Oglethorpe Returns to Graduate Education with MBA

The Hammack School of Business is in the second year of the new MBA program and its popularity is showing no signs of waning. The Oglethorpe MBA has been at full capacity with a full-time equivalent headcount of 24, including both full-time and part-time students.

The Oglethorpe Board of Trustees approved the new MBA program in the Hammack School of Business in February 2023, launching in August 2023. Oglethorpe previously offered an MBA from 1990 to 2006. As Oglethorpe’s return to graduate education, the new MBA underwent full review and earned approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), its regional accreditor.

“It’s a gamechanger for us in the Hammack School, for Oglethorpe University, and, most importantly, for the students who will be able to enhance their career success by building their own human capital,” said Dr. Stephen H. Craft, dean of the Hammack School. “I continue to be grateful for the transformative support of Bill and Diane Hammack for the School of Business. They are making it possible for us to grow and meet the needs of our community.”

Students have a variety of reasons to earn the MBA. Whether it is positioning for organizational leadership, retooling mid-career, finishing off a technical degree in the arts or sciences, or needing to earn the 150 hours for the accountant’s CPA license, the Oglethorpe MBA is a great choice.

Among the first class of MBA graduates, nearly all leveraged the MBA to earn new positions in the industry, including new roles at Lexus Corporate, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Toyota Financial, and Invest Atlanta. Several of the newly minted MBAs parlayed the degree to advance in current careers, and one is now competing on the professional golf circuit.

“My MBA from Oglethorpe University has given me a strong foundation in leadership, project management, and strategic thinking – skills that have directly enhanced my ability to manage clinical trials efficiently,” said Jillian Heatley ’24, clinical research coordinator at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “It has also provided me with a broader business perspective on research operations, helping me navigate regulatory requirements, budgeting, and stakeholder communication with greater confidence.”

Heatley pointed out that clinical research is more than just science. It includes the disciplines of strategy, teamwork and resource management.

“My MBA helped me bridge those gaps and bring a stronger business mindset to patient-centered research,” she said. “Juggling work and an MBA was intense, but it reinforced my ability to multitask and problem-solve under pressure—both essential skills in clinical trials.”

Luke Ferrari ’24 is now director of Business Development at Arete Sports Group, based in Long Beach Island, N.J. He’s part of a small entrepreneurial team franchising indoor pickle ball clubs for a company called The Picklr. For his undergraduate degree, Ferrari attended and played soccer at Sienna College in Loudonville, N.Y. He majored in economics and minored in data science. Because of COVID, he had a fifth year of eligibility, and he chose to play at Oglethorpe and earn his MBA.

On the field, he was named captain, leading the Stormy Petrels to win the Southern Athletic Association and a trip to the NCAA Division III national tournament. In the classroom, he learned skills that complemented his undergraduate degree and prepared him for today’s business environment.

“What I wanted to get out of the program going into it were the skills and knowledge to navigate the early stages of my career,” Ferrari said. “The entrepreneurship class with Dr. Leroy Carson has made the biggest difference.”

In the current class, 55% of the MBA students earned their undergraduate degree from Oglethorpe and 65% are completing the program full-time. The Oglethorpe MBA appeals to students from non-business backgrounds because no prior academic work in business is required. The program was designed to complement a liberal arts undergraduate degree and requires no pre-requisites. Instead, free self-paced, online bootcamps designed for those without recent academic experience in business are offered before each semester.

The Oglethorpe MBA is made up of evening courses offered in a log-in/drop-in hybrid format. The highly flexible format gives each student the ultimate choice of being present live in the classroom or live via the Internet and they can move back and forth as best suits their needs in a given week.

The next cohort for fall 2025 is forming. Like all admissions at Oglethorpe, the MBA applications are test optional and do not require GMAT or GRE test scores.