The university that houses McCombs is frequently referred to as the “Harvard of Texas.” Despite McCombs’ positive reputation in Texas, many of its MBA graduates—17% of whom work on the West Coast—go on to pursue careers elsewhere. UT Austin also boasts a sizable alumni community and their “Hook ’em Horns” hand gestures and greetings are clear indications of how proud they are to be connected to the institution.
For those of you with an interest in technology and venture finance, McCombs is a fantastic program. The venture capital industry stands out in particular among those where the school’s Fellows Program places students. With the help of this program, you have the exceptional chance to work directly with regional venture capital firms.
The position of McCombs inside the city of Austin should also be taken into consideration. The city is not just reasonably priced, but also conveniently reachable from the college due to its significant venture capital and IT presence. Also, McCombs has strong ties to Houston’s conventional oil and gas industry as well as its renewable energy sector.
Academic Programs for the UT Austin McCombs MBA
The UT Austin McCombs MBA program takes up the fall and spring semesters of the first and second years. In the second year of the program, only elective courses are provided. Students take classes from the core curriculum throughout their first year of the program, with the majority of them concentrated in the fall semester. Some of the foundational courses contain material in fields including financial accounting, microeconomics, statistics, and strategic management. You’ll begin taking electives in the spring semester of your first year of the MBA. There are more than 100 elective course options available, including subjects like marketing, information, risk, and operations management as well as business, government, and society.
Majors
UT Austin McCombs offers a variety of concentrations for students to choose from as part of their degree program in place of majors. The MBA offers the following specializations.
Accounting
Business, Government, and Society
Finance
Interdisciplinary
Management
Marketing
Operations and Analytics
Programs for Experiential Learning
McCombs’ curriculum for experiential learning places a big emphasis on social innovation and impact. One of the many groups on campus where students can participate includes the Clean Tech group and the MBA Impact Investing Networking and Training group. Through their Fellows Program, which offers opportunities in a variety of industries like marketing and operations, McCombs also gives you the chance to obtain practical experience in the workplace. Students also get the chance to take part in coaching, seminars, events, and micro-consulting projects within the curriculum.
Research Institutes
Students at McCombs have access to a wide range of research centres, including the Centre for Leadership and Ethics, the Centre for Risk Management and Insurance, the Centre for Financial Education and Research, the Real Estate Centre, and the Healthcare Innovation Initiative, among the 19 research centres that make up the business school.
International MBA Programs
The McCombs international studies program consists of four main parts. Students have the option of enrolling in a foreign-country-focused course that also involves a one- to two-week trip, or they can choose to go abroad in July before the MBA program starts as part of the McCombs Adventure Program. Moreover, McCombs offers joint degree programs with seven of the best business institutions in the world.
Application Conditions
To be accepted to McCombs, all applicants must have earned a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. program or its equivalent. Although it is not a mandatory prerequisite, the school strongly advises that applicants have at least two years of full-time work experience.
Each and every McCombs applicant must submit their materials online. Two mandatory essays and one optional essay are the main components of the online application. Moreover, one letter of recommendation is required. A Certification of Financial Responsibility is also requested from all international students; while it is not necessary for program selection, McCombs needs this form to apply for the appropriate visa paperwork on behalf of admitted international students. If the school obtains an official copy of the applicant’s GMAT or GRE result, coupled with their TOEFL or IELTS score, if applicable, the application is only deemed complete.
All other candidates must submit their TOEFL or IELTS results; however, those with a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or from a university in a nation where English is the official language are exempt automatically.
One official transcript from each institution attended by the applicant is required. Unofficial transcripts and photocopies, even those that have been notarized, are not acceptable. Foreign transcripts must be translated into English and appear in the institution’s official language.
The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) at the University of Texas at Austin must receive all completed application materials. When GIAC determines that an application is finished, it sends all supporting documentation to McCombs for evaluation.
Career after UT Austin McCombs MBA
The average starting salary for members of the class of 2021 was $129,854, while the average signing bonus for recent graduates was $28,153. 34% or so of graduates work in technology. Consulting came in second with 23%. The banking industry attracted about 17% of people, while 6% each went into the consumer goods and energy/utilities sectors.
In keeping with the typical pattern of business school alums getting post-MBA work in the region where their institution is located, almost 66% of the class of 2021 graduates were hired in the Southwestern region of the United States. In 13% of cases, graduates chose work in the West, while in 7% of cases, they chose jobs in the Midwest. The North-eastern United States received 5% of them. Last but not least, fewer than 2% of the Class of 2021 selected positions abroad.
What Sets Apart UT Austin McCombs?
The triangle of Texas: Being in a state with robust economic activity and population growth is advantageous to UT Austin. Texas has a robust tech, real estate, and consultancy industry in addition to the archetypal oil and gas businesses; these companies are all based in Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Get more about UT Austin’s ties to Austin, Houston, and Dallas in our interview with the director of admissions, Rodrigo Malta.
Venture Fellows: Via this special McCombs fellowship program, a somewhat uncommon opportunity to work directly with venture capital and private equity firms is provided. Selected McCombs MBA students may be given the opportunity to enter these industries for the first time thanks to Venture Fellows. The program consists of an internship and once-weekly sessions with speakers from the venture capital or private equity communities.
The “Harvard of Texas”: The UT Austin McCombs School of Business is known as the “Harvard of Texas” due to its stellar reputation and extensive network in the Lone Star State. MBA graduates are successful in landing jobs in Texas’ leading industries, including tech, consulting, and investment banking. The Texas border does not, however, limit employment placement, as McCombs also sends many graduates outside of Texas!
CONCLUSION
On the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, the McCombs School of Business is close to the school’s hub. In addition to three part-time programs, an Executive MBA, and a full-time MBA program, McCombs also offers these degrees. A flexible curriculum with a wide variety of concentrations and a highly collaborative student culture are important aspects of the McCombs MBA program. Additionally, McCombs has a track record of placing a sizable proportion of its alumni into post-MBA positions in the energy and technology sectors.