Hands-On Experience

Apply Knowledge Outside the Classroom

Vanderbilt MBA course work requires regular contact with business leaders and companies—often through teams that mirror those used by today’s successful businesses.

Learn Through Immersion

Real-world application is integrated throughout your entire two years, including experiential and simulated learning environments. Owen offers classes and independent study opportunities in which you can work with companies to do research, write business plans, develop strategies, hone leadership skills and more. Students can

  • consult for and tackle the challenges of a real organization such as Coca-Cola, Nissan or many other leading global companies and startups.

  • spend a night in scrubs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to understand the importance of real-life health care business decisions.

  • spend a week in Shanghai to help a client company such as FedEx or The Home Depot understand the challenges of doing business in China. 

Peyton HogeStudent projects have included expansion analysis, strategic plans for a new product launch, marketing strategy (branding, distribution, market segmentation, new media), business concept planning for investment and industry research. Student have done project with many companies, including:

  • Blue Shield of California
  • Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival
  • Brown-Forman
  • Coca-Cola Company
  • Country Music Association
  • Emdeon
  • GE
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Healthways
  • Humana
  • Merrill Lynch
  • Modern Holdingsstudent project
  • Nissan
  • PriceWaterhouseCoopers Healthcare Research Institute
  • Ritz-Carlton
  • Smith Barney
  • SunTrust
  • The United Nations
  • Vanderbilt Heart Institute

Compete and Win in National Competitions

Owen student teams consistently meet with success in competitions, demonstrating excellence in leadership, teamwork, analysis and problem solving, and outperforming some of the world’s best-known business schools. Recent first-place wins include the 2009 Global Supply Chain Management MBA Case Competition and the 2010 Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Finance Case Competition (Vanderbilt MBAs have won the last three out of five years of this competition).

Engage in Student Initiatives

Clubs such as Net Impact, the Human and Organizational Performance Association and the Health Care Business Association offer students additional options to apply their knowledge in the real world, including developing and executing conferences and competitions.

Kate Haffey Kate Haffey
MBA 2011
Summer Associate, Human Resource Development Program
Bank of America

I have been able to take advantage of the abundance of opportunities available at Owen, whether attending C-Suite guest speakers, doing an independent study with the Coca-Cola Company, sitting in on roundtable discussions with entrepreneurs, helping brainstorm ideas for fellow classmates’ business plans, learning about Japanese business etiquette, tasting foods from around the world at the Global Food Festival, connecting with donors to thank them for their contributions to Owen, or learning all about the backend of the music industry. There are so many opportunities to learn new things, get involved in projects, test skills I had not yet been able to develop in my past experiences, and stretch myself outside my comfort zone.