Meet Washington Foster’s MBA Class Of 2023

Foster MBAs hoisting the Challenge For Charity Golden Briefcase

For José Mario Peña, an aspiring product manager, We>Me is a tonic to the rugged individualism that can no produce holistic solutions to address increasingly complex problems. “I have incorporated this philosophy by always leading with a vision that takes the whole team into account when making a decision,” he writes. “How can we break this project into parts that can later be assigned to the right person so they can shine? What are our gaps and how can we bridge them? Do we have enough resources to succeed? How do we fit as a team and how can we improve? All these are questions that when asked in the right environment lead to better outcomes for all team members and give us the opportunity to achieve something great.”

LARGER CLASS, HIGHER GMATs

Last year, the Foster School received 839 applications for a spot in the Class of 2023. While the number of applications remained consistent with the previous two years, the MBA program increased in size from 110 to 126 students, accepting roughly a third of applicants. Despite the bump in student size, the Class of 2023 distinguished themselves when it came to average GMATs. Here, scores rose from 692 to 704, with averages ranging from 660-740 in the 80th percentile. For GRE test-takers, the quantitative and verbal scores averaged 160 and 161 respectively. The average GPA was reported at 3.42.

Overall, the average age of the class is 29 years. Women account for 40% of the class, as do international students. Underrepresented minorities make up 20% of the class. Another 9% of first-years served in the military. As undergraduate students, a third of the class majored in Engineering. Business and Humanities majors each represent 17% of the class, followed by Math and Science (12%), Economics (9%), Computer Sciences (6%), and Social Sciences (6%).

Yes, Washington Foster may trend to the smaller size with 126 students. However, it offers the resources of a much larger business school. After all, these numbers don’t include the online program, which ranked 4th in the world in P&Q’s 2022 Online MBA Ranking. At the same time, Foster boasts a Top 25 undergraduate business program. Combined, the graduate and undergraduate programs enroll over 2,500 business students. In other words, the Foster student and alumni base is much bigger than you might expect. And they’re more influential too, with alumni including Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass (MBA), Revolut USA CEO Ron Oliveira (Banking School), Alaska Air CEO Brad Tilden (MBA), and Wella CEO Annie Young-Scrivner (BBA). That doesn’t include emerging leaders such as Amazon’s controller and Starbuck’s chief marketing officer — both Foster alumni.

For students looking to find common ground with Foster alumni, here’s a number to remember: Last year, 64% of MBA graduates stayed in the State of Washington. In other words, the Puget Sound isn’t a stepping stone to the Bay Area, New York City, or Austin. It is a place where graduates set down roots.

Paccar Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. UW photo

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSISTANT DEAN

What can MBA expect today and tomorrow from the Foster School? Last fall, Wendy Guild, assistant dean of the MBA program shared her insights on this topic — and many more. Here are her thoughts on the state of the Foster MBA program.

P&Q: What are the two most exciting developments at your program and how will they enrich the MBA experience for current and future MBAs?

WG: “Building on the momentum generated by our articulated purpose, we have focused our attention on the differentiating strength of our diverse and inclusive collaborative community and the power it can bring to create a lasting impact on humanity. Those who have had experience with Foster know it to be a place where we continuously innovate, where all voices are invited into decisions – a place where we lift each other as we rise. We are doubling down on our commitment to care for each other, taking the time to listen to other’s experiences, and equipping our community members with the tools to navigate challenging conversations to the goal of greater empathy, deeper understanding, and better solutions. In addition to new faculty, revised curriculum, co-curricular offerings, and student led events, we will be offering a “Career & Community” week as a pause in our academic work during the middle of our Autumn quarter to allow students time to focus on wellness, diversity, equity & inclusion, and their professional development.

The faculty has completed a collaborative curriculum revision, involving students, recruiters/employers, staff, and alumni, to allow us to deliver on the needs of our community. This effort increases program relevance by centering our focus on what knowledge, skills, and abilities will be needed by our students to lead in a changed and changing world. Much like the increased attention to impact and DEI, we have increased our focus on technology and analytics. A new instructional designer will be working with faculty to revise their courses to infuse DEI and CSR into the learning experience, and four new elective courses are focused on these topics. We have also switched the timing of our Strategy core course, moving it from the Winter to the Autumn quarter, to help prepare students for consulting internships interviewing. And our STEM designed degree option will be supported with a new core course in development on Data Management and Analytics.”

P&Q: What are two biggest differentiating features of your MBA program? How do each of these enrich the learning of your MBA students?

WG: “Our two greatest differentiators are community & connections:

Assistant Dean of MBA Programs Wendy Guild

1) Community

One of the University of Washington’s core beliefs is We > Me and Foster exemplifies it. At Foster, we take great pride in our tight-knit community that lifts others as we rise. Our first impulse is to help, not compete, with each other. There is a genuine caring for others that has been a hallmark of the program over the years. The small program size creates deep relationships and an ethos where no one gets lost or is left behind. Employing a growth mindset, students share employment stories to celebrate their successes and learn from and seek support to overcome challenges. This ethos of service to others extends to the broader community. Foster has brought home the “golden briefcase” from the MBA Challenge for Charity competition 4 out of the last 6 years, demonstrating the highest per capita funds raised and hours volunteered for selected charities. We have numerous opportunities in our course work to have an impact – from social entrepreneurship and impact investing to our field studies – and in co-curricular opportunities, including our Board Fellows Program and service-learning projects. Ultimately, as individuals, we seek knowledge, relationships, and new opportunities that will allow us to add value – helping each other achieve our goals along the way.

There is a very high level of collaboration between faculty, students, staff, alumni, and corporate leaders. The school and program leadership set the direction using a consultative process then manage daily operations to create continuous innovation. New, evidence-based creative ideas are quickly generated and applied to challenges as they arise. For example, student representatives will bring concerns and data to the biweekly program meetings and participate in discussing policy, curriculum and service-based solutions with faculty and staff. At Foster, faculty creates the learning context and students drive the student experience. The high levels of collaborative decision-making and autonomy make our programs agile – ready to anticipate and adapt to the changing needs of our students and the organizations that employ them.

2) Connections

“Foster cultivates deep connections to economy leading companies – Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, T-Mobile, Salesforce, REI, Nordstrom, Nike – which enhances learning, builds networks and is manifest in outstanding student employment results.

These relationships are multi-faceted. For example, Amazon executives who are Foster alumni meet regularly with Foster staff to plan and execute initiatives to deepen our relationship: Amazonians have supported admitted and current students with informational interviews, interview coaching, site visits, Amazon community events with Foster faculty speakers, rapid-response case competitions, field project sponsorship, mentorship, instruction, executive access, and greater internship and employment offers per capita than any other business school. These deep connections prepare our students well to contribute from day 1 in their internships and employment. This symbiotic relationship with Amazon is an example of how we can convene different players that can add value to each other.”

P&Q: In recent years, there have been several areas that have gained increased prominence in business school programming, including STEM, analytics, artificial intelligence and digital disruption. How does your full-time MBA program integrate these concepts across its curriculum?

WG: “The MBA degree at the Foster School of Business is designed and updated regularly by faculty to ensure that the discipline-based knowledge, skills, and abilities being developed by students are current and relevant. In addition to regularly refreshed core content, we have dedicated core courses that provide a foundation in big data analytics in R, quantitative methods for predictive modelling, forecasting, simulation, and optimization, and an introduction to AI and machine learning. Our STEM Designated Management Science Degree Option is available as a collection of electives with a focus on relevant topics, as is a Marketing Analytics specialization. A new core course in Data Management and Analytics is currently being designed, while electives are currently available for a deeper diver dive into aspects of data management.

A number of opportunities with a project based/field study are available for learning in the context of the current challenges of an organization sponsor. Co-curricular opportunities to learn Tableau or advanced features of Excel are available to extend one’s skill set. Finally, students learn about analytics and tech trends in the context of our deep connections to industry through activities by our 21 student clubs and our Product Management Center, Customer Analytics Center, Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, and our new Creative Destruction Lab with a focus on Health Informatics.”

MBA Lead Week At Foster

P&Q: What have you learned during the pandemic and the shift to hybrid or remote learning and how will they impact the MBA experience going forward?

WG: “The pandemic has demonstrated that learning is a team sport – while learning and work can go on, as enabled by technology, the community that supports the development of our students must be intentionally and creatively nurtured. We can’t take for granted the development of critical relationships between members of our community – we must continually generate “pull” opportunities for engagement. And once we connect, we need to ensure that our community values support healthy relationship development and we are equipping our community members with the tools to navigate challenging conversations to the goal of greater empathy, deeper understanding, and better solutions. Maintaining a community that supports the development of all of its members takes work, but, if done well, the results are transformational for all and allow us to live our purpose as a school. The pandemic has put the spotlight on the critical role of community in graduate management education and schools that elevate and deliver on this aspect of the MBA experience will deliver the best results for students.”

P&Q: Seattle is known for a strong mix of vibrant tech scene and startup ecosystem, backed up by Fortune 500 might like Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks. How does the Foster tap into these advantages to provide MBA students with opportunities to learn, grow, and advance?

WG: “As described earlier through the example of our partnership with Amazon, we have multi-faceted connections across the economy that support student development. One particular mechanism for connection that deserves more elaboration is our Radical Collaboration consulting sprints delivered by our world-class Career Management team in collaboration with key employers. In these 3-day events, student teams are provided with advanced readings and hear from representatives from companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Nestle, Starbucks, Nike, Addidas, and T-Mobile to discuss the business case prompts that they tackle over the next few days. The assignment concludes with team presentations and discussions with panels of Foster alums. Radical Collaboration creates an experience for every student to engage in critical thinking, apply academic frameworks, develop innovative recommendations, and develop connections.”

Founders Hall

P&Q: What is your most popular course among MBAs? What makes it so unique and so attractive to MBAs?

NP:  “Problems in Business Finance is a very unassuming title to describe a class that is intensely fought over — students regularly put up nearly all their bidding points for the singular chance to learn under Professor Jennifer Koski. Her focus on student engagement means that the lessons stick with everyone, and no question goes unanswered. Additionally, the cases are interesting, and we always talked through real world implications beyond the Excel spreadsheet. Professor Koski emphasized that the “right” answer is often “it depends”, and that we should be careful in any job to analyze all angles and not focus too much on the numbers. The shortest way to describe her success would be the fact that when I took it, there were just as many marketing-focused as finance-focused students present, and everyone agreed it was one of the most helpful classes at Foster.”

Editor’s Note: This response came from Neesha Pinnaduwage – Class of 2021 Class President who is currently at Goldman Sachs.

Next Page: Profiles of Washington Foster First-Year MBA Students

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