The Fuqua School of Business is at the forefront of business education worldwide. Our vigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum, responsiveness to new ideas and emphasis on leadership and teamwork parallel the entrepreneurial style, collaborative atmosphere and leadership skills required by today's changing business world. Following are details about how having a Duke MBA as summer intern can benefit your organization and the types of assignments that would be appealing to our students.
Our students arrive at Fuqua with an average of five years of work experience and an average age of 28. Prior to coming to business school many of them have held significant responsibility, managed cross-functional teams and gained extensive knowledge in their professional area of focus. During their first year of school our students broaden their knowledge of the business world, enhance their leadership and teamwork skills and gain valuable insight into functions and industries that are different than the ones from which they came.
A Duke MBA intern can serve in some of these important roles within your organization:
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Complete important projects and/or research
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Temporarily fill permanent hiring needs
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Provide innovative approaches to solving business problems
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Establish a link between your company and our students for future visibility and hiring.
Most interns are available for 10-12 week assignments, often beginning as soon as mid-May or early June. Fuqua interns serve in numerous business functions, including product marketing, financial analysis, operations improvements, market research and business strategy. Although the type of work that students complete varies greatly depending upon the function and industry in which they are employed, themes that consistently seem to point to quality MBA internship experience - for both the employer and the student - are as follows:
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Having the opportunity to work or communicate cross-functionally within the organization, rather than only being exposed to a small number of people within one business unit
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Working on at least one major project that can be completed during the summer internship so that he/she can point to a "deliverable" that added value to the company and demonstrated the student's capacities and skills
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Being exposed to or having the opportunity to be mentored by senior-level management through informal gatherings or more structured meetings such as formal presentations to a group of managers
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Having at least a final performance evaluation (and preferably a mid-summer one as well) by the internship supervisor to identify strengths and growth areas
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Utilizing the internship as a way to assess the student's fit and skills for long-term employment with the company
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Providing the intern the opportunity to offer feedback on the experience for future planning
If you would like more information about the types of positions and salaries our students receive, please review our 2005-06 preliminary employment statistics or contact the Career Management Center Information Desk at
(919) 660-7810.
