Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business debuted in this year’s ranking at No. 90. Harbert placed 75th in Academic Standards, 86th in the Academic Experience, and 89th in Employment Outcomes. Auburn placed lower in the academic experience category because it did not meet the minimum alumni response rate.
Auburn’s Harbert College offers eight undergraduate business majors including accounting, business administration, business analytics, finance, information systems management, management, marketing, and supply chain management. Harbert also offers 11 different minors. Auburn’s Harbert College is also one of the rare schools that offer undergraduate online programs and certificates. Harbert has been doing distance learning longer than most schools and its online MBA program regularly places in the top-five in our online MBA rankings.
THE FOUR-YEAR BUSINESS SCHOOL PATH
As a four-year program, students start their business education right away with Harbert’s pre-business curriculum. The idea is to introduce first-year students to the different aspects of business and majors offered at Harbert so they can decide if business is right for them, and if so, which major would be best. Also available freshman year is the Harbert Connects mentorship program which places first-year students in both informal and formal internships.
During the second year, students are expected to declare a major. By year three, students are fully immersed in the business and Harbert experience. Students may then begin study abroad opportunities (when safe to travel abroad) and attend business career fairs and job interview prep services like mock interviews. This is also when students normally participate in an internship if they haven’t already. By the time they are seniors, students are expected to be in regular contact with their career coach and be on the hunt for that first job.
CAPSTONE COURSES, CAREER DEVELOPMENT OFFICE LISTED AS POPULAR ‘SIGNATURE EXPERIENCES’ OF RECENT GRADS
While the response rate for the alumni survey was too low to be counted in the methodology of the rankings, some 65% of the graduating Class of 2018 that responded said they had a “signature experience” as part of their Harbert experience. We defined signature experience as any sort of impactful project work, experiential learning, or global immersion. The capstone course and project was one of the more popular aspects of the program listed by the surveyed alumni.
“I was involved in several capstone courses in my final year,” one 2018 graduate told us. “There was a capstone project with strategic management, where we did a simulation to apply managerial theory in ‘real-world’ situations. I had a capstone for marketing strategy and for marketing research. The interesting thing about the other two is that they allowed us to work with actual clients. We met with the campus’s food service company and were able to experience what it’s really like to deal with a client.”
Students also mentioned the career development office and being particularly helpful to their experience.
“Our career development office was phenomenal,” one alum said. “My soft skills still set me apart from my colleges even 2+ years outside of college. Also, Auburn’s unique business analytics degree and the practical experience it gave me set me apart in my interview processes and make me a better analytical thinker in my current role.”
EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES
Auburn was unable to report the percentage of graduates from the Class of 2020 that had a business-focused internship before graduation. The school did report that 58% of 2020 graduates had accepted a full-time position within three months of graduation. That rate was only higher than four other schools reporting employment data. Among those landing a full-time position, the average starting salary was $55,399.
Alumni Say:
“I worked with Professor Kincaid to build case studies for students within his APS class. Additionally, I took a study class on negotiation in which we had to begin the class by negotiating with the faculty to allow us to have the class. This class was one of the more effective uses of my time at Auburn in teaching me how to negotiate effectively and efficiently.”
“I was involved in several capstone courses in my final year. There was a capstone project with strategic management, where we did a simulation to apply managerial theory in ‘real-world’ situations. I had a capstone for marketing strategy and for marketing research. The interesting thing about the other two is that it allowed us to work with actual clients. We met with the campus’s food service company and were able to experience what it’s really like to deal with a client.”
“Our career development office was phenomenal. My soft skills still set me apart from my colleges even 2+ years outside of college. Also, Auburn’s unique business analytics degree and the practical experience it gave me set me apart in my interview processes and make me a better analytical thinker in my current role.”
“Advance Personal Selling was offered to exceptional marketing students. I participated and it made an incredible impact on my strength in sales. It provided students opportunities to watch themselves sell on video and to improve throughout the year. It greatly improved my confidence and persuasion skills. The instructor was extremely effective and always available outside of class.”
