At the College of Business, you won’t just gather in classrooms to analyze and discuss things you’ve read in a textbook. You’ll learn by doing. By engaging in powerful, impactful educational experiences, you will apply what you have learned in different settings to gain knowledge, build lifelong friendships, engage with alumni and mentors, cultivate your personal growth and much more.
For many students, the time spent studying abroad is one of the most significant periods in their academic studies. Long afterward they continue to discover that the immersive experience of another culture pays dividends throughout their lives as they navigate new social and global career environments.
The Antwerp, Belgium study abroad opportunity for students who have been accepted into COB 300 not only satisfies the COB 300 requirement, it allows you to blend classroom theory with excursions to vital European businesses and historic sites, providing cultural experiences that broaden and enrich your understanding of European business practices.
In addition, each year brings new business-major specific study abroad opportunities, with past trips traveling to countries such as Panama, Columbia, France, Prague and the UK.
Not all learning happens in a classroom, and not all of your experiences will come from being on campus. That’s why we have the Office of Professional Development and Engagement (OPDE). They’re here to help with preparation, programs and information on mentorship, internships and externships.
The OPDE created a Career Mentor Network LinkedIn group that connects knowledgeable College of Business alumni with motivated students for mentorship that can extend far beyond simply understanding your career options. Anyone can network on LinkedIn, but this COB-only group uses mentorship to supplement your classroom learning with skills to navigate your transition into the working world.
The programs and resources of the OPDE are here to help you land that important internship or externship—or both. From resume-building workshops to job and internship feeds, you’ll have all the tools you need to stand out from the crowd.
The management department awards academic credit for internship experiences through the MGT 494 class, which must be taken concurrent with the internship. Consult the current JMU Catalog for further details about the class, as well as the Internships for Academic Credit page.
Competitions offer more than just the end prize.
They make academic material come to life as students work in teams to analyze and evaluate outcomes, develop innovative solutions to real-world business problems and present their ideas to industry professionals.
A prestigious annual event for all majors is the Rainey-Shepard-Kushel Business Plan Competition, the final rite of passage for a select group of student-teams from the required COB 300 integrated business core course. The competition resembles a venture capital fair, as aspiring entrepreneurs pitch ideas to potential investors with more than $25,000 in scholarships and prizes riding on the outcome. Over the event's 20-plus years of existence, founder Don Rainey ('82), Russell "Rusty" Shepard ('86), Rick Kushel ('87) and a host of other JMU alumni and business professionals have provided ongoing financial support and have also given generously of their time and expertise as competition judges
Competitions involving business management majors include:
SHRM Regional Case Competition and Career Summit
Business management students collaborate with peers at nearby Bridgewater College for the Human Resources Case Competition held at JMU. Unlike many competitions where schools compete against one another, this competition encourages students across campuses to meet prior to the competition to share ideas and develop innovative strategies to solve a given business problem. Teams then present these plans to a panel of industry professionals serving as judges.
Fallon Challenge
The Fallon Challenge is a business idea competition and an opportunity for students from across campus to engage with and meet like-minded students, faculty and alumni. The annual contest has students with different passions submit their ideas for traditional for-profit or non-profit businesses through which they hope to make the world a better place.
Deloitte Innovation Competition
Since 2009 a large number of business management majors compete every semester in an innovation competition hosted by both Deloitte Consulting and the Management Department. Students get to engage and work closely with professionals from Deloitte on some of the most current challenges related to innovation faced by organizations, and then present their findings and recommendations to different Deloitte teams and receive great feedback and training throughout the process.
Collegiate Wind Competition
JMU has an enviable track record of success at assembling multi-disciplinary teams to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). The year-long preparation for the event challenges undergraduate students to design a wind turbine based on market research; develop a business plan to market the product; build and test the turbine against set requirements; and demonstrate knowledge of siting constraints and location challenges for product installation. The competition takes place during the annual American Wind Energy Association WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition.
As a future business leader, you’ll need to know how to gather and analyze data to help make the best possible decisions for your company. Our Research Experience for Undergraduates program will help you learn the process of conducting independent research in the business disciplines.
As an undergraduate research assistant, you’ll make valuable connections with JMU faculty as you collaborate on research topics of mutual interest, learning a wide range of research skills such as reviewing literature, developing surveys, collecting and cleaning data, and analyzing results. These experiences may also give you a competitive edge in applying for graduate school.