University College Dublin, Smurfit School of Business

UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business is Ireland’s premier business school and one of the top schools in the world.

Part of University College Dublin (UCD), we offer the benefits of Ireland’s largest university with the intimacy of a dedicated campus. Smurfit School has 100 faculty members, and 1,200 postgraduate business students overall. With a worldwide network of over 40,000 alumni, graduates of Smurfit School hold key positions in industry worldwide. UCD has offered postgraduate business programmes since 1964, when it launched one of the first MBA programmes in Europe. UCD Smurfit School is the only business school in Ireland, and one of an elite groups of schools worldwide, to hold the 'triple crown' of international accreditation from the three centres of business and academic excellence; AACSB (US), EQUIS (Europe) and AMBA (UK).
Our MBA programmes are consistently ranked by the Economist and the Financial Times amongst the global top 100. UCD Smurfit School is the only Irish business school to appear in these rankings

Location and Facilities

Smurfit School is located 8km south of vibrant Dublin city centre in the seaside suburb of Blackrock. Set in 25 acres of mature parkland overlooking Dublin Bay, the School has state-of-the-art facilities including a wireless campus, 20 syndicate and seminar rooms, student common room, a new library (housed in a converted 18th century church), restaurant and on-campus accommodation.

Students at the School have full access to the numerous sporting facilities and social and cultural societies at the main University College Dublin campus just 3km away.

Career-focused MBA

Smurfit School has a dedicated Careers Manager and a strong emphasis on personal development. Students develop key skills in career planning and assessment, curriculum vitae and job search techniques, and application form and interview preparation. In addition, the School publishes a CV directory of all current full-time MBA students, circulating it to all prospective employers and alumni at the beginning of the year to launch the recruitment process.

A high value is placed on our MBA graduates in the marketplace. Our students are recruited by top international and national corporations and command internationally competitive remuneration packages. Approximately 80 international and 160 national corporations recruit from the School every year.

Programme Details
The MBA programme is offered full-time over one year, or part-time over two years. Semester 1 runs from late August to early December, and comprises two blocks of seven weeks. Semester 2 runs from early January to early May, and includes a 7 week in-company consultancy project. Students can choose to take specialist electives or a company project, internship or research project in the summer term.

Through the curriculum’s emphasis on teamwork, theory and practice, individual essays and a thesis, students constantly challenge themselves and others in an academically rigorous yet open-minded environment.