The University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management ranked No. 45 in the 2023 rankings, down only one place from last year’s rankings. The B-school was more lenient this year, with an acceptance rate of 69.60% for the Class of 2023 as compared to last year’s 59.19%.
Eller reported an average SAT score of 1240, a good amount higher than the Class of 2021’s average rate of 1208 and the previous year’s score was 1110. The B-school performed best in the Academic Experience category, where they placed 31st.
Eller students have relatively strong employment and internship outcomes. Some 87.29% of the Class of 2023 secured full-time employment within three months of graduation, a slight increase from last year’s 84.21% of the Class of 2021. Internship-wise, 84.00% of the Class of 2023 landed a business-focused internship before graduating — a slight increase from 2022’s 82.00%.
The Eller undergraduate business education is best known for its heavy emphasis on teamwork. From relevant course projects to unique experiential opportunities, Eller students are constantly learning how to not only be skilled business professionals, but successful teammates as well.
HIGHLY SKILLS-BASED & RELEVANT EDUCATION
Eller students can pursue either a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration or a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Majors available include Accounting, Business Administration, Business Economics, Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Operations, and Supply Chain Management.
The B-school is constantly looking for ways to keep its program relevant and its students up-to-date on in-demand skills. One prime example is the recent addition of its Level Up Tech Workshop Series, a collection of workshops that cover a variety of technological topics from “VR for Business” to “Virtual Workspaces and Classrooms in Discord.”
Eller places a strong emphasis on giving its students a real view of what the business world is like and the relevant skills to succeed before they graduate.
“Eller and my overall business school experience did an exceptional job in preparing me for the ‘real world,’” one 2018 alumni told us. “The courses were tough, took group efforts, collaboration with peers and professors, and always had a portion where you had to speak in front of a board of judges or your class/profs. All of these experiences were huge in my development.”
“Real-world business application of knowledge learned was extremely helpful,” another 2018 alumni said. “I was prepared for my interview based on the skills learned in class, as well as practice/advice from the career center. I also was prepared to enter the tech/business world based on my business education.”
“Business comm classes provided me with skills that helped with client interaction and team engagement, multiple projects throughout multiple accounting courses provided me with the knowledge and expertise in regards to technical research and analytics, [and] Master’s program provided classes that proved to be instrumental in passing CPA exams and handling real client issues,” a 2018 alumni said.
TEAMWORK-FOCUSED OPPORTUNITIES
Teamwork is central to nearly every opportunity at Eller. Students compete in six embedded formal competitions within classes with their peers. Each experience is formally judged to ensure students develop presentation important collaboration and presentation skills.
“After completion of pre-business coursework, interviews, and evaluation, all accepted students in the business school are placed into groups among their classmates to complete vigorous projects surrounding all aspects of business topics,” one 2018 alumni told us. “We were challenged in case competitions and real-world scenarios to strengthen our soft-skills and knowledge.”
“I was incredibly shy before getting into Eller, so having to take BCOM 314 [Business Communication] right off the bat was terrifying to me,” another 2018 alumni said. “However, this class effectively turned me into an extrovert. I gained invaluable presentation skills and learned how to get along and work with a variety of personalities. The confidence I built in this class has helped me at every step in my career.”
Alumni view these experiences positively. When asked to rate the opportunities given to them at Eller to nurture and improve their soft-skills in business, 2019 alumni gave a strong 9.25 average rating.
Soft-skills, such as collaboration and communication, are central to business roles, or any career for that matter. Teller emphasizes strong soft-skill development by infusing elements of teamwork into its curriculum and activities. In turn, Eller students are ready to work seamlessly within any team by graduation.
Alumni say:
“I was in the McGuire Entrepreneurship program during my senior year in the Eller College of Management, where we spent the year building a business plan – from the marketing to finance plan, and competed in a competition at the end of the year. The competition, the New Venture Competition, judged us based on our product, financial plan and marketability. This business plan was also used for my honors thesis. It was unique because we were able to put our four years of learning about business into the real world and decide if we wanted to continue our venture after graduation.”
“Case competitions gave us exposure to real-life business projects and pushed us to put together great business plans and presentations.”
“My senior thesis was analyzing cross-border business in Mexico. The experience included interviewing employees at the Embassy and traveling to Mexico to meet with local businesses and business students. It was important to me because it involved more than just my major, but an international issue, and was an experience I’ll carry with me throughout my career.”
“Every opportunity at the business school is a tool to make me more unique than the next person. Each individual was exposed to different paths and challenges that made us all well prepared yet different from one another that can carry different skills to our future roles.”
“The first semester of the business school is infamous for group work, especially in your business communications class. I still use the practical skills I learned on daily basis while networking and navigating through law school.”
Where The Class of 2020 Went To Work:
Deloitte – 19
Goldman Sachs – 12
Raytheon – 11
Vanguard – 10
Oracle – 10
Protiviti – 9
Honeywell – 9
KPMG – 8
Amazon – 7
ADP – 7
