Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management

The Owen MBA: What You Need To Know

Founded in 1974, Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management’s mission is to offer world-class business education at a personal scale. The culture at Vanderbilt is competitive, but not cutthroat.

The B-school is in Nashville, Tennessee – a city considered a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation, which makes it an ideal place for MBAs interested in starting their own businesses or working for startups. Top companies in the area include HCA Healthcare, Asurion, and Eventbrite. The city’s thriving startup scene is supported by a variety of resources, including accelerators, incubators, and networking events at Vanderbilt and in the city itself.

Vanderbilt Owen is unlike other business schools because it is exclusively a graduate school, which makes the environment at Owen an intimate one. Despite having smaller class sizes, the MBA fosters a close-knit and collaborative community built on supporting one another.

Over the course of the 21-month program, students can delve into many topics. The Owen MBA is flexible and prioritizes the needs of its students not only on an educational scale but on a personal one as well, giving them ample flexibility to get the most out of their degree.

The MBA system of intensive courses is broken up into “mods” spanning seven weeks in length plus an exam week, with two mods per semester. MBAs shape their experience through at least one 12-credit hour concentration in a discipline beyond the core curriculum. MBAs can choose from concentrations in Accounting, Consumer Psychology & Marketing Analysis, Finance, General Management, Healthcare, Human & Organizational Performance, Marketing, Operations & Analytics, and Strategy.

Those interested in diving deeper than solely the concentration can pursue a 20-credit hour specialization in either Brand Management, Corporate Finance, Human & Organizational Performance, or Investment Management.

The Owen community is extensive – even connected to other graduate schools. Full-time Owen MBAs can take courses at other Vanderbilt graduate schools with approval which many do, at the Law School, Divinity School, Peabody School of Education, Medical School and the Nursing School.

Outside of required curriculum, Owen MBAs frequent co-curricular opportunities like case competitions, career treks, annual summits, immersion experiences, professional conferences, and more. Students interested in gaining real-world experience can also take immersive courses and participate in excursions, where they gain industry knowledge firsthand.

“This program has opened for me a world of opportunities. I have met incredibly interesting people from a variety of backgrounds and geographies, made lifelong friends, and gained the tools to become a successful professional in the USA,” says Manuel Pascual-Vaca Lopez, Class of 2022 on Vanderbilt’s site.

Owen MBA Rankings Data

Owen MBA Employment Stats

Relevant Features:

Meet Vanderbilt Owen's MBA Class Of 2021

Healthcare & The MBA: An Interview With Vanderbilt Owen Dean Eric Johnson