The University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics landed at No. 65 in this year’s 2023 rankings – down two places from last year’s No. 63.
The Lerner College had a much more selective acceptance rate this year, at 55.40% for the most recent incoming class compared to a rate of 64.21% for last year’s incoming class. The average SAT score for incoming students was 1265, just a few points higher than last year’s score of 1263.
Employment wise, the B-school saw a positive rise in outcomes, with 73.86% of the Class of 2023 landing full-time employment within three months of graduation in contrast to 67.42% for the Class of 2022. Internship outcomes remained steady with an excellent 93% of the Class of 2023 landing at least one business-focused internship – the same as last year’s class.
While Lerner fell behind a few ranks this year, the B-school still offers a strong undergraduate business program with real-world experience, either from internships, field experiences, research with faculty or study abroad. Lerner offers high quality programs and faculty, many majors and minors, a very personalized approach, and a unique location with close proximity to internships and industries in New York, Philadelphia and D.C.
Experience-based learning, evidence-based analytics
The mission of the Lerner College is to deliver an inspirational education and pioneering scholarship, building an inclusive community that beneficially transforms business and society.
To do this, Lerner Dean Bruce Weber and the faculty/administration designed a distinctive undergraduate curriculum with experience-driven learning and evidence-based analytics.
Lerner has added two new undergraduate majors over the years in Business Analytics and Global Enterprise Management, bringing the total to 16 majors offered. Some of the most popular majors on UD’s campus include Accounting, Economics, Economics Education, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Financial Planning and Wealth Management, Hospitality Business Management, Hospitality Industry Management, International Business Studies, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Operations Management, and Sport Management. Incoming freshmen also have the opportunity to study as business undeclared. The B-school makes it easy for students to study more than one major, with over 33% of graduates double majoring in the college.
Lerner also offers a multitude of minors that allow students to specialize in areas such as Professional Selling and Sales Management, Trust Management and Social Entrepreneurship.
In their freshman year, all students take the Business 110 introductory course, which will set the foundation for earning their bachelor’s degree and tailoring their major to fit their professional and personal goals. They work with their advisors and Lerner Career Services on their resume and LinkedIn profile; and sometimes participate in speed-networking events with employers. Each class section is assigned a Lerner Peer Mentor, to allow students to connect with upperclassmen. Their semester work culminates in the BUAD 110 Pitch Competition.
In addition to BUAD 110, Lerner has several programs that help students find success. Lerner Advising Center provides a support network for students, including UDREAM U, (“You” Develop Resources for Excellence in Academic Management). UDREAM is a coaching and mentoring program that helps freshman and sophomore students develop the skills and mindset for success.
Depending on their major, students will benefit from several high-quality facilities which help enhance their educational experience, such as the Geltzeiler Trading Center, JPMorgan Chase Innovation Center, Vita Nova restaurant, Marriott Courtyard Newark and Horn Venture Development Center.
UD Lerner alumni are actively involved in the student experience. Students have the opportunity to connect with members of the Lerner Advisory and Alumni Boards and NYC Dean’s Council for resume and interview support from industry experts. Lerner Career Services offers Lerner Career Expert Panels where alumni from various fields talk about their career development. Lerner’s Careers on Wall Street program provides students interested in finance careers with training, mentoring and access to employment opportunities. Through the Lerner Executive Mentoring Program, students are paired with a mentor from their sophomore year through their senior year.
The Lerner College is proud to be a part of UD’s study abroad tradition. Lerner understands the importance of international learning and wants students to expand their global perspective by participating in various study abroad programs.
Lerner embraces its diverse community and offers programs through its Lerner Diversity Council and Women’s Leadership Initiative that create opportunities for equity and inclusion throughout all aspects of life at Lerner. Students are also encouraged to share their knowledge, connect with their peers and participate in one Lerner College’s many business fraternities and student organizations.
Alumni say:
“The Hospitality Business Management program at Lerner is truly unmatched. Unlike many college classes of sitting in a classroom learning from a professor, HBM is heavily based on being practical. We spent a semester in the on-campus hotel learning the ins and outs of how to run and operate a hotel and then moved through the practical side of learning and doing each and every job from Front Desk to Housekeeping.”
“The MIS capstone project provided real-world consulting experience as well as the opportunity to demonstrate technical capabilities.”
“We got to work with global companies, helping them build a potential new market entry plan with other students from around the world in the X-Culture Program. It really helped me see just how organized you need to be in order to work in a global world pre-COVID, let alone now.”
“I participated in a capstone project which provided a hands-on learning experience when working with clients. This experience allowed myself to take skills that I had learned in my various courses and adapt them to real world situations/scenarios. I still carry many of the skills and knowledge learned from this capstone project to this day in my current job role. This experience was unique to me because it was an ‘initial stepping stone’ for what was to come in my career after graduation.”
“My experience in the business school as a Hospitality student is unlike any other business school. We had multiple practicums related to our field to help us gain soft skills as well as transferable knowledge. In addition to our practicums, our capstone class taught us to use all we had learned in our program. It challenged us to think critically and for ourselves as we prepared to enter this new phase of our lives.”
