Poets&Quants Top Business Schools

James Madison University College of Business

Contact our general manager with any questions. Profile updated: April 20, 2022.

Contact Information

Location:
421 Bluestone Dr.
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Admissions Office:
N/A
School Social Media:

Tuition & Fees In-State: $104,016*

Tuition & Fees Out-of-State: $169,616*

Average Debt: $13,709

Average Salary: $69,482

International: 2%

Minority: 23%

First generation college students: 9%

When do students declare their majors: Junior Year

Acceptance Rate: 51%

Acceptance Rate Transfers: Not Reported%

Average SAT: 1,229

Average ACT: 26

Average GPA: 3.74

HS Class Top Ten: 11%**

*The total cost of the degree over four years for the most recent graduating class inclusive of school fees, room, board, or living expenses.

** HS Class Top Ten is the percent of the student population that graduated high school in the top ten percent of their class.

*** Please note that these statistics are provided for the business school major only whenever possible. If a school does not track these statistics separately, then the university-wide statistics are provided.

James Madison University, ranked No. 61 this year, is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia offering a four-year undergraduate business program, where students can choose to major in Accounting, Computer Information Systems, Economics, Finance, International Business, Management, Marketing, and Quantitative Finance.

The school shared that the Class of 2021 averaged 1229 on the SAT, just slightly up from the Class of 2018 students whose SAT average was 1217.

This year, the school reported that in-state tuition was $47,482, down slightly from the approximate $48,064 cost in 2018 over four years, while out-of-state tuition was $114,428, up slightly from the 2018 cost of $113,664 for four years. The average scholarship amount given to students entering the business college in Fall 2021 was $5,121. 

At James Madison University, all business students start out their business education with classes in accounting, analytics, calculus, economics, and computer information systems. But alongside these hard skills that the College of Business knows will lay the foundation for each student to be successful, is a course in interpersonal skills.

In the Interpersonal Skills course, students will not only learn from the mistakes of others by learning from case studies, they will also engage in experiential exercises to learn hands-on where interpersonal communication breaks down, and the damage it can do.

Students at James Madison University apply for admission into the College of Business at the end of their sophomore year. Once a student has completed the lower-level core classes, and a student is accepted into the College of Business, they can begin working on their upper-level core classes, which consist of a series of Integrated Business courses in Management, Finance, Operations, and Marketing, as well as the Legal and Ethical Environment of Business, and a course in Strategic Management.

As students work on COB300, a 12-credit integrated class intended at helping students tie together the different aspects of business, they are separated into small teams made up of students from different functional areas to get to work creating a business plan. It is then that James Madison business students realize that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

CAPSTONE PROJECT HAS BEEN A ‘LIFE-CHANGING’ EXPERIENCE

One of the most memorable experiences that a James Madison business student goes through is their capstone project, which many alumni said left a deep impression on them.

A graduate who worked on a Computer Information Systems capstone project said described it as “a real working experience” that taught him about planning and teamwork.

Greg Frattaroli, a Business Management major with a Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship concentration, said that as part of his Capstone project, he worked on a consulting project for a local barn and shed manufacturer.

The project was to institute an HR division that could withstand the organization’s scaling aspirations from about 40 employees to 150+ over the next 5 years,” Frattaroli, who now works as a Senior Analytic Specialist at Wells Fargo, said. “It was a life-changing experience.”

For students looking to take on a little competition, there’s plenty to choose from. Marketing undergraduates can work with Innovation MBA students to compete in the Google Online Marketing Challenge where they put their AdWords proficiency to the test, while Computer Information Systems majors can join the ITERA Case Competition, where they spend a month working to solve a real-world telecommunications problem and present their solutions to a panel of judges including executives from Cisco, Facebook, and Excelacom. Social media enthusiasts can test their skills with the Ball State Social Media Competition where they solve a difficult B2B social media problem, while economics students can join the College FED Challenge to research and analyze economic conditions before presenting their analysis.

Alumni said that the business program at James Madison gave them exceptional opportunities to nurture and improve their business skills, and that the quality of teaching in business courses was outstanding.

The list of student competitions available continues on to include the CFA Investment Research Challenge, Accenture Innovation Challenge, Deloitte Innovation Case Competition, Grant Thornton Ethics Case, National Sales Challenge, TCU Values and Ventures Competition and more.

As part of the school’s Engaged Learning efforts, students also go on visits to companies and networking events to learn more about industry positions and meet professionals. In October 2018, business students at James Madison University in a Supply Chain class visited Target’s distribution center in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, to learn about operational challenges the company had experienced.

NEW SEMESTER-LONG STUDY ABROAD OPTIONS ON THE WAY

While there are no required global business courses, the university’s Center for Global Engagement offers 85 different semester abroad opportunities, eight of which are business-specific. 

Students can also opt to complete the semester-long integrated business COB300 course in Antwerp, made possible through coordination with the University of Antwerp.

Frattaroli shared with P&Q that he was involved in a two-week study abroad program to Brussels, Belgium and Geneva, Switzerland as part of his International Business Management education.

“The month leading up the trip involved heavy coursework,” he said. “It was amazing to see the policies and organizations we learned about spring to life in the form of tours and speakers!”

In 2019, the university began offering semester-long study abroad programs to Belgium, England, Italy, Spain, and Scotland, and when it comes to short-term travel abroad opportunities that last for less than a month, there are programs available in over 80 countries, from Brunei Darussalam and South Africa to The Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, and France.

Of the surveyed graduates from 2019, 23.38% of them said they engaged in a global trip or immersion experience during their time at JMU.

Programs traveling abroad in 2019 include sending students for an environmental exploration in Guatemala, exploring travel, tourism, and aviation in Romania, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Europe, looking at environmental and energy sustainability in Germany, and looking at the global supply chain in Panama and Colombia.

For those wishing to travel without leaving the country, the school also has options for students to travel to Los Angeles, New York City, Georgia, and US Virgin Islands.

The school counts among its list of top employers companies including Accenture, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte, IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Fannie Mae, and Booz Allen Hamilton.

What Alumni Say:

“COB 300 gave me so many invaluable experiences and lessons that helped me get to where I’m at today. Through it, I mastered my skills on working in a team environment while still having the opportunity to hone my individual craft and work ethic. The experience was the ultimate test image of hard work pays off and I reaped the benefits of it for years afterward.” 

“For our Economics Capstone, we had to recreate complicated and innovative time series analyses by computing our own equations and writing our own code. This experience has served me especially well because it prepared me to do what I do on a daily basis.”

“AWEA Wind Energy Competition. I was required to work with engineering students to coordinate a marketable business plan for a micro-wind turbine and present the business plan at the AWEA conference. Collaboration, market research, and business plan construction experience.” 

“During the spring semester of my senior year, I was one of 16 JMU marketing majors selected to participate in the Google Online Marketing Challenge. I took a class from a marketing professor during which we learned how to use Google AdWords. Each team selected a real non-profit client and used AdWords to help their business. We also created and managed a Google+ account for the client and wrote about the success of both the AdWords and Google+ accounts based on metrics we viewed (impressions, clicks, interactions, etc.). Google judged all of the teams and my team was named a Global Finalist in one category of the competition.” 

“I developed a business plan and presented to faculty. This was a good experience that taught me the operational strategy of business and developed interpersonal skills collaborating with group in a professional setting.”

Where The Class of 2017 Went To Work:

1. Accenture 6%
2. Ernst & Young 6%
3. KPMG 5%
4. McGladrey (RSM) 4%
5. Deloitte 3%
6. Booz Allen Hamilton 3%
7. Fannie Mae 3%
8. PWC 2%
9. IBM 2%
10. Cherry Baekhart 2%