Clark University Named To Princeton Review’s Best Business Schools

Friday, October 18, 2013

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Located in Worcester, Clark University Graduate School of Management offers seven business programs to choose from.

The Graduate School of Management (GSOM) at Clark University is one of the nation's most outstanding business schools, according to The Princeton Review. The company features the school in the new 2014 edition of its book, "The Best 295 Business Schools.”

According to Robert Franek, Princeton Review Senior VP-Publisher, "We recommend Clark GSOM as one of the best institutions a student could attend to earn a business school degree. We chose the schools we profile in this book based on our high regard for their academic programs and our reviews of institutional data we collect from the schools. We also solicit and greatly respect the opinions of students attending these schools who rate and report on their experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for the book."

“We are happy to be recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the Best 295 Business Schools,“ said GSOM Dean Catherine Usoff. “I am particularly proud of the passion, initiative and commitment of our students, faculty and staff. We strive to be highly regarded as a diverse community of learners, researchers and business professionals that prepares future leaders to think critically, manage collaboratively and contribute to their organizations and society. Student comments to The Princeton Review reflect this vision.”

One of the Nation's Best

In the Clark GSOM profile, The Princeton Review editors describe the school as providing a “collaborative atmosphere” to a student body drawn from both the immediate region and halfway around the globe. As a result, Clark is “very diversified, which brings many different perspectives to the classroom.” According to one student, “I have seen a steady progression in Clark’s course offerings that indicates that they understand the ‘real-world’ challenges facing students and are adapting appropriately.”

The GSOM offers an MBA with concentrations in accounting, finance, global business, management information systems, marketing, sustainability and social change, as well as an MS in accounting, an MS in finance and two dual degrees: MBA/MA in Community Development and Planning and MBA/MS in Environmental Science and Policy. In addition to its “forward-looking, green-leaning proclivities,” the report notes that “finance and accounting are standout disciplines here.” As one student described, “Many of the finance professors have impressive concurrent careers, running hedge funds by day and teaching courses by night; they typically have highly recognized professional certifications in addition to their PhDs.”

More general comments about the faculty indicate that “Clark’s professors are ‘demanding but fair.’ Some ‘are outstanding. They come from experienced fields and they help you live the experience of the new material in all its aspects. Suddenly statistics and finance become easy and enjoyable with them.’”

According to students surveyed, the Stevenish Career Management Center at Clark’s GSOM “does a good job of helping students prepare for their career search. They edit resumes and cover letters, provide interview coaching, and give students information on nearby career fairs.” Employers who have recently hired Clark GSOM graduates include Johnson & Johnson, Deloitte, Aetna Insurance, Public Consulting Group, JP Morgan, AMCOR, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Methodology

The Princeton Review's survey asks business school students about their school's academics, student body and campus life, as well as about themselves and their career plans. Survey data results in rating scores on a scale of 60 to 99 in five categories: Academic Experience, Admissions Selectivity, Career, Professors Interesting and Professors Accessible. Among the ratings in the Clark GSOM profile are scores of 84 for Academic Experience and 84 for Professor Accessibility.

Clark University

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to contemporary challenges in the areas of psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.

The Princeton Review

"The Best 295 Business Schools” is one of more than 150 Princeton Review books published by Random House. The Princeton Review is also known for its guides to colleges and to standardized tests, its classroom and online test-prep courses, tutoring, and other education services. Headquartered in Framingham, MA, The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University, and it is not a magazine.