Lipscomb University’s College of Business landed at No. 43 in this year’s 2023 rankings, down just two places from last year’s No. 41. Lipscomb had an acceptance rate of 56.41% for their most recent incoming class– fairly close to last year’s rate of 55.69%. The school’s SAT scores dropped a good amount from last year’s 1245 score to 1175 for the most recent incoming class.
Employment rates are still strong and slightly higher than last year’s 97.86% of the Class of 2022 landing full-time employment within three months of graduation, at 98.62% for the Class of 2023. Internship outcomes held strong and went up slightly as well, with 96.40% of the Class of 2023 completing a business-focused internship before graduation – compared to 95% for the Class of 2022.
As a Christian liberal arts university, Lipscomb places heavy emphasis on integrating faith and business. Students are encouraged to lead with integrity and are given a solid set of professional skills and expansive resources and opportunities to thrive in the business world.
INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND BUSINESS
The Lipscomb education centers around integrating faith into the real world of business. All Lipscomb business students are required to take a Business Values class, which explores ethical issues from a Christian perspective and challenges students to analyze and frame ethical dilemmas including topics of sustainability, diversity, and multicultural work environments.
Lipscomb offers a Bachelor of BA in Management, Marketing, Finance, and Accounting. Additionally, the B-school requires students to complete a minor in Business Analytics. Students will be required to take analytics courses such as “Data-Driven Decision Making” and “Enterprise Systems, Reporting, and Visualization.”
Each major features a unique capstone project, with many requiring an internship element and all implementing some element of real-world, experiential learning.
They place a strong emphasis on the real-world of business. With its capstone projects and required business analytics minor, the B-school ensures that each and every student is equipped with the in-demand knowledge and real-world experience by the time they graduate. Coupled with its strong Christian values, the Lipscomb education is one that truly finds itself at the integration of faith and business.
One of the signature opportunities available to Lipscomb students is the annual Kittrell Pitch Competition, which challenges students to pitch a business idea for a product or service to a panel of professionals.
The fall competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students from any major, and winners receive $2,500. The spring competition takes the pitch to the next level, with up to $10,000 first-place prize for the winning team, who also receives personal advising from a mentor with relevant industry experience.
FINANCIAL MARKETS LAB
Lipscomb is constantly looking for ways to provide innovative and cutting edge resources for its students. The Financial Markets Lab offers a renovated classroom space for real-time market tickers, television monitors to view business news outlets, and a bank of computer stations that offer access to Bloomberg Terminal, a financial services platform that offers real-time and historical data, market news and analytics for financial professionals.
“The Financial Markets Lab is designed to give our students the feel of what a real Wall Street trading floor is like,” Brian Masterson, assistant professor of accounting and chair of Lipscomb’s Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, says in a press release. “Our goal in developing this lab was to create a space particularly for our finance students to have the best tools available to them as they prepare to enter the workforce, but it is a resource that will enhance the educational experience of every business student.”
The lab is a prime example of how Lipscomb is committed to ensuring students have not only the in-demand business skills but proper resources to apply those skills. With its emphasis on leading with faith, integration of valuable skills such as business analytics, and plenty of experiential opportunities and resources, the Lipscomb College of Business offers the full business education package.
Alumni say:
“I was involved in a senior capstone course that required semester-long participation in a business simulation. Without a doubt it was the closest to simulating the real business world because it demanded consistently producing high quality work all the time and doing the behind the scenes work necessary to deliver the final product.”
“Simulations and real world projects were provided throughout the program. The capstone project was taking a business idea through ideation to what it would take to be successful years out. This pulled from all classes taken throughout the program. It helped to have this experience as it was as close to real world experience as you could get in the classroom setting.”
“We did a week-long trip to Dublin as part of our grad program. We did a number of company visits on the trip that opened up my eyes to how vast the world and service offerings of accounting can be. I think about what I learned often and how those practices might be implemented in firms here at home. I also often consider employment abroad and that trip showed me some great ways I could make that transition.”
