Questions for current Paul Merage Bus. Admin. students

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
1

<p>Asking for my recently admitted son (intended major: business admin). He wants to take classes with a focus/specialization in accounting and finance/business econ for undergrad. At UCI, the B.A. in Business Admin currently does not have a specialization in finance. We read that there's talk about creating a new undergrad specialization in finance at Paul Merage. Any hope that this will be a reality soon? If not, my son would have to do a 2nd major in Business Econ in the School of Social Sciences. Is double majoring in 2 different schools easy to do at UCI? Or will he have to meet a minimum GPA after taking certain required courses before he can apply for the second major?</p>

<p>What is typical class size for undergrad business classes? Any class taught by TAs instead of a professor?</p>

<p>We also want to know about the impact of the UC budget cuts on the undergrad business admin program. Are more classes taught by TAs, including those in Paul Merage? Are fewer classes available? Also heard that more UC students are not able to graduate in 4 yrs because of impacted classes. Is this true w/ current Paul Merage students, especially the first class admitted in 2008?</p>

2

<p>I am not sure when there will be a finance specialization. However, for the 2013 school year I believe there will be a smaller Finance focus that will not involve as many classes as a specialization. </p>

<p>It will be easy to add a double major in Business Economics because the School of Social Sciences does not have many requirements to change/add a major other than pre-requisite courses and generally the typical “C” or higher grades. [UCI</a> Change of Major Criteria](<a href=“http://www.changeofmajor.uci.edu%5DUCI”>http://www.changeofmajor.uci.edu). As for the time it will take it finish the courses, it should be doable if he really wants to. He can also minor in Economics.</p>

<p>The typical class size for Business Courses is 80. All Management courses during the regular school year are taught by Lecturers/Professors.</p>

<p>It is NOT difficult for most students to graduate within 4 years at UCI, especially not for Business Administration. The School of Business makes sure its major students gets courses before the students who are minoring within the school.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your inputs, moey. Glad to hear that Paul Merage students should have no problem graduating in 4 yrs. </p>

<p>Would you also let us know what you think about the overall quality of the undergrad business classes? Do the professors go out of their way to mentor/help their students and make themselves available outside of their office hours? </p>

<p>Are the undergrad business students a close-knit group w/ social activities with the Merage staff/faculty? Do most of the students have had internships related to their major, and was it hard securing one?</p>

<p>Also, with the first small graduating class in 2011 and a full graduating class this spring, are there statistics on the percent of Merage undergrad students securing a job after graduation?</p>

4

<p>As a current Merage senior (Accounting Emphasis) I can honestly say that business faculty are more than willing to make themselves available to students and on numerous occasions have shown a willingness to set up alternative office hours for me when I could not meet with them during regularly scheduled hours.</p>

<p>Mentoring? I can’t say I’ve ever come across stories of any mentoring going on but professors are more than willing to talk with you about non-class related issues at office hours if that is what you are hinting at. </p>

<p>Securing desirable internships/jobs from what I’ve experienced is largely a product of being a persistent networker. I honestly don’t feel as though being a Merage student gives me any significant advantage over my fellow non-Merage peers in securing internships. That being said, if you want to work in certain industries (Accounting) you’ll need to ensure you fulfill the educational requirements by completing much of the Merage housed accounting courses.</p>

<p>Final Thoughts:</p>

<p>I am proud to be a part of the first full graduating class for the school however as of today I would have to say that the praise it has been receiving seems overblown. There is no doubt I will soon graduate with a well rounded business education but my ability to secure a favorable position in my desired line of work (strategic planning & consulting) was largely the product of persistent networking, significant interview preparation, and staying abreast of the wheelings and dealings in the WSJ. The quality of education I received could just as easily have been acquired by self studying the textbooks utilized in the course. That being said, the business curriculum does offer you the opportunity to engage in a number of team assignments that really aid in developing critical teamwork skills.</p>

<p>p.s. Keep in mind I was a part of the program in its infancy and it is likely to continue to blossom significantly over the next couple of years. Please don’t let my comments above be construed as a negative assessment of the program but rather as more of a reality check on what the program is likely to offer new students over the near term. Expect to learn much of the same curriculum learned by most other business administration majors at other colleges. If I could point to one advantage the Irvine program has going forward it would be that the high caliber student body will likely lead to more and more high profile companies recruiting at Irvine in a few years.</p>

<p>p.s.s. Students interested in careers in banking should note that based on my own experience, significant preparation will be needed beyond MGMT 109, 141, 149 to acquire the level of technical information needed to be successful in reaching bulge bracket superdays. However I would say few schools (Ross, Wharton) offer the kind of finance based curriculum depth where this wouldn’t be the case.</p>

5

<p>Hi @Sher,</p>

<p>I’m a 3rd year Business Admin major and I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience here. We are among the happiest on campus (as cited by an UCI usrvey) and my peers make the most out of their experience. </p>

<p>The program will make the transition from having specializations (marketing, accounting, general mgmt) to having emphasis (I believe there are 6-8…) in Fall 2012. Some of the emphases that are included: finance, marketing, accounting, health care management, human resources, etc. This allows more students to discover other areas aside from the previous three. </p>

<p>I have never met anyone who is a 2x major in both Business Admin and Econ…I’m not sure if that is allowed, but don’t quote me on that. Most of the students are either Business Admin with another major/minor, or Econ with a management minor. He can confirm this by contacting someone in the Paul Merage School of Business Academic advising office. </p>

<p>The typical class size ranges depending on the level. Lower division management classes may have as many as 80-100+, while most upper div classes are 60-80. In every mgmt class I have taken, I know a large majority of my classmates (b/c we are taking the same classes) and the professor knows me by my first name. In fact, I am currently in a class with only 25 people…so there is definitely the personal aspect factor. </p>

<p>I have not found the budget cuts to have that profound of an effect on the ugrad program. It is very easy to graduate in just 4 years…and many of my peers are graduating (as third years). Many of our classes are restricted to only majors, so non-majors and minors may not be able to enroll at all, or at the first opening. I will complete the program at the end of Spring, but will stick around in Fall to finish my minor. I have never been in a mgmt class taught by a TA…most are taught by professors (who have corporate experience and offer valuable real-life examples) and I have only been in one class that was taught by a PhD student.</p>

<p>While professors may not go out of their way to mentor/help their students, they will definitely respond (in a positive manner) to help if the student reaches out to them. They are definitely available outside of class/office hours and will normally go above and beyond to help a student. </p>

<p>I do believe the ugrad community is a close-knit group…many of us are very involved on campus and are very like-minded. There are a vast amount of business organizations with professional interests, social outings, etc. </p>

<p>Internships depend on the student…persistence is key. Resources are available, it just depends on how hard the student wants to work to get it. Internship searching usually takes 4-6 months…and usually begins in October/November for the serious searchers (3rd years and FT for 4th years). The acctg internship process is a bit more structured. </p>

<p>I’m not sure on statistics of full time employment of the graduating class…that would be a question for Admin. </p>

<p>[Contact</a> Us, Undergraduate Programs - The Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine](<a href=“http://merage.uci.edu/Undergrad/Content/Contact-Us/256]Contact”>Undergraduate Overview | Paul Merage School of Business | UCI)</p>

6

<p>Hi, I am actually a fourth year doing a major in business econ and business admin/accounting. I would recommend doing regular econ and business admin just because its fewer courses compared to bus econ. The courses in the business admin school are a lot easier then econ in my opinion(better curve, classes are a lot easier, etc).</p>