Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland: A Student Review

I am a double-major at the University of Maryland (College Park), and am in both the business school, and also in the arts and humanities school. Because of my situation, I have seen firsthand how differently things are run in the school.

Faculty:

The professors and instructors that I have met at the business school have hands down been some of the best teachers I have ever had. All of my teachers were highly trained and competent, and definitely knew what they were teaching, and had a very clear class structure in mind. We always had grading techniques and methods clearly explained, and our work was promptly graded. I have not had the same experience with other instructors. An English teacher I once had at the university never handed us back our quiz grades- which is highly unprofessional. Each professor has mandated office hours, and furthermore, there are also teacher assistants available if students need help. I have gone to office hours a few times during each semester, and faculty has been easily available for extra help.

Education:

Getting good grades in the business school does require studying when you're outside of class, and- of course- going to class. Everyone is different with schoolwork, but I find that students who want to do well and have the will-power to do well, often receive good grades and a fine education. I learned a lot since arriving at the business school about various subjects required for internships, such as business statistics and managerial accounting. It's not too difficult (you don't study for hours and hours a night), but it certainly is not easy, I have known students to pull all-nighters to study for finals.

Students:

The students who come into the Robert H. Smith School of Business are some of the highest scoring individuals of the entire student body at the University of Maryland, College Park. Many students already in the university are actually working on getting accepted into the business school, which is no easy feat, they need to have taken the same required classes as business school students (with a "C" or above), have at least a 3.0 GPA, and also have junior standing (60 credits).

Student Services offered:

There are various services offered to business school students. There is an online career application website called hiresmith, which is an excellent way to find and apply to various jobs and internships. This is separate from the university-wide online job application center, which I have also used (although I find it easier to use hiresmith, as I specifically am looking only for jobs relevant to my major). I have personally signed up for various career events and applied to many jobs through this portal. I find it to be especially easy to use and convenient.

Furthermore, the business school has its own separate career office (called the office of career management), which aids students in finding jobs or internships. Again, this office is a separate entity from the university career center. I find the office to be especially helpful. There was a time when I needed to find a person for an informational interview, and I emailed both the university career center, and the advisor for my major at the arts and humanities school. The university career center actually offered for me to come in and make an appointment, which I did, and they offered me excellent advice in finding a person to interview. On the other hand, my arts and humanities advisor gave me a very brief email, saying that she had no idea how to help me, and that I should find someone else.

There is an undergraduate online portal available called UNET, which allows students to sign up for events and apply for special programs and scholarships through the web. This feature is not offered in the arts and humanities school (other university programs such as Writers' House, Global Communities also do not have special online platforms). I remember having to submit paper copies of applications for scholarships everywhere else except for the Robert H. Smith Business School applications.

Programs:

The two programs that I participated in/participate in, are the Freshman Fellows program, and also the Honors Fellows Program.

The Freshman Fellows program is a two-year program in which students take special 1-credit classes on special topics in business, and also attend specially prepared events which help students prepare themselves for the business world (e.g.: etiquette business dinners). Every business school student I have ever met signs up for this program. I enjoyed the program because the special classes were extremely discussion-oriented and taught me things that I normally would not learn inside of a class room (such as business-world anecdotes). Furthermore, the events we were assigned to go to were always formal (we needed to wear business suits), but the speakers were interesting (e.g.: an officer from Tyco) and gave us a glimpse of how the real business world runs.

The Honors Fellows program is another two-year program, in which students take special honors classes for their junior and senior years. Admissions to the Honors Fellows Program is very strict, you need 2 faculty recommendations, a cover letter, an essay, and also need a 3.5 or above GPA. I have not yet taken any honors program classes yet and cannot yet review them.

People in the Honors Program have an option to do a thesis as well.

Honors classes include some of the following:

Finance, Marketing, Business Law, and Business Politics. These classes are all 300 and 400 level courses.

Majors Available:

There are eight majors available currently: International Business, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Information Systems, Operations Management, and Logistics, Transportation & Supply Chain Management.

Conclusion:

I am relatively happy being in the Robert H. Smith School of Business. The facilities are top-notch (our main building, Van Munching Hall, is envied by other university faculty), the faculty is accessible and knowledgeable, and the education that I have received here is a bargain if you're an in-state student (which I am).