UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Dublin
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History: The MBA has been offered by UCD since 1964, one of the first institutions in Europe to do so. Dr Michael Smurfit, a philanthropic Irish businessman, gave the college a donation to open a graduate business school in Blackrock in 1991, when the full-time programme was launched.
Address: Carysfort Avenue, Blacrock. Co. Dublin - 3km (1.9 miles) east of the main UCD campus and 8km (5 miles) south of Dublin city centre, 500 metres from the sea.
Ambience: The main building – previously a teacher training college – is Victorian. Smurfit's gift paid for a major renovation, so the building is fitted with Irish oak panelling, Portland stone walls and marble floors. Facilities include dedicated syndicate rooms, technology-enhanced classrooms and lecture theatres, a large networked common room, dedicated computer labs and now a state of the art library, housed in the former church adjoined to the convent.
Vital statistics: Around 1,400 students (up to 1000 full-time) including 160 post-experience executive MBA students. There are about 40-50 enrolled on the full-time, one-year MBA (30-40 per cent international).
Added value: Career-orientated, with an experienced international intake and small class sizes. The dedicated MBA career management centre matches the needs of businesses to Smurfit graduates. Another draw is the school's location in historic Dublin.
Easy to get into? Work experience is the most important factor. In general, students need a university degree or equivalent, a strong GMAT score (the 2009 average is 605), two references, and a minimum of three to five years' work experience.
Glittering alumni: Tony Garry, Chief Executive, Davy Stockbrokers, Liam Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, United Drug and JP Donnelly, Group Chief Executive, Ogilvy Ireland.
Gurus: Prof Pat Gibbons, Jefferson Smurfit Professor of Corporate Planning , Prof Niamh Brennan, Michael Mac Cormac Professor of Management, Director of Academic Centre For Corporate Governance, Prof Eamonn Walsh, Pwc Professor of Accounting, Prof Bill Roche, Professor of Industrial Relations & Human Resources.
International connections: The school is proud of what it calls its “world perspective”, driven by a global network of 30,000 alumni across 55 countries.
MBA exchange programmes are available to CEIBS, China and IIM, India, Stern & Pepperdine USA and Nanyang Techological University Singapore.
Student profile: MBA students are typically aged 30 with seven years' work experience. International students make up more than half of the MBA class and are from 22 different countries. A third of the students are female.
Cost: It's €29,500 for the full-time MBA, but many scholarships are available.
Who's the boss? Professor Tom Begley is dean, and the MBA programme director is Orla Nugent.
Prospectus: +353 1716 8862; www.smurfitschool.ie; mba@ucd.ie
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