All You Need to Know About Getting into UCLA Anderson’s MBA

UCLA Anderson School of Management is a world-renowned business school located in Los Angeles, California. Its MBA program, ranked 13^th in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2020, prepares professionals to become bright leaders in the business world and land jobs at some of the world’s top companies, including Google, BCG and Goldman Sachs.

If you’re dreaming of earning a spot on UCLA Anderson’s program, here’s everything you need to know about the school, the program, and everything in between.

UCLA Anderson’s class profile

UCLA Anderson’s MBA cohort of 360 students is highly diverse, with 30 percent of candidates belonging to ethnic minorities, a high percentage of female students and 36 percent of students’ hail from outside of the US.

The school also recruits from a wide range of undergraduate institutions – over 150 for the 2022 cohort – and educational backgrounds, including business (23 percent), engineering (22 percent), humanities (17 percent) and economics (15 percent).

UCLA Anderson’s MBA program

UCLA Anderson’s full-time MBA is a two-year program based around nine courses. The Anderson experience begins with an Onboarding session, where candidates are introduced to the school’s environment, the faculty, and the preparation required to begin the program.

In their first year, students take core business courses – including Marketing Management, Foundations of Finance, Data & Decisions and Managerial Accounting – to start building their executive skillset. In their second year, their time is split between long-term projects and elective classes that help them customize their curriculum to their career needs. These include Digital Marketing Strategy, Negotiations Behavior, Technology Analytics and FinTech.

The total cost of the program is US$104,954.

UCLA Anderson’s MBA application

To apply to the Anderson MBA, applicants must hold a completed undergraduate degree and either a GMAT or a GRE score – although no minimum score is required.

While the majority of UCLA Anderson MBA students have some form of full-time professional experience under their belt, the school also accepts applications from prospective students who are early in their career or college seniors.  

As part of the application process, candidates are required to submit one or two essays. The first, which is compulsory, asks: How have events of the past year influenced the impact you would like to make in your community, career, or both? The second, which is optional, asks: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions committee should be aware?

If successful in the initial application, candidates are invited to a one-on-one interview. While it might seem daunting, just like any other MBA interview, the school stresses its importance in understanding a candidate’s true personality and commitment to the b-school experience.

You can find all application deadlines for UCLA Anderson here.

UCLA Anderson’s graduate employability

According to QS data, UCLA Anderson’s MBA has a high employability rate: 87 percent of graduates find work in the three months after graduation. Most can expect a median base salary of US$125,000 with a whopping US$30,000 signing bonus.

In terms of industries, most Anderson graduates land jobs in technology (29.5 percent), consulting (20.4), investment management (8.3), consumer products (7.6), healthcare (6.9), entertainment/media (6.6) and investment banking (6.6).