Experiential Learning
Whenever you put your knowledge into action, that's when the real learning happens - it becomes deeper, more interconnected, and more true to life. And when you start your career, you will have more nuanced perspectives and experiences to build on compared to peers without these opportunities. So as you choose a degree program, find out how you will get to apply your learning and what kind of scenarios you will take part in. Some of these experiences may just transform the rest of your life.
At Smith, you will:
- Connect face-to-face with employers
- Get hands-on leadership experience
- Develop your critical-thinking skills
- Enhance your teamwork and communication skills
- Foster flexible and adaptive thinking
- Boost your confidence in your abilities
- Position yourself for career growth
2023-2024 Academic Year Statistics
Undergraduate Programs
In addition to business curricula that enhance the student learning experience with real-world application of concepts, these initiatives at the Smith School are just a few that foster even more experiential learning opportunities.
The Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) Honors program is a unique, three-year program focused on multidisciplinary, experiential learning for undergraduates studying business, engineering or science.
The Smith Business Leadership Fellows (SBLF) Program cultivates mentorship and community-building at Smith for freshman and sophomore students through cohort-based co-curricular activities.
Interdisciplinary teams of students apply their problem-solving, analytics, and data visualization skills during this multi-day annual competition sponsored by Deloitte. Students receive mentorship, participate in skills workshops, and can win cash prizes.
The Dingman Center is an award-winning hub for entrepreneurship committed to empowering students with the business skills needed to be successful entrepreneurs and connecting them to resources necessary to make their business ideas a reality.
“I always recognize that I’m not just doing this for myself. Someone believed in me, someone chose to bet on me, and I will take advantage of that opportunity.”
Jeffrey Kyei-Asare, Class of ’25, knew he belonged in the business world, he just needed a chance to prove it. After beginning his education at Montgomery College, he earned a UMD Transfer Scholarship for outstanding academic achievements.
Now, this finance and information systems student is applying classroom lessons to his startup—and it’s paying off. StreetLoveDMV, a streetwear clothing store, earned first place in the 2024 Pitch Dingman Competition’s Main Street Track, earning $20,000 and the chance to sell wares at Shop Made in Maryland.
Kyei-Asare was chosen to participate in the 2023 Young Men of Color Small Business Roundtable at the White House, led by Vice President Kamala Harris. “We fully understand that when our entrepreneurs and our small-business leaders are strong, America is strong,” the vice president remarked.
“I think QUEST does a great job of helping you see how other people think and why they think that way. It’s a great community of students who don’t usually have as many opportunities to interact with each other in the classroom.”
Miriam Oke has found myriad ways to get involved on campus, including adding QUEST honors to her degree in finance, concurrently pursing a master's in finance through the Plus One program and leading multiple student organizations.
“I always love being able to give back to Smith in any way that I can because that was the place that really catapulted me into my business and really pushed me to be the person that I am today.”
Caroline Ta plugged into the Dingman Center early as an undergraduate student - from Pitch Dingman to Terp Startup Accelerator, to Ladies First Founders. Now as an alumna with a successful bakery, she stays involved with building future entrepreneurs at Smith.
Graduate Programs
Graduate students also have opportunities to engage in experiential learning during their course of study. Within our portfolio of 14 graduate programs, these learning experiences vary from program to program.
Work with your peers to provide innovative solutions to business challenges brought by visiting executives using real scenarios and data.
Demonstrate your teamwork, presentation, strategic thinking and analytical skills in national and international team competitions.
Manage the Mayer Fund, Smith's multi-million professional asset management fund or the Global Equity Fund, a portion of the university's endowment fund.
Gain confidence in your abilities by partnering with a real company to help them solve a business challenge or improve their processes.
Refine your skills through projects, field trips and other exercises that mirror real-world scenarios.
Prepare for professional certifications such as the Certified Public Accountant, Financial Risk Manager, or Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.
“The capstone felt like the perfect culmination to my MBA. Our diverse team was able to apply what we have learned to solve real-world problems.”
Adam Onderdonk, MBA '23, entered the Part-Time MBA program as an Operations Manager at Northrop Grumman, enhancing his studies with a Technology Management graduate certificate focused on emergent technologies. For his capstone project, his team collaborated with NASA's Glenn Research Center to explore use cases and commercialization of shape memory alloy (SMA) mechanisms for CubeSats—his first choice project, as an issue that he may encounter with Northrop Grumman in their space initiatives.
The team conducted market research and consulted with the inventor, learning SMAs offer more reliable CubeSat deployment, reducing deployment failures and resulting space debris. Their financial analysis showed SMAs as a cost-effective alternative to traditional burn wire actuators, though they concluded that U.S. policy changes to create standards around space debris would likely drive the most rapid adoption in both government and private sectors.
“What was so cool about the experience was that we got to apply all of the skills and strategies that we gained from various classes taken over the year for this one class.”
As a Master's in Management student, Terps basketball player Abby Meyers co-captained the Terps to the Elite Eight. Off the court, Meyers worked on a team project for Major League Baseball in her capstone Experiential Learning course. Over the seven-week class, Meyers and her MiM team conducted qualitative and quantitative research to provide recommendations for marketing initiatives. They also identified two potential cities for future league expansion and presented their findings to MLB executives.
"It provided the ideal environment to understand the work that portfolio managers and investment bankers do on a daily basis. Most importantly, it teaches students how to value companies."
That's how Brian Manning describes his experience as an equity analyst for the Smith School's Global Equity Fund during his studies in the Master of Finance program. Since graduation, he was appointed as Trinidad and Tobago's Minister in the Ministry of Finance where he is responsible for the management of several of the largest funds within the Caribbean region, including the Heritage and Stabilization Fund—an approximately $6 billion long-term fund accumulating from the proceeds of oil and natural gas exports.
Advisory Councils
We have convened councils of industry experts and leaders to inform our curriculum and ensure that we remain up-to-date and in touch with current needs and trends in business. Our strong industry connections enrich learning experiences by allowing us to source business cases, speakers, and simulations for our classrooms through these impressive individuals. Many are alumni themselves and invest their time and energy into building the next generations of Smith grads.