Goizueta Business School

History

On February 18, 1919, the dean of Emory College, Howard Odum, recommended the creation of a "school of economics and business administration" to the Board of Trustees. Thus, in the fall of 1919, the new school worked with Emory College to offer courses in economics, accounting, and business law. By 1925, there was one faculty member and full-time assistant, five staff members and 145 students. In 1926, eight students received the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Two decades after the school awarded degrees in business administration, the school accepted its first female student in 1954. In the same year, the MBA program commenced, with 19 registered students.

In 1992, the evening MBA program was introduced. When the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business began accrediting master’s programs, Emory’s program was one of the first to be approved. Four years later, Emory appeared on the list of the top American colleges and universities producing U.S. executives. This newfound position accompanied new programs, such as the concentration within the MBA program for professional accounting and, in 1979, the Executive MBA program. Also at this time, the school created a plan to allow students to complete both the MBA and Juris Doctor degree within four years. Rankings of the school’s programs highlight the results: in 1986, the Executive MBA program was ranked in the top 15 in a Business Week survey.

In 1994, the school was renamed for Roberto C. Goizueta, the CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. The millennium brought about a new PhD program in business administration and a new program in Real Estate. The school installed its current dean, Professor Erika James, in 2014.

Undergraduate program

The BBA program is designed for students who have spent at least a year at Emory or Oxford College. As it is a two-year program, most students apply to enter Goizueta in their junior year, though students may enter in the spring semester of their sophomore year if they have achieved junior standing. Students are required to have completed at least 60 credit hours of course work and to have completed a series of prerequisite courses, including Financial Accounting and Economics, to be considered for admission. The BBA office will take into account a student’s performance in business prerequisite courses, campus involvement, internship experiences, and strong letters of recommendation when determining acceptance. The BBA class of 2011 averaged a 1371 on their SATs and a 3.6 GPA.

The undergraduate program is a two-year program through which students receive a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Students take a core curriculum of classes, which includes courses such as Corporate Finance, Strategic Management, Business Communications, and Business Law. Students also concentrate in one or more area depth. Area depths include Accounting (CPA and non-CPA tracks), Finance, Marketing, Strategy & Management Consulting, and, Information Systems & Operations Management (ISOM). Students are also able to double major and earn a degree from Emory College. There are leadership opportunities available for undergraduate students, through participation in clubs such as Goizueta Investors and Goizueta Marketing Club, or through the BBA council, Goizueta’s student government body. The undergraduate program also offers an exchange program, with 35% of undergraduate students going abroad for at least one semester. Businessweek ranked the BBA program #3 in the nation in 2011.

Graduate Programs

There are numerous MBA programs offered at Emory, including Full Time (both one- and two-year programs), Evening, and Executive programs. All applicants must complete the GMAT, and non-native English speaking applicants must complete the TOEFL or equivalent test. Evening MBA applicants must live and work in the metro Atlanta area. The average accepted Full Time MBA for the class of 2012 had a GMAT of 680, a 3.4 Undergrad GPA, and roughly 5 years of work experience.

Full-Time MBA

The Full-time MBA program places emphasis on leadership development. The Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy (GALA) provides development in individual and team leadership. There are also clubs for students to join and lead, including Entrepreneurship Club and Microfinance Club. MBA students also have access to the Career Management Center, which provides students career counseling as well as connecting them to companies to help ease the job search. 87% of the MBA class of 2013 reported receiving job offers upon graduation and 98% had received offers by 3-months after graduation.

Evening MBA

Goizueta’s Evening MBA program, ranked in the top 25 nationally since 1995, is designed for professionals currently living and working in the Metro Atlanta area. The standard length of the Evening MBA program is 32 months, though it can be completed in as little as 24. Each course meets once a week, with core classes being taken with other Evening MBAs and electives being taken with students from other MBA programs and class years. The Evening MBA program offers International Study Abroad options via annual one-week overseas learning opportunities, which allow students the means to observe and learn first-hand current business challenges in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, China, and The Netherlands. Evening MBAs have full access to the Career Management Center including dedicated personnel in the CMC for Working Professionals to help with resume editing, interviewing preparation, career development and coaching and access to on-campus recruiting.

Executive MBA

Goizueta’s Executive MBA program, ranked by Businessweek as the 15th best program worldwide in 2011, offers a Modular Executive MBA and an Weekend Executive MBA. The Modular Executive MBA consists of 10 weeklong residencies over a 20-month period. This includes 9 residencies in Atlanta and one Global Business Colloquium spent abroad. When not on campus, students stay connected with faculty and their classmates through online classes and projects.

The Weekend Executive MBA program is a 21-month program. Students take classes at Emory on Alternating weekends during this period, as well as participate in a two-week Global Business Colloquium, and spend time at Washington Campus, a week-long course designed for in-depth learning on the American political process. Classes are mainly held on Fridays and Saturdays, with the occasional Thursday class.

Executive Education

Goizueta offers a host of Executive education and development programs. Executive education programs can be either customized for a specific organization, or can be through one of the existing open enrollment program. Current open enrollment programs include the Goizueta Executive Program, Management Development Program, Critical Thinking and Decision Making, and Finance for the Nonfinancial Manager. Programs can range from a few days to over a week and are taught by top Goizueta faculty.

PhD in Business

Only 5% of prospective students were admitted to the phD program for the fall of 2011. These students had an average GMAT of 736, a 3.77 undergraduate GPA, and averaged 28 years in age. Application requirements include a bachelor's degree, a high GMAT score, a TOEFL for non-native English speakers, and letters of recommendation.

Goizueta’s PhD program offers PhDs in Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Organization & Management, and Information Systems. During these 4-year programs, students take courses as well as partner with faculty members for research collaborations. Students also undergo the Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity Program (TATTO), to help prepare them for teaching in a university setting.

Main campus

Goizueta is located on the main campus of Emory University, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, a suburban community near Atlanta. Also located on the main campus are Emory College of Arts and Sciences and all graduate and professional schools, including the Law and Medical schools. Other key buildings on campus include the Dobbs University Center (DUC), the Woodruff PE Center (WOODPEC), and the Woodruff Library, which contains the Goizueta Business Library.

Main campus is about a 15-minute drive from downtown and midtown Atlanta as well as the Buckhead area. The Atlanta metropolitan area, with more than 5.5 million people, is the ninth largest in the country and home to the world headquarters of corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, Delta Air Lines, and Turner Broadcasting. Atlanta has the country’s fourth-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have business operations in the metropolitan area.

Goizueta Foundation Center

Completed in 2005, the 90,000 square foot Goizueta Foundation Center for Research and Doctoral Education houses areas for PhD students, Executive MBA classrooms, the MBA Career Management Center, and conference and breakout rooms. The Balser Art Collection, a collection of art including original works by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, is located throughout the center. The building is "gold" certified by the LEED green building program. The Patterson Green, the main courtyard enclosed by the Foundation Center, offers students a space to relax in between classes and is the site of some social events for the Goizueta community.

Research Centers

The Social Enterprise Center aims to apply business acumen and market-based solutions.

The Marketing Analytics Center provides a forum for students, faculty, and industry representatives to share the latest decision making tools in the field of marketing analytics. The center hosts an annual conference.

The Emory Center for Alternative Investments focuses on developing research and information, providing education and building community with respect to areas of alternative investments including private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, and real estate.

Notable faculty

Notable alumni