Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business landed in 29th place this year, up 16 spots from last year’s placement at 45th, also up from the previous year’s 42nd place. The last two years’ rankings are much more reflective of the B-school and much farther up than 2020’s 89th ranking, which was due to Purdue not meeting the minimum alumni response rate. Purdue had an acceptance rate of 17.50% this year, far more exclusive than last year’s 74.65%. The average SAT score shot up to 1372 — a huge increase from last year’s 1267 and the previous year’s average of 1277.
A solid 89.50% of the Class of 2023 landed a business-focused internship before graduating, up from last year’s 86%. The Class of 2023 reported that 94.33% of Purdue MBAs secured full-time employment within three months of graduation – the highest rate the school has seen in years, up from 2021’s still impressive rate of 93.63%.
One alumni from the Class of 2021 said, “(Purdue) helped prepare me for internships by teaching me how to think critically. (Purdue) classes have a lot of case studies built into them, which helps you learn how to think, analyze, and find solutions.”
Another 2021 alum said, “In addition to technical accounting skills, (Purdue) prepared me to be successful in my internships by helping me develop my problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills.”
Much of the success of Purdue can be attributed to the B-school’s integrated degree offerings and strong emphasis on learning through real-world, hands-on experience.
PURDUE’S DEGREE OFFERINGS
Purdue students can choose from a variety of majors including General Management, Industrial Management, Accounting, Economics, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain, Information, and Analytics.
“I chose (Purdue) because of the emphasis on analytics within their degrees, which I knew would give me a competitive edge in the workforce,” said an alum from the Class of 2021.
Purdue’s Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) program gives students a truly integrated hybrid degree that incorporates basic engineering, basic management and project courses that emphasize real-world application and teamwork collaboration. Students are selected for the program on the basis of their interest in interdisciplinary work. Additionally, IBE students have access to select seminars that feature the latest in engineering and management practices.
IBE is a program that is unique to Daniels’ offering as a B-school. By leveraging the prestige of Purdue’s College of Engineering, Purdue offers students interested in both business and engineering a truly integrated degree that is likely to impress future employers.
REAL-WORLD, HANDS-ON LEARNING
A majority of the degree offerings at Purdue incorporate opportunities for students to get real-world, hands-on project experience. For instance, the “Mergers & Acquisitions” course gives students an in-depth view of the major aspects of merger and acquisition transactions from deal strategy and deal analysis to deal design. The course is designed around readings and case study analysis with a core final project component that includes a detailed analysis of a merger.
“I believe this project has prepared me for the success in my interviews with brokerages and Investment banks,” one 2018 alumni said in regard to the Mergers & Acquisitions valuation project.
Many B-schools require students to work on projects that emphasize real-world, hands-on learning. But, at Purdue, these experiences go beyond just required course projects. One 2018 alumni recalled the strong support of Purdue faculty in helping the alumni to start a business.
These types of experiences and the variety of opportunities to gain hands-on, real-world experience are what make the Purdue education unique. Many alumni reported unique opportunities to apply their business knowledge and gain real world experience.
“The education I’ve received at (Purdue) allowed me to intern at some of the best companies in the country, prepared me to successfully run and win two student government campaigns, and opened the doors for experiences I never would have imagined were possible,” another 2021 alumni said.
Overall, the Daniels School of Business is best characterized by its truly integrated business degree offerings and variety of opportunities for students to engage in hands-on, real-world learning. The program is best suited for students not too keen on studying just “one” field, but rather exploring all facets that the world of business has to offer.
“Case competitions at (Purdue) taught me a lot about the power of teamwork and challenged me to understand and recommend solutions to real-world problems. They not only improved my ability to give a pitch but taught me how to strategically construct a business solution,” said an alum of the Class of 2021.
Alumni say:
“All projects done in classes were extremely helpful as they taught us the real world applications of textbook concepts. However, a ‘signature experience’ that was a key part of my business education was participating in business case competitions. Various companies would present us with cases, and we had to come up with real business solutions addressing how the companies could tackle the challenges associated with the cases, and enhance their market positions. Participating in these competitions not only taught me how to apply my conceptual knowledge in the real world, but I also landed an internship with one of the companies!”
“I was able to study in Florence, Italy and Madrid, Spain for a summer which taught me an immeasurable amount about other cultures and myself. The friendships and connections I made in the study abroad program are still very strong to this day. The diverse experience it provided me with was instrumental and helped me land my first internship with Arrow Electronics and my first job with John Deere. Because of my positions with John Deere in low cost of living locations I was able to pay off my student loans in roughly 2.5 years.”
“Internship study abroad in London. Allowed me to gain business experience in an international setting and helped me get an International Business concentration.”
“I was involved in case competitions that I believe helped my growth both as an individual and a business student.”
“I had been on several trips and also got a Finance internship with Cummins Inc, where I got to work on major projects for the Memphis ReCon Plant. I was also the VP of Member Development for the ASCEND chapter of (Purdue) and once we had attended a conference in Chicago where we met career professionals who prepared us for the job market through activities such as mock interviews and resume revision sessions. I thought the conference was a pleasant way to get career-ready.”
Where The Class of 2021 Went To Work:
- Amazon – 12
- NTT Data Services – 11
- PepsiCo – 10
- Crowe – 9
- PwC- 7
- Accenture – 5
- BKD – 5
- EY – 5
- KPMG – 5
- JPMorgan Chase – 5
