Claremont Graduate University - The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management

The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management operates a distinctive MBA program in general management, which “embeds both business and social values into its curriculum.” The school’s “unique management philosophy” is largely inspired by the eponymous Peter F. Drucker, a pioneer writer and thinker in the field of management theory and practice. Particularly interesting is the school’s Drucker-inspired concept of “management as a liberal art,” which “gives students the opportunity to gain insights into management from various perspectives.” In addition to “classes that focus on leadership, sustainability, organizational development, and effective management,” every student must “take a class solely based on Drucker ’s philosophies as a core requirement.” Of particular note, the Drucker MBA focuses on “developing ethical leaders,” with class materials constantly emphasizing “the importance of social responsibility in business.”

Drucker offers a number of graduate-level business degrees, including an MA in Arts Management as well as three options for the MBA: a full-time MBA in the day, a fully employed MBA for working professionals, and an executive MBA in the evenings and weekends. Students in all three programs have access to intensive overseas courses, offered during semester breaks, as well as semester-long exchange programs. While students are not required to complete an internship, “There are plenty of opportunities for students to get access to various companies through the many extracurricular clubs offered like the Entrepreneur & Venture Capital Club that visits businesses and entrepreneurs in Southern California.” Most Drucker instructors are “excellent teachers,” who are “very talented [and] well trained in their fields.” While most have PhDs in business, the program is not overly academic; “material feels very up to date and applicable.” While some students would like to see more academic rigor, they also appreciate the school’s “good reputation” as a member of the Claremont Consortium of Colleges, which includes such well-known institutions as Pomona College and Claremont McKenna.

A “boutique” school with intimate class sizes, Drucker students benefit from “small classes and extremely close and personal interaction with professors.” In addition to office hours, “it’s not uncommon to be invited to lunch or coffee with a professor.” When it comes to participating in this management-focused school, students are not let down: “The MBA Administration at Claremont Graduate University is amazing,” consistently demonstrating accessibility, as well as “a willingness to accommodate the various needs of students.” Despite incorporating a number of distinct degree programs, “there is a very good culture of communication between the administration, professors and students.”

The Career Management office at Drucker works with students on career planning, skills development, and networking. They also oversee an alumni mentor program, which connects current students with graduates of the MBA. Nonetheless, students would like to see “better relations with alumni” across the board. Unlike at larger business programs, “recruiters do not come on campus” for interviews, though students notice that there has been a recent push to bring more companies to Drucker for interviews and networking events. Though still slightly beleaguered, “recruitment has increased and the effort is noticeable, but [it is] a work in progress.”

For the class of 2013, at least 75 percent of graduates were employed within three months of graduation, with an average starting salary of almost $61,333. There are Drucker grad- uates living in all fifty states, and recent graduates have accepted positions at a range of companies, including Bank of NY Mellon, Barclays Capital, Northwest Airlines, Ernst & Young, Deutsche Bank, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, International Monetary Fund, KPMG, Mattel, and Risk Management Solutions, among many others.

Maybe it’s all that Southern California sunshine, but students at Drucker say the school’s “atmosphere is light and harmonious.” Attracting MBA candidates from across the country, as well as internationally, “the student body is very diverse.” In the full-time program, students “generally skew younger and less experienced,” but they are nonethe- less “friendly and eager to learn.” Friendships blossom easily, and collaboration is more common than competition among classmates. A student explains, “We are competitive on a friendly level, for example in case competitions we get very competitive, yet we can also go grab a beer at the end of the day and have a good time.”

When they are not hitting the books, Drucker students are eager to socialize with their col- leagues. Among other campus events, the school hosts “regular student mixers,” of which the biweekly Thursdays on Drucker Way are particularly popular. It’s hard to dispute the fact that “beer, food, and table tennis is a nice way to end the week.” Located in the small town of Claremont, just north of Pomona, California, and east of Los Angeles, “Claremont is known as the city of trees and PhDs.” Around the business school, “the landscape is beautiful,” and it is located “close to the village (downtown) so we can easily walk there if we need anything that isn’t on campus.” A current student enthuses, “I’m having the time of my life here!”