The University of Pittsburgh’s College of Business Administration landed at No. 30 in this year’s 2023 rankings, down one place from last year’s No. 29. Of the three methodological categories, Pittsburgh placed best in Academic Experience this year, coming in 25th. For the other two categories, the B-School placed 34th in Career Outcomes and 36th in Admissions.
The University of Pittsburgh’s College of Business Administration had an acceptance rate of 29.46% – a much more exclusive rate than that of the Class of 2021, which was 48.05%. Those students also reported an average SAT score of 1349, up only slightly from last year’s score of 1346.
ANALYTICS CONSULTING PROJECT MOST POPULAR AMONG RECENT GRADUATES
Pittsburgh’s curriculum features seven different business majors and six business-focused certificates. All students must take 15 core courses as well as an Arts and Sciences foundation. Among the 2018 alumni that we surveyed through the rankings process, the school’s analytics consulting project was one of the most popular aspects listed.
“I was involved in an analytics consulting project in which I worked with a small group to develop a predictive analytic solution for a real client,” one alumni said. “I also participated in a practicum in which I worked as an analyst for a student managed fund and managed the healthcare sector allocation within the portfolio. Both experiences gave me the opportunity to do practical work with real stakes and build real connections with other driven students and professors.”
Said another: “The Data Analytics project taught by Andy Hannah was my first real experience, in my sophomore year, to work in a consulting fashion to a company and provide valuable insights. This was unique because it was a group of 10 students working closely with business professionals and unlike any of the classes I had in the past.”
ACADEMIC ADVISING, INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES ARE STRENGTHS
We asked the Class of 2019 Pittsburgh graduates to appraise the effectiveness of the business school’s academic advising, and the grads gave their school a fairly high rating of 8.67.
In the school survey, Pittsburgh officials mentioned the Tafel Center for Student Success, which houses the business program’s career and academic advising. The school also mentioned that the International Program is integrated within the career and academic services through the Global Business Institute.
“Me and a few other students went to Uruguay with engineers to better understand Latin American supply chains,” one alumni said in the alumni survey. “We were able to visit four of Uruguay’s top companies with robust supply chains and understand the unique challenges that a Latin American country faces. We were immersed with the students, and they also helped us understand Latin American culture.”
EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES
Some 95.76% of the Class of 2023 had at least one business-specific internship before graduation, an increase from 92% for the Class of 2021. Although the B-School had held steady with a 95% internship rate for three years, rates dropped slightly this year to 91.50% for the Class of 2023.
Employment outcomes held strong with the slightest increase – 95.76% of the Class of 2023 secured full-time employment within three months of graduation, compared to 95.12% for the Class of 2021. Of those, the average starting salary was $61,239.
When asked if their first job after graduating was in their desired industry, 91.67% of 2019 alumni said that it was.
Alumni say:
“I took a capstone marketing elective called Projects in Marketing, and the class was divided into teams. We functioned as an in-house ad agency for a real life client, which was Fox Sports, and the MLB All Star game for summer 2019. All semester we worked on a marketing campaign and proposal to help them develop their green initiatives, and we presented to Fox Sports and MLB executives at the end. It was incredible real-world experience and a great way to summarize my marketing degree.”
“I studied abroad twice and served as an international programs ambassador for two years. My global experiences completely altered my approach to not only my professional life, but my personal life and has continued to be impactful several years after my time spent abroad.”
“I participated in a course called Projects in Marketing where we got to build a marketing campaign from the ground up for Acura. It was the most real-world experience I had and it proved to me how much I genuinely am passionate about marketing and what all is possible.”
“Sports classes had real world projects that allowed us in teams to create solutions and new ideas. This was key for me because I was aiming to get into that field and working on projects for professionals already working at pro teams before I even graduated really boosted my confidence not only for the interviewing process but also for the early stages of my new jobs.”
Where The Class of 2020 Went To Work:
- PNY
- BNY Mellon
- EY
- Deloitte
- DICK’S
- PwC
- UPMC
- KPMG
- Amazon
- ADP
- JP Morgan Chase
