“Many years ago, our students developed sets of norms where they said they would hold each other accountable for. It’s the way they want to experience their 2 years that’s aligned with our ‘Team Fuqua’ culture. They call them the paired principles. The principles are: authentic engagement, supportive ambition, collective diversity, impactful stewardship, loyal community and uncompromising integrity. Every term, students will vote on classmates who demonstrate these principles.”

Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, discusses what makes the Duke Fuqua MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the Duke Fuqua Daytime MBA Unique? (6:55)
• Duke Fuqua MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (29:10)
• Career Opportunities after Duke Fuqua – What to Know & How to Prepare (59:30)

Duke Fuqua MBA (STEM designated) Full-time MBA Highlights

(last updated October 2023)

Typical Full-time MBA Class 

• 400 students
• 6 years average work experience
• 47% international (50+ countries)
• GPA average: 3.46 (Middle 80%: 3.1-3.9)
• GMAT average: 718 (Middle 80%: 670-760)

Curriculum

• Academic Core:
  • First year: Orientation + 14 required core corses and 4 required electives (choose from 100 electives & 7 experiential learning opportunities)
  • Second year: Reorientation + Consequential Leadership + 12 electives

• Concentrations (14): Decision Sciences, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Energy & Environment, Energy Finance, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Finance, Financial Analysis / Accounting, FinTech, Leadership & Ethics, Management, Marketing, Operations Management, Social Entrepreneurship, Strategy
• Certificates (2): Certificate in Finance, Certificate in Health Sector Management
• Study Abroad: 36 business schools in 28 countries
• Dual Degrees (5): JD/MBA, MD/MBA, Master of Public Policy/MBA, Master of Environmental Management/MBA, Master of Forestry/MBA
• Faculty: 150+ faculty members
• Student Clubs: 60+ student clubs

Admissions 

• Application requirements:
  • Good GMAT/GRE
  • TOEFL(95)/IELTS(7) if necessary
  • transcripts
  • 1-page business resume
  • 1 short answer question, 2 essays
    • What are your post-MBA career goals? Share with us your first-choice career plan and your alternate plan (100 words)
    • Please share with us “25 Random Things” about you (750 words).
    • Based on your understanding of the Fuqua culture, what are 3 ways you expect to contribute at Fuqua? (500 words)
  • 1 recommendation (+1 endorsement from Fuqua alumni optional)
  • 45-60 minute interview with admissions or a second year MBA student based on your resume; Interviews can be during Open Interview Period (August – October) or through invitation.
• Application rounds: 1 early application (September) and 4 application rounds between September and April
• Duke Fuqua Admissions says you’ll be a “strong candidate” if:
  • “Duke is confident you will be successful in its program”
  • “You’ll add value to your peers and to Fuqua throughout your professional, personal, and academic experiences”
  • “You believe diversity in thought and background are important within your community”
  • “You demonstrate competence, character, and purpose and have the strongest potential to be a leader who is a positive force for change”

• Scholarships 3 types of scholarships available each year up to full tuition; more than 50% of Full-time MBAs are awarded merit-based scholarships
  • Keller Scholars for academic excellence and community servicer
  • University Scholars for outstanding innovation with interdisciplinary interests
  • The Manning Scholarship in Healthcare Business Leadership
  • Forte Fellowships for advancing women in business
  • Fuqua Impact Scholars for students with interest or experience in one of the research disciplines supported by Fuqua’s research centers
  • The Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE)

Careers

• Placement, Class of 2022: 97% employed w/in 3 months of graduation, 160,055 USD avg starting salary ($30,000 avg bonus), graduates experienced 130% increase in salary after 3 years; average alumni salary is ~$196,750 USD after 3 years
• Top Destinations, Class of 2022: 29% northeast, 25% west, 17% south, 14% southwest, 9% mid-atlantic, 6% midwest, 2% international (outside US)
• Top Industries, Class of 2022: 36% consulting, 23% technology, 16% financial services, 11% health care, 4% consumer packaged goods
• Top Functions, Class of 2022: 40% consulting, 24% finance, 15% general management, 14% marketing & sales, 2% operations & logistics
• 200+ companies from 10 different industries hired Class of 2022 graduates

Rankings: Ranked #11 by US News and World Report (2023) and #11 internationally by Financial Times (2023); Fuqua is ranked a Top 10 MBA in the USA for Business Analytics, Marketing, and Non-Profit by US News & World Report (2023) 

Alumni: 184,000+ Duke Alumni, 26,000+ Duke MBA alumni, 86% of alumni live in the US; there are 79 regional alumni groups, with 30 of them are overseas

Tuition:  ~$150,000 USD; $225 USD application fee; estimated living costs $2,000 USD/month

Accreditations: AACSB

About Our Guest

Shari Hubert is Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She has been with Duke for 6 years. Previously, Shari served as Associate Dean of Admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business as well as Director of Recruitment for the Peace Corps. Shari has also worked at Citi, GE, NBC Universal, The Boston Consulting Group and Merck in a variety of recruiting, consulting and marketing roles.

Shari graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA and majored in French at Dartmouth University as an undergraduate. She serves on a number of HBS Alumni Boards, Pyxera’s Global Board of Directors and is a Forte Partner Advisory Council Member.

Show Notes

• Duke Fuqua MBA
• The Fuqua Show on Spotify
• The Duke MBA Admissions Interview: What to Expect and How to Prepare

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