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The College of Business Administration at the University of Rhode Island has been providing MBAs to in-state and national students since 1961. With its emphasis on innovation and small class sizes, including the “flexibility of the program and the availability of the required classes,” the school offers students a satisfying, affordable option for career advancement.

Students may complete a part-time MBA at the Providence campus—designed for individuals who want to pursue a degree while maintaining their personal and professional commitments—or the “unusual” One-Year MBA Program in Strategic Innovation at the Providence campus as well. The One-Year MBA was recently redesigned to promote critical thinking, analytical skills, hands-on projects, and organization among students requiring them to gather and analyze data before making critical decisions; it has many fans among the students, who sing its praises. The program’s administration also receives high marks. It is “absolutely top shelf, [is] always helpful, [and] always encouraging.” When students have questions, the staff, “responds via email/phone within minutes.”

“I have been pleasantly surprised with how well the professors are able to adapt the ‘book knowledge’ to the real world,” says a student. URI has many part-time students, and “all of the faculty, staff, and students are very aware and understanding of the strains put on the work-school-life balance.” Professors “try to accommodate the students’ needs without taking away from their curriculum.” To this point, “the classes to this point have not wasted anyone’s valuable time and provide pertinent course work and projects.” Most professors are “good, with interesting and applicable professional backgrounds.”

Most here choose to go the part-time evening route, and so are not looking for any sort of help in the placement department. Though recruitment is not a huge concern here, some wish that URI would make efforts to “grow stronger partnerships with local companies in an effort to allow students a true-to-life work environment for projects and course work.” Administration and faculty are very helpful “in assisting students in positioning the right pats to succeed in the MBA program and future careers.” The timescale of the One-Year MBA, in particular, is “really convenient for students who are eager to get back in the workforce and do not wish to spend more than a year returning to or continuing school.”

Students here are “bright, motivated individuals with a common goal towards career advancement.” Most are just at the school to advance their careers, and appreciate the commonality of that goal. “I am a part-time student. I work full-time during the day and attend class at night. I am surrounded by individuals in the same situation,” says one. There are plenty of “different ethnic backgrounds,” and students are “very engaging in class, focused, cooperative, and willing to collaborate with others.” Many who go here are from the sciences or engineering [fields], as the school offers a joint MBA/Master ’s of Oceanography program.

Aside from the program redesign, the school also features updated facilities and tech- nology, including wireless classrooms, a trading room, and a computer lab. Though the Providence campus is located centrally downtown, the Kingston campus has “no real town and therefore no public transportation” and luckily, the “commute to school is easy.” Almost all the MBA students live off campus and rely on their vehicles to get to and from campus. However, the area is “beautiful,” and “great for people who like outdoors activities (hiking, biking, running, surfing, sailing, etc.).”