University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics

The UK MBA: What You Need To Know

The University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics is one of only eight institutions in the country with a liberal arts, engineering, professional, agricultural and medical college all on one campus. The campus in Lexington Kentucky – the heart of the Bluegrass region, and the horse capital of the world. UK was founded in 1865 as one of two land-grant universities – the other being Kentucky State.

Past MBA Collin Latsko says on UK’s site, “Following my graduation from the University of Kentucky, the next step was to find a passion and to position myself to be more effective in any career. The MBA program was the perfect place to cultivate my skills and learn from the next industry leaders. From this cohort, I have found new friends, new opportunities, and a group who is consciously taking on social issues. I have found that success does not come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently, and this program is going to push each of us forward.”

This year, the program welcomed 57 students. MBAs kick off their journey with a professional career development course called MBA 630, which includes self-exploration assessments, career exploration tools, and dedicated coaching and guidance.

The curriculum is designed to encourage critical thinking and problem-solving strategies, and weaves in plenty of opportunities to practice effective written and oral communications.

Part of the curriculum includes two team-based internships where student teams are paired with a company or organization to work on a project of importance to said company or organization. The fall semester project could be a variety of topics under the umbrella of growth strategy, including new product introduction, branding, marketing plan development, customer experience and other topics relating to a company’s growth in the marketplace.

The highlight of the program is two team-based consulting projects during the fall and spring where teams are paired with regional business leaders, also called sponsors, from a wide range of sectors. Together, UK MBAs work on a project of importance with the company that can encompass a variety of topics under the umbrella of growth strategy, including new product introduction, branding, marketing plan development, customer experience and other topics relating to a company’s growth in the marketplace.

“What I found is that this is helpful both for the students and it’s helpful for us as a company in that we get new eyes and new thoughts on our business. It also helps the students add real-life context to things they are doing in the classroom,” says past consulting project sponsor Dan Fine, Tempur Sealy VP of Marketing in a Vimeo video on UK’s site.

MBAs gain on-the-job training while consulting with regional organizations, apply and hone business theory learned in the classroom, improve team building skills in a corporate environment, network with executives to increase visibility and hiring opportunities, and strengthen resume and networking skills.

Outside of the required curriculum, MBAs tend to take part in workshops, conferences, case competitions, and networking & leadership opportunities.

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