Miami University’s Farmer School of Business has held strong in the rankings year after year, but this year, they dropped from No. 33 to No. 46 in the 2023 rankings.
The B-School saw a slight increase in selectivity, from a 76.11% acceptance rate for last year’s class to a 75.70% rate for this year’s most recent incoming class. When it comes to SAT scores, the incoming class had an average score of 2010 – down 30 points from last year’s average of 1240. Of the three methodological categories, the B-School did the best in Academic Experience, scoring 13th. As for the other two categories, they scored 54th in Career Outcomes, and 45th in Admissions.
Internship rates were down, with 76% of 2023 graduates landing at least one business focused internship in contrast to 90.45% of the 2022 graduates landing internships. Employment rates dropped from 94.68% of 2022 graduates to 86.50% of 2023 graduates landing a full-time position within three months of graduation.
Despite dropping this year, the Farmer School of Business (FSB) offers a solid foundational, goal-oriented business education with a variety of hands-on opportunities for students to explore their potential.
FIRST-YEAR INTEGRATED CORE
All FSB students participate in hands-on learning, starting their first year. FSB students can choose from eight different disciplines including Accountancy, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Systems & Analytics, Human Capital Management and Leadership, Marketing, and Supply Chain & Operations Management.
Every first-year business student works with real business clients as part of the First Year Integrated Core curriculum. The FSB business education is designed around five key learning goals – Critical & Creative Thinking, Technology, Communication & Collaboration, Globalization and Diversity, and Ethics, which help lay the groundwork for everything students engage in during their time at Farmer.
“Every possible interview question an employer asks you, the First-Year Integrated Core sets you up to answer them – to think critically about your role in a team and how the people you work with will impact you and your development,” says a current FSB student.
OVER 80% ENGAGE IN SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
One of the main benefits of the FSB program is the sheer number of opportunities for students to explore their potential and apply their knowledge. Some 82.46% of surveyed alumni reported engaging in a “signature experience” that was a key part of their business learning whether through project work, global immersion trip, or capstone.
One alumni, whose team also traveled to Napa, highlighted the real-world experience of the capstone project.
“The client interaction, high level strategic work, primary customer research, degree of teamwork, and final client presentation all provided a very realistic consulting experience that helped prepare me for the work I now do every day as a consultant,” the 2018 alumni said.
These kinds of real, tangible experiences are widespread in every business discipline at Farmer. For instance, the “Entrepreneurial Consulting” course features a full three-week client project where students use creative problem solving, design thinking and other applied creativity tools to create innovative solutions. The J-term trip includes a week in the Bay Area where students travel to San Francisco to meet with leading creatives and innovative companies and present their solutions to the client.
“It’s so important to get that real world experience early on because this is exactly what the world is going to look like once we leave,” said a current student. “The P&G Case Competition was all collaborative, and about taking existing problems and how we can think outside of the box and solve them. I think it really simulates what the real world will look like and gives us a glimpse into our professional goals and what achieving those professional goals will look like.”
“The San Francisco Digital Innovation program was life-changing,” another 2018 alumni said. “I spent a semester in SF with a cohort. 80% of the time was spent working for startups through internships, and 20% was a capstone class. I found my love of product management through this program and it launched my career.”
At the FSB, students are given a strong, goal-oriented foundation in business. No matter what path or discipline FSB students choose to pursue, they are given a variety of experiential opportunities to gain real-world experience and excel in their chosen career.
Alumni say:
“My entrepreneurship capstone was integral to my experience. The class pushed students to find compelling problems in their life and the world and to apply lean business tactics to build innovative, marketable solutions. Lastly, we were provided the opportunity to pitch our start-ups to an investor cohort of 75+ alumni, founders, and other professionals.”
“One business experience I recall specifically was a project management class with a start to finish project management exercise. One of my first assignments after graduating was managing two different system implementations. The things I learned at school were instrumental in helping me excel as a project manager.”
“I had numerous client projects throughout my time at Miami working with companies such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Abbott Nutrition, E&J Gallo and more. I was chosen to attend Ad Week as well as a P&G hackathon and won both competitions with the teams I was on. These opportunities gave me invaluable experience working with employers in real life settings, while also giving me the chance to expand my professional network. These experiences greatly increased my confidence as a job candidate.”
“Miami University and FSB are always encouraging students to learn by doing, not just memorizing what is said in the classroom. This focus on applied skills was essential to my growth and allowed me to apply myself in “real world” settings identical to those I now face as a full time Data Analyst.”
“My senior capstone was a client project with the Kellogg marketing team. It was so exciting to get that experience with one of the most well-known companies in the world and get the opportunity to interact with Kellogg executives on a regular basis as an undergrad.”
“My entrepreneurship capstone was an incredible experience, as we ended up winning our startup competition and almost pursued continuing with the concept after being funded by investors. As a finance major already having a job, I never would’ve expected this to happen during my senior year. Pleasant surprises like this, where Farmer students create their own luck in a sense, are what make Miami such an exceptional school. The tight-knit network helps tremendously, of course, and Farmer sets up its students with both interpersonal and technical skills needed to succeed.”
