Pacific Lutheran University - School of Business

Offering a “globally-focused program” that’s “well-known in the area,” the School of Business at Pacific Lutheran University satisfies South Puget Sound area locals, who appreciate “the convenience offered to working professionals” here. With “small class sizes” facilitating plenty of “one-on-one interactions,” the PLU MBA program employs a “customer service approach” that keeps students happy. This part-time program, “designed for working professionals,” can be completed in less than two years.

Standout features of the PLU MBA include an emphasis in technology and innovation management, mentioned by several students as the main draw to the school; PLU also offers areas of emphasis in entrepreneurship and closely-held enterprises, as well as in health care management. A general MBA without concentration is also available. All students must complete a “ten-day international trip requirement,” which grateful MBAs note is “included in the cost of tuition.” Recent destinations include France, Spain, China, Dubai, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, and Peru. Students describe the experience as “amazing” and cite it as a major asset to the program.

Most agree, however, that the faculty and program administrators are PLU’s primary selling points. The “excellent professors” at the School of Business are “experienced, flexible, always available, and professional.” They go out of their way to utilize their students’ professional experiences in class. As one student explains, “Professors try very hard to learn about each student and cater lessons/lectures to our professional backgrounds.” Small classes mean lots of student participation. “As a student you are challenged to learn, and you are a part of the class. It’s expected that the students are active in the classes,” one MBA warns. The administration of PLU’s MBA program “is handled almost exclusively by the program administrator/director,” a great arrangement for students, who report that administrative services in their program are among the best on campus.

The Career Development Office at PLU provides placement and counseling services for all undergraduates, graduate students and alumni. The office assists students with internship and career placement. The PLU Business Network is an alumni group who schedules networking events to help alumni and current BBA and MBA students connect. A significant networking opportunity open to PLU MBAs is the PLU MBA Executive Leadership Series, a series of addresses delivered by area executives. Recent speakers have included the President and CEO of Esterline, President and COO of Miligard Windows, and the CFO of 5.11 Tactical. But a “strong alumni network” is prob- ably PLU’s greatest placement service. Students note the “sustained good reputation of [PLU] graduates,” and benefit from “having a larger number of them in key companies and industries, serving in positions of great importance and responsibility.”

Employers who most frequently hire Pacific Lutheran MBAs include Boeing, Microsoft, Weyerhaeuser, State Farm Insurance, Intel, and Starbucks.

A “new business building” and a “beautiful campus” are among the top amenities of the PLU MBA experience. The building boasts “state-of-the-art facilities [that] cater to the unique [challenges] of working students,” including “Wi-Fi available throughout the entire building.” Opportunities to connect with classmates are limited as a result of the part-time nature of the program and the busy schedules most students maintain. However, students have the opportunity to connect at monthly networking events for students and alumni as well as frequently interact though, “classroom-related team proj- ect activities” that one student describes as “exciting and promising, as well as offering distinct challenges.” Despite the fact that many students’ schedules prevent them from spending a lot of time on campus, a “very collegial atmosphere” still manages to pervade the program.

Students in the PLU MBA program bring “very diverse backgrounds and professional experiences” to the classroom. A great many are “hardworking, family-oriented profes- sionals with a lot going on in their lives,” ranging “from stay-at-home moms and dads to army surgeons and city managers.” One student reports that “when working together, I felt in all cases that we were peers, that never did one person’s experience make them better than another, that everyone was able to contribute.”