The UCLA Anderson MBA: What You Need To Know

The University of California’s Los Angeles’s Anderson School of Management stands supported by their three pillars – share success, think fearlessly, and drive change. The school upholds the motto, “We got your back,” – and they do. Over the course of the degree, the B-school supports their MBAs, and over 86% of MBAs switch industry, function, or both – and they have an average salary jump of 85% from pre- to post-MBA.

The area is home to what’s called Silicon Beach – a stretch of tech and startups that spans from Santa Monica to Playa Vista. Home to over 500 tech companies, Silicon Beach is home to companies like Hulu, Snap, Oculus, and Dollar Shave Company. The region has also attracted big names like Google, Facebook, and Nike, and Amazon. For MBAs, this means jobs, expertise, and networking.

“I wanted to stay in the technology space and I knew that the rapid growth of start-ups in Silicon Beach and expanded headquarters for Big Tech firms would be great for my career goals. Los Angeles is becoming another big tech hub on the West Coast, and I wanted to jump at the possibility to be a part of it. The weather, diversity in culture, and proximity to other big cities along the coast was the cherry on top,” says Oke Bamgbose, Class of 2022.

The two-year Anderson MBA recently welcomed 330 full-time MBAs to the Class of 2024. The program retained its international growth percentage from last year, with 47% of MBAs hailing from Brazil, Germany, Iran, New Zealand, and Vietnam among the 43 countries represented. A good 35% of the class are women, and 28% represent U.S. minorities. Professionally, the class averages 6 years of experience, and 29% have actually worked more than 6 years.

“I have always valued collaboration and am passionate about driving positive change in the spaces I choose to operate in, not for me but for those that will come after me. At its core, Anderson tends to be exceptionally entrepreneurial and student-led. I wanted to be in a space that would push me beyond my comfort zone and what better place to do it than somewhere that values it in thought and action,” says MBA Nkemdilim Chukwuma.

The curriculum in the 22-month program includes core business courses and electives, with an ample amount of flexibility and opportunities to solve real challenges with real local and global businesses. In terms of customization, there’s over 100 electives and 15 specializations to choose from.

All Anderson MBA must fulﬁll a global requirement, which they can do through three channels – a global immersion course (virtual or in-person travel, completing an international Applied Management Research project or a Business Creation Option project, or an on-campus or virtual global management elective courses.

Outside of the required curriculum, Anderson MBAs enjoy participating in conferences, case competitions, student-led clubs, and Anderson traditions like the AnderCup/Section Olympics.

As one can expect, Anderson has plans for the future of the degree.

“We are excited to share that we are in the execution phase of our strategic plan. One immediate outcome is infusing a diverse and inclusive mindset into the MBA experience by having our new MBAs take Foundations of Inclusive Leaders as their first course. We’ve also added a new Ethics course to the core. In addition to academics, we are excited to be fully present in our new building in a way we dreamed about before the pandemic forced needed restrictions on how we gather as a community,” says Gary Fraser, Associate Dean of the Full-Time MBA.

UCLA Anderson MBA Rankings Data

UCLA Anderson MBA Employment Stats

MBA Program Consideration Set:

Stretch Schools: Duke, Virginia, New York University, Michigan, Yale

Match Schools: Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, North Carolina, Texas at Austin

Safe Schools: Emory, Indiana, USC, Georgetown

Notes: MBA Program Consideration Set: If you believe you’re a close match to this school–based on your GMAT and GPA scores, your age and work experience, you should look at these other competitive full-time MBA programs as well. We list them by stretch, match, and safety. These options are presented on the basis of brand image and ranking status.