was fascinated by the ability to see industries a decade ahead, and the balance in planning for that future state and current state.
What is the best thing about being a Rady alumni?
You go to school to become an Alumni — you get an MBA to connect yourself to the best and the brightest, the Rady School offers deep, meaningful connections and resources that I would never achieve on my own.
Tell us a fun fact about you, or something people may not know about you.
I am from a really small town outside of Yosemite National Park, the elevation is higher than the population.
Alumni Spotlight: Amy Bernal was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Rady School
July 1 marks the 14th birthday of our Rady School. It’s hard to believe it has been 14 years; it’s even harder to grasp all the growth and successes for a school still in its infancy.
A little over a week ago, approximately 300 students graduated from our MBA, Master of Finance, and Master of Science in Business Analytics degree programs. Our alumni population now exceeds 1,600 – amazing and innovative individuals on paths for impact and professional success. And our faculty ranks continue to grow with extraordinarily gifted scholars and educators. By any standard, they’re among the best.
You know that our Rady School remains successful and growing because of its community – all of our faculty, students, staff, advisory council, alumni, and many more who have committed to excellence and impact. Many of you have persevered with us during these years.
Thanks to all of you for your contributions, and congratulations on an amazing 14 years!
With best wishes,
Bob Sullivan, Dean of the Rady School of Management
Happy Birthday to Us! was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Rady School
The Rady School of Management’s commitment to advancing innovation and entrepreneurship was recently recognized by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) by earning an extension of accreditation from the prestigious global business education alliance.
The Rady School, which is among the youngest business schools to receive AACSB accreditation, earned the coveted status in 2011. To achieve initial accreditation, an institution’s business program must undergo a meticulous internal review and evaluation process. Less than five percent of business schools worldwide have merited AACSB International accreditation.
“AACSB commends each institution for their exemplary work,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “During this peer-review process schools must demonstrate alignment with AACSB’s global accreditation standards, as well as how they encourage engagement, innovation, and impact across the communities they serve.”
To be reaccredited, business schools must go through continuous improvement reviews, which are conducted on five-year cycles and include peer review and self-assessment. These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.
The Rady School has identified specific learning goals and objectives for each program that correspond directly to the Rady School’s mission. Those learning goals and objectives are further broken down to specific skills and knowledge. Collection, analysis, and dissemination of the assessed data is a key component of maintaining accreditation and essentially ensuring that our students are learning the goals and objectives for the program set forth by the Rady School.
“By once again meeting the rigorous standards for accreditation outlined by the AACSB, the Rady School has earned its place among the most elite business schools in the world,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “The accreditation is a recognition of the extraordinary quality of our faculty and academic programs as well the commitment from the community to support the school and its mission.”
About the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego
As the world’s largest business education alliance, AACSB International (AACSB) connects educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to over 1,500 member organizations and more than 785 accredited business schools worldwide. With its global headquarters in Tampa, Florida, USA; Europe, Middle East, and Africa headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, AACSB’s mission is to foster engagement, accelerate innovation, and amplify impact in business education. For more information, visit aacsb.edu.
Rady School Recognized with Extension of Accreditation by the AACSB was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Hallie Jacobs
Big changes are coming to the UC San Diego campus, and a Rady School of Management alumni is leading the charge.
It was recently announced that the Clark Construction Group was selected to construct the Living and Learning Neighborhood at North Torrey Pines. Carlos Gonzalez (MBA ’07) serves as the regional executive officer and senior vice president of Clark Construction Group California, and he and his team will lead the project’s implementation on campus. The unique design-build project will be the home for Sixth College, as well as the Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities.
Gonzalez recently visited Professor Vish Krishnan’s Project Management course to speak to students about his role at Clark Construction Group and the importance of leadership.
“As project managers, we are responsible for getting things done, and getting things done well,” Gonzalez said. “At Clark Construction, we don’t put shovels in the ground until we have done the proper planning, and we are truly prepared.”
During his presentation, Gonzalez shared the extensive Clark Construction project management implementation process, as well as the lengthy procedure the company went through to secure the award for the Sixth College project.
“We spent a ton of time researching the school and aligning with the University’s mission, challenging ourselves to think bigger and devising plans to maximize the potential of the space,” he said.
Clark’s team, in collaboration with its design partners, created a layout for the Living and Learning community featuring seven buildings connected with open outdoor spaces, underground parking for 1,200 vehicles, and public realm improvements that include pedestrian and bike-friendly pathways. The space will include student housing, academic buildings and research spaces, and community service programs to provide students, faculty, and staff with an immersive learning experience.
Gonzalez also emphasized the importance of leadership in his presentation.
“As a project manager, you have to treat people with respect,” he said. “You need to lead by example and treat people fairly. Communicate your expectations and goals, work ethically, provide feedback, and most importantly, listen!”
The project, which is designed to achieve LEED® Platinum certification, will begin construction in summer 2018 with an expected completion date slated for 2020.
“Being a part of the Rady School of Management was instrumental for my career success,” Gonzalez said. “I’m thrilled our team was awarded this opportunity because this project is special to me – I’m excited to return to UC San Diego to help shape the campus that gave me so much.”
Rady Alum Spearheading Design-Build Project at UC San Diego was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Hallie Jacobs
When Ryan Ruehl left the Marine Corps after five years of service as an artillery officer with two deployments, he knew he wanted to work in the medical device industry—something he’d been passionate about since high school. He already had a degree in biomedical engineering and his time in the Marines had given him the leadership skills to be successful. But several of his early startups failed. “It’s really, really hard to start a business with no support or like-minded people around,” he said.
Ruehl wanted to pursue an MBA in order to learn more about marketing, finance, strategy and entrepreneurship and enrolled at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management. In what can only be called kismet, on his first day of school he struck up a friendship with fellow MBA student Dr. Jon Wilensky. That friendship led to the creation of Braykion, a tech startup that seeks to reduce hospital-acquired infections in patients through wearable devices. A year into it, they have secured an investor and expect to launch a pilot program at the Jacobs Medical Center over the summer.
While Ruehl was able to find a pathway to success, his story emphasizes a common struggle among veteran entrepreneurs: they have ideas but no practical knowledge of the business world and no cohort to help them on their journey. This is compounded by acquiring skills in the military that are highly desirable, but difficult to translate into corporate America.
Not all veterans are able to enroll in business school as Ruehl did. In order to better serve the men and women who have served our country, UC San Diego is expanding its already robust line-up of entrepreneur programs to include two specifically geared toward veterans: a Certificate in Entrepreneurship, operated through the Office of Research Affairs; and Veteran Ventures, an accelerator program offered by Rady School of Management. In a truly non-traditional move, veterans are not required to have any affiliation with UC San Diego and tuition is free.
“The genesis for these programs was the belief that our veterans have unique knowledge and experience, and our goal is to help them turn their ideas into reality that benefits society,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “This is our responsibility as a public institution and it’s a way to give back to our veterans who have so bravely protected our citizens and nation.”
Research Affairs’ Office of Innovation and Commercialization is responsible for organizing and developing the certificate program, recruiting instructors, and finding venues for the classes. Vice Chancellor for Research Sandra Brown said she felt it was important that the university not just toe the line when it comes to veteran programming as much as redraw the line.
“At UC San Diego, we wanted to do more—to go deeper, be of better service. We are not just a veteran-friendly campus. We are a veteran-empowering campus,” she said.
The next Certificate in Entrepreneurship course will launch June 7 with the City of Carlsbad. The six-week course is designed to help veterans acquire the necessary business acumen to give their startups the best chance of success. Budding entrepreneurs will learn to turn their inspirations into viable businesses; create dynamic frameworks to test and evolve ideas; and create a scalable, sustainable model. The course will also guide them in telling their story to potential investors, gathering customer feedback and other relevant market data, financing their startups, and recruiting and motivating stellar employees. For more information on the Certificate in Entrepreneurship course , email innovation@ucsd.edu.
Veteran Ventures is geared toward veteran entrepreneurs who are ready to move from business concept to viable operation, and focuses on mentoring and coaching. The Rady School launched their first pilot program at the end of April and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Vish Krishnan, a professor of innovation, technology and operations at Rady, is the current faculty advisor for Veteran Ventures. In his Lab to Market Workshop, he observed veterans struggle as they transitioned from the military to civilian world and thought they could benefit from extra resources. “The goal of the program is to help veterans receive inspiration, insight and seed funding to build and scale these ventures,” he said.
Michael Hayden, a veteran Marine with more than 20 years of service, is himself an entrepreneur and also acts as the program facilitator for Veteran Ventures. He praised the school’s efforts, saying, “To have a school as prestigious as UC San Diego create these programs geared specifically toward vets is incredible, especially since the community of veterans in San Diego is so large—around 250,000. I can’t thank UC San Diego, Rady School of Management and namely Vish Krishnan enough for what they’re doing.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, San Diego County is home to the country’s third largest veteran population. Speaking at a recent reception to celebrate UC San Diego’s new programs, Congressman Scott Peters, who serves California’s 52nd Congressional District, remarked that “We have a moral obligation to keep our promises to our veterans, who deserve more than our gratitude for the sacrifices they made in service to our country. I want to recognize Chancellor Kholsa and his team at UC San Diego for extending educational opportunities to even more of our veterans. Like so many San Diego initiatives, this program can serve as a model for other universities and communities throughout the country on how to honor our nation’s heroes.”
As a veteran entrepreneur himself, Congressman Darrell Issa spoke from experience: “As someone who is a veteran and who left the army more mature than I went in, there was no better place to use those skills than as an entrepreneur. But I made a lot of mistakes. I didn’t have any way to fill in the blanks of what I didn’t know. Now, those resources exist at places like UC San Diego.” Issa represents California’s 49th Congressional District, which includes Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine Corps training facility in the United States.
UC San Diego’s enhanced focus on military entrepreneurs deepens the already strong bond that exists between the campus and the veteran population. In order to better answer the needs of veteran undergraduates, UC San Diego established the Student Veteran Resource Center in 2013. The center seeks to ensure that military-affiliated students successfully make the transition to campus life and offers resources such as peer-to-peer support, mentoring and social networking.
The campus also has a long-standing relationship with VA San Diego Health Care System. Many of UC San Diego’s researchers and physicians have joint appointments with the VA, which directly impacts the clinical treatment of our veteran community. Congresswoman Susan Davis, who represents California’s 53rd Congressional District, stated, “UC San Diego and the VA bring together their shared values to support our veterans in building their entrepreneurial skill set, which will translate into new businesses, jobs, and economic development for the region.”
The constantly changing landscape of business means that those who stand still fall behind. To be successful, business professionals must constantly pursue new knowledge, skills, and experiences. They must also immerse themselves in innovation and invest in their career. One of the best ways to do all of this: earn an MBA.
The return on investment (ROI) of an MBA is multi-faceted. It’s not just about earning more money or moving up in your career; there are many intangible benefits including skills learned, connections made, and eyes opened. For that reason, it can be difficult to quantify the exact ROI of an MBA, at least until you take a closer look at the program.
At the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management, the value of their MBA is in more than just its coursework, which covers a broad spectrum of business-related topics including everything from accounting to statistics, economics, and entrepreneurship. It’s about the entire experience.
The Rady MBA—both the Full-Time and FlexMBA program—was designed to inspire students with a vision of the future. No matter what program a student chooses, they can expect an immersive experience that delivers the skills and knowledge necessary to address the challenges that face innovative companies. And they’ll be surrounded by students who are smart, collaborative, and passionate about the business of innovation whether it’s an entrepreneurial pursuit or a breakthrough advancement in science and technology.
Tangibly, Rady MBAs can expect to be employed directly after graduation. According to the Rady Employment Report, 81 percent of Rady MBA graduates accepted employment within three months of graduation, with 9 percent of graduates starting their own company.
Rady grads also gain access to an incredible alumni network that spans the globe. So whether you’re in San Diego, New York, Beijing or Tokyo, you’ll have immediate access to local alumni who can help you gain employment, meet new people, and provide career guidance.
Still, the tangible and intangible ROI of the Rady MBA program is impossible to comprehend until you talk to their students. We interviewed two Rady MBAs, a recent Full-Time 2016 graduate and a current FlexMBA student to get their perspective on the value of their Rady MBA.
Career Transition
Sofia Zhang Full-Time MBA, 2016 Program Analyst at Qualcomm
Breaking into the business world is no easy feat, which is why Sofia Zhang knew she needed help. She was working at a college as an undergraduate computer science instructor when she decided she was ready for a change. Her plan: to attend UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management to earn her MBA.
It was a bold move, but a necessary one for Zhang whose goal was to learn as much about business as possible. “I came to Rady with the hopes of learning how to operate a company as a whole and to understand how various aspects, including marketing and finance, could contribute to the overall company mission,” she said.
And her goal was easily achieved in the Full-Time program not only through the coursework but also through her extracurricular activities and connections with faculty and fellow students. “My fellow classmates and alumni were an excellent resource,” said Zhang. “That, along with UC San Diego’s great academic reputation and location, helped me understand business better.”
As for the MBA curriculum, not only did it help her vastly improve her business skills in areas such as accounting, finance, and quantitative analysis, the entire Rady experience opened her eyes to entirely new areas of business she hadn’t considered before. For example, she learned about leadership and public speaking through her position as the President of the Rady Asian Business Club. And in the New Venture Finance course, Zhang discovered a new passion: entrepreneurship, venture capital, and technology.
“The class opened my eyes to the venture world, and made me consider making venture capital my lifetime career path, or potentially even owning my own socially-conscious company one day,” she said. “In particular, the high technology industry became very attractive to me.”
It was an enlightening experience that helped Zhang narrow down her future career. “I learned that entrepreneurship is everywhere, not just in the world of startups,” said Zhang. “This lesson has carried into my everyday life, propelling my career forward. I always assumed that I could never work in a Fortune 500 company, but I did it.”
Now, Zhang works as a Program Analyst at Qualcomm, having successfully made the switch from non-business background in bioinformatics and computer science to a career in business technology.
For other students in a similar position, Zhang believes it is important to establish a vision. “Know what you want out of the program, and focus on what means most to you,” she said. “If you are considering an MBA program, Rady is an exceptional choice – the entrepreneurial spirit, impressive network, perfect location and engaged faculty are what make me proud to be RadyMade.”
Starting a Company
Jon Wilensky Rady FlexMBA, 2017 Clinical Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at the UC San Diego Health System and Co-Founder of Braykio, a digital health technology startup.
Wilensky isn’t your typical MBA student. As a board certified plastic surgeon in practice for ten years, you wouldn’t even consider him a viable candidate. But, things changed five years ago when Wilensky had the opportunity to get involved in implantable biotechnology.
Long story short, he ended up leading various clinical trials and was identified as an emerging leader in biotech, but he was limited by his experience. Wilensky wanted to do more than just run clinical trials from the medical side of things, but without a background in business, he was stuck. As a friend put it, “Jon, you’ll always add great value as a medical advisor, but you’ll never bring enough value to the table to have a seat at the Board of Directors.”
So, to round out his skillset, competency, and knowledge base, Wilensky decided he needed a Rady MBA.
“When I started the Rady FlexMBA program, I was not intent on becoming an entrepreneur and starting my own company. That wasn’t in the cards for me, and I’d never even thought of that,” Wilensky explained. “My goal was just to become more than a clinical consultant—to learn how to bring products to market and how to understand the business landscape.”
But thanks to some very fortunate circumstances that were only possible because of the Rady School, Wilensky’s deck of cards changed. During his first couple of quarters in the program, he met Ryan Ruehl a fellow MBA student. Just like Wilensky, Ruehl was passionate about biotechnology, and together they co-founded Braykion, a startup company designed to reduce the spread of preventable infections in healthcare settings.
“With Braykion, we’ve really taken advantage of every opportunity,” said Wilensky. “Lab to Market put our startup through its paces and was an incredible way to flesh out our idea and transform it into a business plan. The StartR Accelerator was rocket fuel for Braykion with advice on banking, accounting, marketing—you name it. Along the way we also participated in every pitch fest and competition we could—both internally and externally.”
Wilensky even modified his MBA curriculum to promote his new entrepreneurial direction. He selected electives that would provide value for a startup co-founder, as well as electives that would help him become an expert in implantable and wearable biotechnology.
“The core of the Rady program is innovation, collaboration, and knowledge. It’s a way of thinking about all of these things and framing how you approach problems,” said Wilensky. “Before Rady, I approached problems with a single focus—unilaterally on the clinical side. Now, I see the bigger picture. It’s a better way to think.”
“This was much more than a trip to Israel for me,” said Wilensky. “I’ve built multiple sustainable personal and professional relations in the implantable biotechnology sector because of it, and there are business problems that I’m working on now that are a result of that trip. You cannot put a price on that.”
In the end, though Wilensky had originally chosen a Rady MBA solely to bridge the gap between the clinician and the business side of things, his experience ended up being about a lot more. “Without being at Rady and in its entrepreneurial-focused environment, Braykion wouldn’t exist,” Wilensky said simply.
Assignment
Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular option, along with one San Diego school helping students position themselves for career success with specialized master’s degrees.
background. Profs [professors] go out of their way to help the student succeed in the program. They are always open to discussions and open to feedback. In fact, “Every staff member in the school wants us to succeed and do well,” Tiwari says.
Big changes are coming to the UC San Diego campus, and a Rady School of Management alumni is leading the charge.
by Michelle Franklin
