Texas Christian University - M. J. Neeley School of Business

Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business offers the best of both worlds, uniting a “small-school atmosphere with big business ties.” Located in the heart of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, the school has “access to and relationships with many top companies.” “Networking opportunities are second to none,” and career and internship prospects look particularly positive in this vibrant business-oriented city. At the same time, “personalized attention” is a hallmark of the TCU Full-time program. With fifty to sixty students in each incoming class, the “small and accessible size” of the school guarantees that students benefit from plenty of interaction with the “world-class faculty.” Here, “it is easy to reach professors and ask questions.” In addition to the faculty, “every TCU employee involved with the MBA program has a clear and unwavering passion for growing the program and graduating successful students.” Administrators are “very accommodating, know all of the students well, and are very accessible.”

Depending on your needs and your career experience to date, Neeley offers a range of MBA options, including a part-time evening program, an executive MBA, a twenty-onemonth full-time program, and an accelerated twelve-month full-time program. In the full-time program, students are assigned to small project teams during the first year, a great way to get to know your classmates. While the atmosphere is close-knit, the curriculum is rigorous. There is an “extremely heavy workload in the beginning” of the full-time MBA, and “all of the students in the program hold each other to a high standard.” Described as “outstanding,” Neeley professors bring “a ton of practical industry experience” to the classroom. Students point out that “the professors in supply chain are really good,” and the school offers the opportunity to pursue a functional concentration in that field, as well as in marketing, finance, and accounting. MBA candidates may further tailor their studies through elective courses in a specific industry, like health care or real estate; the school’s “up-and-coming” MBA for Energy Professionals is particularly suited to its Texas location.

A Neeley education “focuses more on experiential learning” than strict academics. In this “applicable career-focused program,” there is an emphasis on developing a practical perspective, and professors are committed to “pushing our limits and growing our skills in communication, presentations, etc. from the moment classes begin.” Throughout the MBA, class work is “supplemented with a great deal of real-world work experiences, though programs like Neeley & Associates Consulting,” a specialized class in which students review and evaluate real-world clients with the guidance of faculty experts. Students can further augment their education through study abroad, frequent “networking events,” and special trips and events, like “going to meet Warren Buffet.”

In addition to the many real-world projects incorporated into the Neeley MBA cur- riculum, the school offers a robust suite of job-related resources for MBA candidates, including individualized career coaching, internship placement, interview prep, and annualcareer-oriented trips to places such as New York City, Chicago, or San Deigo. There are also ample networking events on campus, including roundtables and special dinners with national and regional business leaders. Students say the school has deep ties in the local business community, and “the alumni are fiercely loyal to their own and most will go out of their way to help.”

Eighty-five percent of students graduating from TCU in May 2013 had a job within three months of graduation, with starting salaries averaging $85,367. Students recently took jobs or internships at Accenture, AT&T, Deloitte Consulting, Ericsson, Ernst & Young, Frito-Lay, Galderma, Halliburton, Healthpoint LTD, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corp., JCPenney, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Kimberly-Clark, Merrill Lynch, Sherwin Williams, Texas Instruments, and Verizon. The school has a “great reputation in DFW,” but students do note that the school “tends to place best at companies in DFW. For stu- dents looking for jobs elsewhere, that can be difficult.”

Despite its modest size, you’ll find plenty of diversity on the TCU campus. The school attracts a unique group of students whose collective “experience crosses the globe and many different industries.” An ambitious and “capable” group, MBA students are also collaborative: Here, “students are often found working and studying together” as they try to keep up with group projects and assignments. Despite the program’s demands, TCU is a “welcoming” environment, where “people know each other well and easily become friends.”

“The community is very vibrant” at TCU, with ongoing extracurricular activities and social events taking place on campus. For example, “there are multiple networking opportunities every week,” as well as “free movies, speeches from famous professors from other schools, festivals for minority communities,” and more. In addition to school-related activities, students meet up for “happy hours, meals, working out at the Rec, or other fun activities as the occasion arises.” Students can also take advantage of the multitude of recreational activities, arts, and entertainment in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, where they’ll find everything from “honky-tonk” to “golfing” to world-class muse- ums in addition to the thriving professional and collegiate athletic teams and events.