The Mason School of Business at William & Mary soared to an impressive No. 48 in this year’s 2023 rankings, way up from last year’s No. 68 position in the 2022 rankings – the greatest year-over-year change of all ranked schools in our 2023 rankings. Each year the B-School climbs a bit higher – last year, they went up 17 spots. The Virginia-based business school had an exclusive acceptance rate of just 24.70% for their most recent incoming class in contrast to last year’s 38.80% rate. Mason’s average SAT scores leapt 45 points from an average of 1364 for last year’s incoming class to an impressive average of 1409 for this year’s incoming students.
Employment-wise, rates were down slightly from 85% for last year’s class to 81.33% for the Class of 2023 landing a business-oriented position within three months of graduating, yet the school maintained a solid 87% of the Class of 2023 landing a business internship – similarly to the prior year’s 85%, yet up slightly.
The Mason experience is characterized best by its personalized curriculum design, a strong community of support, and plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning. Mason’s education is highly customizable and designed to cater to individual goals and interests.
The Individual Program of Study (IPS) allows students to either major or minor in business, double major or minor within the Arts & Sciences, or study two different business fields through a concentration. Available majors to Mason undergrads include Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, Marketing, and Supply Chain Analytics.
All Mason undergrads take the Core Curriculum, which is structured by prerequisites, an Integrated Foundation Semester, and upper-level core courses.
SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY
One of the strengths of the Mason education is its people. While every school has support initiatives in place to connect its students with alumni and resources, however, at Mason, students are given a system of support that goes above and beyond.
One key example is The Alan B. Miller Entrepreneurship Center, which offers education and support for students interested in entrepreneurship. Through the center, Mason students can attend events, get one-on-one entrepreneurship mentoring, seed funding for ideas, and even first dibs on internships.
“The William & Mary Entrepreneurship Center was a game-changer,” one alum told us in the alumni survey. “It provided broad guidance into entrepreneurial thinking and empowered me to have a head start in the working world compared to my peers. It also enabled me to find the job of my dreams at Oracle and provide the continuing support to co-found my own entrepreneurial venture. I am continually thankful I had the life-changing experience of W&M’s business education broadly and the entrepreneurship center specifically to set me on my current trajectory.”
HANDS-ON LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES
Mason students also have a number of opportunities for hands-on learning. And while these types of opportunities are a given now at most B-schools, Mason graduates, in particular, speak highly of the B-school’s ability to foster a true sense of teamwork and real-world applications.
“The emphasis on teamwork is by far the most important skill I learned at William & Mary,” one alum told us. “Almost every business school class [at Mason] requires a team project and you learn how to work with others to be able to succeed.”
Another alumni spoke highly about the “Applied Financial Concepts” course, where students engage in a number of real-world financial case studies.
“We were taught the case studies by true financial professionals, experts in their respective fields, who judged our case findings constructively and in a way that prepared me for the business world in a way no other class did,” the alum told us. “I had the opportunity to produce financial models both from scratch and from templates, and to develop presentation decks that parallel those I create now in my corporate finance role. These types of classes and the engagement of the professional world by our professors are what made the Mason School of Business a differentiated experience.”
The Mason education proves valuable when looking at the employment outcomes for its graduates. The B-school features a unique education that offers personalized study, a strong community of support, and hands-on learning opportunities with an emphasis on teamwork.
Alumni say:
“The most impactful would be the end of semester project every business school student completed as part of the first semester program. Students worked in groups of about 5 and completed a series of assignments across multiple courses required as part of the first semester. I found this experience impactful because it mirrored a project that would be feasibly assigned in a business environment and required collaboration across a team. I felt it was a great introduction to the business school and taught me lessons that I will continue to use throughout my professional career.”
“Student Managed Investment Fund: This semester-long course was one of the most valuable experiences I had at W&M. A group of around 15 students were given the opportunity to manage a real investment fund and pitch stocks to the class and to a “board of directors.” This course gave me real-world investing experience that you don’t typically get in a traditional classroom.”
“We had a week-long simulation where we worked in teams to make business decisions. The teams were used throughout all of our core courses and we were able to learn all aspects of business together and how to fit as a team.”
“We ran a team business simulation in our cohort that mirrored what it was like to start a business and make strategic decisions at an executive level. That has been instrumental in my career so far.”
“I participated in a Special Topics course on Risk Management that opened my eyes to the field and sparked my interest in it. This eventually led to me pursuing a career in risk management consulting.”
