According to Net Impact’s recently released 2014 “Business as UNusual” rankings, the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business ranks 20th in Social Impact and 30th in Sustainability among MBA programs.
Each year Net Impact – a non-profit organization with 300 volunteer-led chapters (including a Smith undergraduate and MBA chapter) that promote and empower students to “use their careers to drive transformational change in the workplace and the world” – releases the rankings based on input from chapter leaders and an online student survey, ranking each school in Social Impact and Environmental Sustainability. In addition to the impressive ranking, this year’s report highlights Smith’s specific course offerings such as Marketing for Social Value, The Green Supply Chain, and Economics of Sustainability, as well as the program’s strongest focus areas, including Social Entrepreneurship, Nonprofit Management, and International Development.
Among the Smith students surveyed, 78 percent agreed that the program offers adequate career preparation resources for impact job seekers and 72 percent responded that they are satisfied with the program’s extracurricular activities in the fields of social and environmental impact.
The report also notes the significant impact that Smith’s Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC) has had on making Smith a prominent program for students seeking to create social and environmental change. CSVC offers Smith students unique hands-on learning opportunities that allow students to apply business principles in creative and entrepreneurial ways that co-create economic prosperity and social and environmental well-being. As the report states, “Through social-value-centered programming that reaches into all of the core classes, programing, lectures, and consulting practicums, the center acts as a hub for extending social impact into traditional business education.”
Patrick Gillece, Smith MBA Candidate 2015, Office of Marketing Communications
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About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.