Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University is one of the ten largest business schools in the United States. It was founded in 1953, began offering MBAs six years later and, since 2005, has been housed in the biggest building on the university’s campus. The school’s global alumni network helps students to build relationships with alumni advisers at top firms.

Vital statistics. First-year students study a core curriculum built around the themes of leadership, strategic analysis and financial management. In the second year, students can choose to take one of six specialist paths, including product and market development, strategic leadership and supply chain management. The average applicant has a GMAT score of 655 and four to five years’ work experience. Tuition for the 2006-07 academic year is $27,380 (£13,700) plus $1,500 for the Global Immersion programme (first-year students only).

Rankings. Smeal is ranked 23rd by Forbes; 48th by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Which MBA? guide 2006; equal 43rd in ft.com’s global ranking 2007; and 23rd in The Wall Street Journal’s annual list of the best regional MBAs.

Work experience. The programme incorporates a number of “immersion weeks”, in which students are plunged into a live business setting for a week, plus a summer corporate internship.

International experience. Just over a third of the 2006 incoming class are from outside the United States; countries include China, Russia, Taiwan and Uganda. The course incorporates a number of international elements, including the chance to study abroad.

Employment record. Figures for the past three years show an average salary increase for graduates of 128 per cent compared with their pre MBA pay packet, while 95 per cent of students find work within three months of completing the qualification.

Sources: www.smeal.psu.edu/mba; mba.eiu.com; ft.com; careerjournal.com/reports/bschool06/

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