Get Your Career Zooming with the Smith Part-time MBA

The Smith School first offered its part-time MBA program in Washington, D.C., only 18 months ago, but its success has made the program grow by leaps and bounds. The school launched the evening component in fall 2000 with 98 students. The weekend component followed in fall 2001. Today, the Washington location in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center boasts 239 part-time MBA students on evenings and weekends.

The current classrooms at the Ronald Reagan Building are operating at capacity so plans are to acquire four additional classrooms in the building's North Tower. "Interest in our evening and weekend MBA programs in Washington is definitely on the rise," said Cherie Scricca, assistant dean for MBA and MS programs. "We've noticed more prospective applicants at our information sessions, and we expect to see a strong, diverse new class in the fall 2002."

Part-time MBA student Kelly Small, investment research associate at American Council of Life Insurers, says that her experience has been extremely positive and that the Washington location is ideal for her since she can walk to class. "One of the things that I love about the D.C. program is the diversity, Small said. And I don't just mean in terms of national backgrounds. In addition to having a good mix of national and international students, women are also well represented in the D.C. program. The ratio is currently about 30%, which is high for a part-time MBA program.

And, because D.C. is such a well-rounded city, we have students that work in finance, IT, the military, lobbying firms, non-profit organizations, big-five consulting firms, and there's even a student who is a nurse!

The Smith School also offers its evening MBA program at Shady Grove in Montgomery County and in downtown Baltimore. In its most recent survey of part-time MBA programs (2002), U.S. News & World Report ranked the Smith School's program 13th nationwide, the highest-ranked part-time program in the Baltimore-Washington region.

Like its full-time MBA counterpart, the part-time MBA program integrates core business disciplines--such as finance, management consulting, information systems, and marketing--with cross-functional e-business concentrations that reflect today's business requirements. The same outstanding faculty members who teach in the Smith Schools full-time MBA program at College Park also teach in the part-time programs. Both the evening and weekend programs can be completed in three years, and all part-time MBA students in Washington automatically qualify for in-state tuition regardless of their residency. On-site student services include academic advising and career management.