Our Focus

You’re not content to live in a world with boundaries. You don’t want to focus just on your isolated tasks; your narrow slice of the organization. There are those who suggest that you cannot influence or should not worry about what happens over there in that other part of the company or that other region of the world. You disagree. So do we.

Flourishing as a leader within the dynamic business environments of today and tomorrow demands broader perspective. It takes someone who understands the breadth and scope of global commerce at one end of the spectrum and the depth and focus of one-on-one communication at the other. It takes someone who excels functionally, yet has the broader vision to see the big picture.

This is an environment with the flexibility and resources to help you succeed. A place where you’ll build lifelong relationships and experience a life-changing business education.

The Penn State Smeal MBA is designed to help you become the leader the world is looking for. Our rigorous curriculum focuses on four key thematic areas. To bring this experience to life, we leverage the vast resources of one of the nation’s most recognized and respected universities and the personal focus commitment of Smeal.

Principled Leadership

Your ability to lead — to communicate a sound strategic vision, to establish partnerships and alliances, to guide teams and entire organizations through the modern business maze, and to do it all with integrity and character — will position you for success throughout your career. At Smeal, you receive 360-degree feedback with individual coaching to help you identify your strengths and challenges and create a long-term leadership development plan. Intensive communication training, a focus on teamwork, and an emphasis on ethics and integrity help you emerge from the program as a principled leader.

Functional Expertise

As barriers between business silos disintegrate, the need to build fundamental business knowledge has not diminished. In fact, the bar for expertise in functional areas such as corporate accounting, finance, marketing, and supply chain management has been raised. It is no longer merely expected, it is assumed in an MBA graduate. You go beyond the basics at Smeal to develop depth and application in your chosen field. Our rigorous core curriculum in the first year focuses on business fundamentals. A flexible approach to the second year gives you the power to first build your functional competency and then solve problems across functions.

Total Business focus

Ideas, functions, products, and processes that existed separately within organizations for decades are now being woven together in inventive ways. This new reality offers you opportunities for innovation and collaboration. At Smeal, experiences such as our first year Executive Panel Case Competition, extensive course offerings in areas such as strategy and leadership communications, and an intense practicum project capstone in the second year help you hone your business understanding no matter your place on the organizational chart.

Global Perspective

Your business world stretches across oceans, time zones, and national borders, creating unique and complex challenges for your future as a leader. Our program is designed to foster a deep international perspective including our international business immersion experience in the first year, integrated global business content throughout the curriculum, opportunities to study abroad in the second year, and a community of students drawn from around the globe.