Yale School of Management Announces 2010 Pre-MBA Leadership Program

New Haven, Conn., February 2, 2010 – The Yale School of Management (Yale SOM) is accepting applications for its second annual Pre-MBA Leadership Program to take place on its New Haven, Conn. campus June 13-26, 2010. The two-week summer program is aimed at college juniors and seniors and recent college graduates from populations typically under-represented in management education. The program is designed to develop individual leadership skills that will be relevant in the classroom, workplace, and community, and to expose participants to how the leadership and management knowledge gained through an MBA can be an asset in a broad range of careers and personal endeavors.
Applications may be submitted through the program website; the deadline to apply is March 18. Applicants must submit two essays, two letters of recommendation, college transcripts, and test scores. Tuition, room and board, program materials and application costs will all be covered by Yale SOM. A $250 deposit, which will be refunded following successful completion of the program, is required. Students will only be responsible for their travel expenses to and from New Haven, as well as a few meals and incidental expenses.

The highly selective program is limited to 40 participants and is tailored to college undergraduates of color who are currently in their sophomore or junior years and in non-traditional pre-MBA academic tracks, as well as a limited number of seniors and recent college graduates. Students from liberal arts, science, and engineering fields are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Pre-MBA Leadership Program curriculum is modeled after elements of Yale’s integrated MBA curriculum and is taught by Yale School of Management faculty. Participants learn some of the fundamentals of business through sessions devoted to data analysis, economics, accounting, finance, marketing, and strategy. They also develop leadership skills through exercises taken from Yale SOM’s Leadership Development Program, the year-long program required of all first-year Yale MBA students. This values-based program is designed to help students reflect on who they are as individuals, what they value, and how to transform those values to achieve their personal and professional aspirations.

The program will also include networking receptions, one-on-one assistance with résumé development, job interview skills, and presentation skills to prepare for the job market, and guidance in applying to business school for participants who may decide to pursue an MBA, whether at Yale SOM or elsewhere.

“Our goal is to identify potential leaders, give them leadership skills to build on, and get them inspired about how they can use those skills to make a positive difference in the world,” said Shelley Clifford, Yale SOM’s deputy director of admissions, and coordinator of the Pre-MBA Leadership Program. “Last summer’s inaugural program was a great success that drew exceptional students from many of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, and tribal colleges, and from a wide variety of academic fields including engineering, psychology, and journalism. They all deeply impressed the faculty and staff and we are pleased to be able to continue the program this summer.”

Prospective applicants may contact Zachary White, assistant director of admissions at the Yale School of Management, at 203-432-5635 or premba.leadership@yale.edu, with any questions about the program or the application process.

For more information about the program and to read profiles of past participants, please visit: http://som.yale.edu/premba.