Meet The UC Riverside School Of Business MBA Class Of 2023

P&Q: Your program includes a required internship, Fieldwork in Management. What types of internships (i.e. companies, roles, assignments) have your MBAs enjoyed recently with the program? How does the MBA program, particularly career services, support MBAs in their employment efforts?

Dean Wang: “The UCR AGSM* Career Development Center prepares MBA candidates to stand out in a competitive job market in diverse industries and occupations by providing internship opportunities, career development resources, career counseling, job search strategies and planning, career readiness skill building, and other workshops and events. Our students have landed internship roles in project management, operations and supply chain, strategic marketing, e-commerce, digital marketing, brand management, media, sales, talent acquisition, human resources, data analytics, management, and as business analysts, operations analysts, auditors, accountants, financial analysts, product managers, and social media managers. Furthermore, our students have interned or landed jobs in tech, Fortune 500 companies, the Big Four accounting firms, and in local small businesses in the Inland Empire. Among these companies are Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, EY, Walmart, The Walt Disney Company,  T-Mobile, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Northrop Grumman, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Target, Nike, Wells Fargo, Fox Corporation, PepsiCo, Morgan Stanley, Verizon, Kia Motors, and Nordstrom. For a larger list please visit: Graduate Career Development Center | School of Business (ucr.edu).

The school’s Career Development Center (CDC) also provides MBA candidates with additional career services including how to build a lifelong network, professional social media branding, and developing interviewing skills and career documents (resume and cover letters). The CDC creates workshops and plans networking events, career panels, and employer recruitment events. In addition, the CDC collaborates with colleagues across the school to host a summer professional and career development program for incoming students called BusinessReady. There is also a mentoring program and Micro Internship Program with alumni. Finally, the CDC has created a leadership program, the CDC Advisory Board, which includes MBA candidates who represent the school with employers and provide peer-to-peer support and other resources.”

* A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the UCR School of Business

P&Q: The MBA program is now STEM-certified. What types of advantages does this give your students to prospective employers?

Dr. Zwick: “Graduates from the STEM-focused program are in high demand for all businesses. Many businesses are shifting to using technology and big data to reduce costs and predict future events/trends, improving forecasting and project planning. The STEM designation has a strong foundation and extensive training in data analytics, data visualization, scientific research, programming languages, and so forth. This is very attractive to prospective students because it offers employment flexibility across business disciplines. Soft skills are also emphasized and reinforced throughout the MBA coursework.

Our MBA program with a STEM-designation is advantageous for employers and international students because students can be considered for employment for up to three years after graduation without needing a special US visa.”

P&Q: What are your two most unique or popular MBA courses? Why do these courses resonate so deeply with your students?

Dean Wang: “Dr. Elaine Wong’s Organizational Behavior class is a perennial favorite. She is passionate about her subject matter and has a unique ability to engage students. Throughout the course, Dr. Wong uses a variety of interactive methods, so students have the opportunity to learn, test their understanding, and practice these learnings in a supportive environment.

Dr. Rich Yueh’s Information Systems class – Professor Rich Yueh does an excellent job bringing disruptive and innovative technology into the classroom for students to learn and apply across different fields of business, from accounting to operations, and finance and marketing. The course does a great job of introducing new concepts to students who may have had very little exposure to programming and technology including Tableau, R, Power BI, C++, Python, and SQL. Yueh teaches in a very understandable and manageable way, immersing beginners as well as advanced learners. He even supports students as faculty advisor to the new Programming Club on campus!

And, two of our MBA professors, Ye Li and Marlo Raveendran, were named Poets & Quants, 40 Under 40 MBA professors in 2020.”

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER THE AGSM MBA

1) Career Opportunities: “During the admissions process, I had many questions, and the admissions team answered all of them. The people were the key to choosing UC Riverside. Location and connection with major companies was also important to me: I will soon begin an internship as part of the business intelligence team at Fox News, Fox Business, and Fox Weather. I was living in San Diego when I decided to get my MBA, and I found Riverside to be an ideal location. Being close to Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego is perfect for me because there are major companies across Southern California.”
Camila Chaves (’23)

2) STEM-Designated MBA: “UCR offers a STEM-designated MBA, which is the main factor for choosing this business school. It is important for me to maintain and strengthen quantitative and technical skills while pursuing my MBA as my background is in computer science. The STEM designation also provides the added benefit for international students to stay in the U.S. to work for up to three years on optional practical training. Apart from this, the responsive and helpful nature of the alumni and the professors I interacted with when I was applying for admission also convinced me to select UCR.”
Spriha Kumari (’23)

3) Networking: “A beneficial aspect of UC Riverside’s MBA programming is the opportunity to network with professionals from all over the world. This is important because I learn about different jobs and industries. By networking with professionals from varying fields, I expand my perspective and understanding of the economy and job market. As a graduate student exploring job opportunities, I appreciate the chance to learn from successful professionals with several years of experience. Because UCR stresses the importance of diversity, in the last quarter I met students from India, China, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Taiwan, and I’ve built meaningful relationships and learned about how different economies impact the world.”
Leonardo Targia (’23)

4) Diversity: “What really drove me to attend UCR’s MBA program was the diversity within the program. Not just the diversity in the coursework and instruction, but the people and their diverse life stories, backgrounds, and knowledge. This is important to me because early in my undergraduate career I struggled with the lack of diversity around me. I know that kind of environment is not in direct alignment with who I am and how I want to live my life.”
David Cooper (’23)

5) Wide Selection of Clubs: “UCR has so many opportunities to stay healthy and be part of building something new. I really enjoy UCR’s Tennis Club and the Dance Club. I am a professional dancer (classical Indian dancer and Zumba instructor). Dancing and playing sports provide me with lasting energy and are healthy outlets. I’m also involved with two new student-led clubs at the School of Business: the Programming Club and the AGSM Women in Business Club. The Programming Club caters to students like me interested in keeping up with the latest technologies. We meet each week to learn SQL and Python programming languages. The club is supported by our information systems professor, Rich Yueh, and includes members who tutor club members in these programs. The AGSM Women in Business Club is also an exciting new opportunity. The group plans to provide role models and facilitate connections with women leaders in the surrounding community.”
Spriha Kumari (’23)

ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE AGSM APPLICANTS

“Never take the power of education for granted. Start your MBA application as early as possible so you have enough time to prepare throughout the entire application process. I started my application eight months prior to the deadline. A lot of research went into picking the right university, and it came down to finances, scholarships, available resources, and the best education. By starting early in the process, you will give yourself time to make the right decision.”
Sweta Mulji (’23)

“I would advise anyone looking to gain admission into UCR’s MBA program to get outside of their comfort zone. Try new things: a job that wasn’t initially interesting, a new class, volunteering somewhere, or just pushing one’s self to grow. The more you know, the better you are. Comfort is one of the biggest obstacles in the way of a person’s success. So, get comfortable with being uncomfortable!”
David Cooper (’23)

“For international students, UCR offers the STEM program, which is a valuable opportunity to gain work experience in the United States following graduation, and it’s important that applicants understand that program. And, during your admissions interview with UCR, just be confident and be yourself.”
Ruby Young (’23)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Camila Chaves	Medellín, Colombia	Harris-Stowe State University	University of California-Riverside Volleyball Team
David Cooper	Ladera Heights, CA	UCLA	AT Cooper Enterprises
Chang Deng	Ningbo, China	University of Science and Technology of China	HUAWEI
Jordan Greene	San Mateo, CA	University of Redlands	Esri
Spriha Kumari	Ranchi, India	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology	HPE Aruba
Jashan Meet	Firozpur, India	Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar	Sshrishti Organization
Stephanie Moya	Corona, CA	University of California, Riverside	Self-Employed Tutor
Sweta Mulji	Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania	California State University, San Marcos	Synergy Zone
Leonardo Targia	Milan, Italy	University of California, Riverside	Mediobanca Private Banking
Ruby Young	Taipei, Taiwan	National Taipei University	Korchina Logistics Group
Franchesca Jefferson	Corona, CA	University of California, San Diego	Troy J. Andreasen, M.D.