Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business

The Duke Fuqua MBA: What You Need To Know

Since 1969, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business has offered an exceptional full-time MBA that prepares students to become well-rounded leaders. Popular for its focus on the health sector management as it relates to business, the school also exudes a strong culture of Team Fuqua, where working together is valued and “we” is greater than “me.”

The B-school is based in Durham, North Carolina – a city known for pleasant weather, just a three hours’ drive to both the ocean and the Appalachian Mountains. Top companies in the area that often employ Duke MBAs include, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, BCG, Deloitte, and PwC.

“Students and graduates recognize they can achieve the highest results through tapping into strengths as a group, collaboratively,” emphasizes Senior Associate Dean Russ Morgan.
Fuqua focuses on developing leaders with high IQ (intelligence), EQ (the ability to motivate and connect with others) and last but far from least, DQ (the focus on elevating decency). “We want students with all three of these, especially with the critical element DQ. We want students who care about and respect others, seek to improve the community, and use their skills for good,” says Morgan, who emulates the culture himself.

Fuqua assesses prospective students’ IQ, EQ, and DQ through application materials such as the GMAT or GRE, an interview, and a few essays. The B-School wants to get to know prospective students on a personal level, with their unique prompt asking prospective MBAs to list 25 random things about themselves.

Fuqua enrolls 440 students a year on average. Year one is front loaded with core courses such as Leadership and Applied Entrepreneurship, the idea being to give students an early foundation in business so they can hone in on specific focuses in year two, which is all electives. Students can choose from around 16 concentrations, as well as several certificates. Many choose to pursue the ever-popular certificate in healthcare.

“My favorite aspect of the MBA at Fuqua is that there is an alignment across the community, where student engagement is incredibly high. Year after year, as expected, there’s turnover with students of course, but everyone that comes in really enhances and elevates the community. We are able to accomplish more jointly as a community. We celebrate that, we don’t take it for granted,” says Morgan.

Fuqua has a very active community involved in a long list of co-curricular activities; including 75 clubs like the Wine Club, which hosts “Wine Around the World,” where students interact with those they may not otherwise meet and gain exposure to other cultures. There are also professional conferences and applied practicums where students work in the field locally and internationally.