UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Kenan-Flagler Business School is housed within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school is well-regarded for its emphasis on leadership development, its numerous international study programs and the variety of careers its graduates enter. Kenan-Flagler offers three Executive MBA programs in addition to its full-time MBA, as well as an online MBA degree option.
FAQ
What is the tuition for Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program?
The tuition for Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program is $71,364 for out-of-state residents and $52,552 for in-state residents. With the addition of living expenses, the school estimates that costs climb to $99,928 for out-of-state residents and $82,116 for in-state residents.
How hard is it to get into Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program?
The acceptance rate for Kenan-Flagler is 39% It is important to consider the acceptance rate in the context of the student profile of those who are admitted. For example the average GMAT score is 706.
What is the average GMAT score for admission to Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program?
The average GMAT score for the incoming class at Kenan-Flagler is 706.
Does the Kenan-Flagler MBA program accept the GRE?
Yes. The Kenan-Flagler MBA program has accepted the GRE for a few years now.
What is the average GRE score for admission to Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program?
Kenan-Flagler does not publish an average GRE score for its incoming class, but does accept the GRE for admissions.
What is the minimum number of years of work experience required for admission to Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program?
Kenan-Flagler does not state a minimum requirement for years of work experience. However, it is important for candidates to be aware that they are being considered against other candidates with an average of 5 years of experience.
What is the average number of years of work experience for admission to Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program?
The average number of years of work experience among students in Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program is 5.
What is the average starting salary for graduates of the Kenan-Flagler MBA program?
The average starting salary for Kenan-Flagler MBA graduates is $133,517. The salary will vary by industry, with consulting and finance jobs generally commanding the higher salaries.
How long is Kenan-Flagler’s full-time MBA program?
Kenan-Flagler offers a traditional 2 year MBA program.
What are the application deadlines for Kenan-Flagler’s full-time MBA program?
The Early Action MBA application deadline is October 10, 2022. The Round 2 application deadline is January 9, 2023. The Round 3 deadline is February 27, 2023. The Round 4 deadline is April 17, 2023.
What percent of Kenan-Flagler MBA students are women?
The percentage of the class at Kenan-Flagler that are women is 38%.
What type of interview does Kenan-Flagler use for MBA admissions?
Kenan-Flagler offers interviews by invitation only. Applicants will be invited to interview either in-person or virtually. The interviews are resume-based. This means the interviewer has not had access to the application materials.
VIDEOS
Why does UNC Kenan-Flagler teach the full Energy Value Chain?
Professor Stephen Arbogast describes why MBA students seeking careers in the energy sector benefit from understanding the full Energy Value Chain and the The Business of Energy. He shares how this knowledge prepares MBAs to successfully manage the energy transition, which will include both renewable (wind, solar, nuclear) and traditional (oil and natural gas) energy sources.
15 Years of The Alpha Challenge - The World's Premier MBA Stock Pitch Competition
Bringing together the best investors and the best MBA talent for the investment management industry is what we do at the Alpha Challenge at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. This year we celebrate 15 years! Have a look at what we’ve been up to and what the future holds!
Admissions
The Class Profile
Kenan-Flagler’s Class of 2024 has 242 students, with a mean GMAT of 706 and mean GPA of 3.43. Altogether the new class averaged 5 years of pre-MBA work experience. Thirty-five percent of students are international and women make up 38% of the class. Fifteen percent identify as U.S. underrepresented minorities and 23 percent as U.S. minorities.
Application Procedures
Kenan-Flagler has four rounds of admissions that occur in mid-October, early January, early March and mid-April. The first deadline in October is Early Action, reserved for students who are certain that they will attend Kenan-Flagler if admitted. Applicants must submit a one-page résumé, an application form, transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended, GRE or GMAT test scores (if applicable), a recommendation, essays and a $150 application fee. Applicants to the Class of 2025 can submit a GRE/GMAT waiver if they meet the following criteria:
- ● Applicants who graduated within the past 10 years (2011 – 2021) with 3.2 GPA or above and coursework in STEM, business, economics or analytical fields from a U.S. institution
● Earned an advanced or terminal degree from a U.S. institution in JD, MD or a PhD or MS degree within a STEM, business or economics academic field
● 5+ years of professional experience in a quantitative or analytical field
● Hold a U.S. CPA or CFA professional certificate
● Strong test results from the Executive Assessment, LSAT, or MCAT
North Carolina residents should submit a residency form for tuition purposes, while international candidates whose native language is not English must submit their TOELF, IELTS or PTE Academic scores. The usual open interview season at Kenan-Flagler has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Interviews are issued by invitation only and are conducted either virtually or on campus. An interview is required for admission and a member of the admissions committee or an alumnus conducts them. Applicants with a proven commitment to supporting diversity in business may also apply through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, of which Kenan-Flagler is a member.
Application Checklist
- Data Forms
- GMAT/GRE and TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Academic Score(s)
- Résumé
- Application Fee
- Recommendation Letter
- Academic Transcripts
- Essays
- Residency Form, if applicable
Interview Reports
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Adcom / Zoom
The interviewer had not read any part of my application, only had access to my resume. Questions: 1. Tell me about yourself, your goals and why MBA. 2. Why UNC? 3. Tell me about a challenge you faced while at work or school. 4 TMAT you received constructive feedback. 5. Tell me about a time […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Virtual
Usual questions, walk me through your resume, why MBA, why UNC, short- and long-term goals. Tell me about a constructive feedback you received, a challenge at work and a time I saw someone being marginalized. The interview was only 20 minutes due to tech challenges. Switched to a call and there was no time for […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Third Party / Zoom
Why an MBA now? Why UNC? What are your long- and short-term goals? What is your leadership style? How have you worked in diverse teams? What would your coworkers/teammates say are your strengths? What do the UNC core values mean to you? (integrity, inclusion, innovation and impact) What more do you want to share with […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Virtual
I had some trouble logging into the system, and they don’t give you a chance to test it beforehand. Thankfully had a different computer handy to have the interview. It was with a part-time member of Adcom, who helps conduct interviews. Really nice and easy to talk to. 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Why […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alum / Virtual
It was a really relaxed vibe. Interview conducted through interview portal. The interviewer was an alum who was really friendly and the whole interview was very conversational! Questions : 1) Tell me about yourself. 2) Why MBA? 3) Why Kenan-Flagler? 4) Rate your communication skills on 1-5 scale and what is the most important quality […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Skype
The interview was very laid back. The Adcom was friendly and laid back. She started out with the basics questions; Tell me about yourself (walk me through your resume), why an MBA, and why Kenan-Flagler. We then moved into the behavioral questions. The one that caught me off guard was speaking about a time where […]
Interview Report Round-Up: Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross, MIT Sloan, UNC Kenan-Flagler
Welcome to another edition of Interview Report Roundup in which we highlight the MBA admissions interview reports that applicants have shared recently to the Clear Admit Interview Archive. Over Zoom, a Round 1 applicant to UNC Kenan-Flagler reported the following questions from their adcom interviewer: A candidate for MIT Sloan shared their interview experience, which […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
I was interviewed by an AdCom via Zoom. It was resume-based as according to her she was yet to see my complete application aside from the resume. The atmosphere was relaxing and she told me to stay calm and not be nervous. Questions asked were: Why UNC? Why MBA? How have you demonstrated diversity? Tell […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Online
You won’t know who the interviewer is in prior. The interview was with an Ad-com and lasted 30mins. Questions – Tell me more about yourself. Why MBA? Why Kenan-Flagler? 3 leadership qualities? An area of improvement? What is a common misconception about you? Looking back at your MBA experience, what would you consider as success? […]
UNC Kenan-Flagler Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Zoom
The interview was informal and conversational. The Adcom said she had my resume on the screen, but she wanted me to explain my professional journey and what led me to think I needed an MBA at this point. I also talked about my post-MBA career. I then had to explain a work gap and the […]
Kenan-flagler Q&As
UNC Kenan-Flagler LiveWire and DecisionWire
Academics
Faculty
Kenan-Flagler employs over 150 tenured and tenure-track faculty members, adjunct professors and lecturers across its seven academic areas. These professors also contribute to the business school’s 14 research centers, which vary in focus from real estate to urban investment strategies.
Curriculum
Courses at Kenan-Flagler emphasize learning through case studies and small group activities. For their first year, students are assigned to groups of 70 to 75 people who take the same required courses together.
Kenan-Flagler breaks each semester into two seven-week periods of instruction called “modules,” with breaks for holidays and fall, winter and spring vacations. Two pre-term summer sessions called the Analytical Skills Workshop and Tools of Financial Markets are available to first-year students who wish to review key analytical and financial skills prior to beginning their degree. First-years begin formal classes in the second week of August, while second-year classes start a week later. Due to COVID-19, Fall 2020 classes began August 31. All classes finish for the year at the beginning of May, with graduation occurring a week later.
Kenan-Flagler students are required to complete 15 core courses their first year along with a Core Case Competition. Topics for core courses cover business fundamentals such as finance, microeconomics, marketing, accounting, ethics and business strategy.
To complete their business degree, students must take 62 credits worth of classes. Students may begin taking electives in the spring semester of their first year, and the second-year curriculum is comprised entirely of electives. The school reports that at least 10% of elective courses are new each year in order to keep class material current with faculty research. There are no required majors at Kenan-Flagler, but there are 12 suggested concentrations for students who wish to demonstrate their interest and proficiency in subjects such as real estate or operations management. Typically, each concentration requires students to complete five or six elective courses.
Kenan-Flagler also encourages students to design their own independent study or practicum project in which students apply theory to real-world business situations. Students interested in gaining international experience may study abroad for a semester at one of Kenan-Flagler’s more than 50 MBA exchange partner schools or spend one to two weeks abroad as part of a “Doing Business In” immersion course. Alternatively, students can pursue a Global Immersion Elective, a semester-long course that teaches students about a particular region’s culture and history and concludes with a 10- to 14-day tour of that region.
Other MBA Degree Options
Along with the full-time MBA program, Kenan-Flagler offers nine dual degree programs, two of which are run in conjunction with schools at Duke University. Through the dual degree programs, students may earn an MBA in addition to an advanced degree in areas ranging from Public Health to Information and Library Science.
Kenan-Flagler recently launched an online MBA program, through which students complete 62 credits over an 18- to 36-month timeframe. The school offers an Executive MBA on the weekends at Chapel Hill, as well as an Evening MBA for experienced professionals. The evening program takes 24 months to complete, and the weekend program takes 20 months.
Concentrations at Kenan-Flagler
- Corporate Finance
- Marketing
- Operations Management
- Capital Markets and Investments
- Consulting
- Real Estate
- Business Analytics and Management Science
- Sustainable Enterprise
- Entrepreneurship
- Energy
- Technology and Innovation Management
- Healthcare
Degree Offerings at Kenan-Flagler
Full-time MBA Program
www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba
Online [email protected]
onlinemba.unc.edu/
MBA for Executives
https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/evening-executive-mba/
https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/weekend-executive-mba/
Evening MBA
https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/evening-mba/
Dual Degrees
Law, Public Health, City and Regional Planning, Information and Library Science, Pharmacy, Medicine, Dentistry, Environment, and Public Policy
https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/full-time-mba/academics/dual-degree-mba/
Campus Life
Clubs, Conferences & Competitions
Kenan-Flagler students play an active role on the UNC campus, participating in more than 40 clubs as well as five student-led advisory boards. These groups range from clubs focused on careers paths such as consulting and private equity to affinity-based clubs like Carolina Women in Business or the Alliance of Minority Business Students. There are also a number of athletic clubs focused on sports like basketball or running. In addition to offering resources on career opportunities and professional development, Kenan-Flagler’s clubs regularly pair with companies to organize other events. For instance, the Consulting Club organizes career treks to Atlanta to visit companies including Deloitte, BCG, and Bain.
Kenan-Flagler hosts a variety of conferences each year on areas ranging from real estate to diversity. Since 2010, for example, the school has hosted their own annual healthcare conference, which has focused on innovation, analytics and most recently, rising costs. The most recent real estate conference in 2022 featured Willy Walker, Chairman of Walker Dunlop, as the keynote speaker. The school has also founded a number of business competitions, including the Venture Capital Investment Competition, the Alpha Challenge, the UNC Kenan-Flagler Real Estate Development Challenge, the UNC Kenan-Flagler Marketing Case Challenge, and the Invest for Impact Competition.
Campus Spaces
Nearly all classes at Kenan-Flagler take place in the McColl Building, located on the south end of the University of Carolina, Chapel Hill campus. Along with 18 classrooms, a 500-seat auditorium, a café and a computer lab, the building also houses classes for the evening MBA for Executives program. The weekend MBA for Executives program, meanwhile, primarily takes places in the Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center, located approximately three miles from the school. While there are housing options available on campus for full-time MBA students, those can be difficult to secure, so most students live in one of 10 apartment complexes near the school.
MBA Careers
Career Services
Kenan-Flagler’s Career Management Center (CMC) offers students guidance on their careers through options such as one-on-one coaching with a career search expert, peer counselors trained to review résumés and conduct mock interviews, and training sessions on job search and recruiting basics. With more than 100 companies presenting on campus each year, the CMC organizes career fairs and résumé books starting in September. On-campus interviews for full-time positions begin in early October for second-year students, and first-year students start interviewing for summer internships in early January. Students may also go on club-sponsored career treks to different major cities to tour companies in their area of interest.
Career Statistics
Ninety-six percent of Kenan-Flagler’s Class of 2022 received job offers within three months of graduation, and 95% of the class had accepted offers by that time. The average salary for this class was $133,517 while the average signing bonus was approximately $30,359. Thirty-seven percent of graduates entered finance functions, while 32% went into consulting and 12% into marketing. Another 9% of the class accepted general management positions, with all other roles following at 7%.
The most popular industry for recently minted graduates was consulting, which attracted 24% of the Class of 2022. An additional 23% entered the financial services industry, 18% to real estate, 14% in technology, 10% in healthcare, and 4% in energy. Consumer packaged goods and other industries drew 2% and 6%, respectively.
Given the school’s location, Kenan-Flagler graduates unsurprisingly gravitated towards positions in the Southern U.S., with 38% of the class taking a job in that area. Twenty-nine percent of 2022 graduates left for the Northeast, while 7% each found work in the West and Southwest, 6% in the Midwest, and 12% landed in the Mid-Atlantic.
Financing
Tuition and fees for the 2023-2024 academic year come to $72,509 for out-of-state residents and $54,697 for in-state residents. With the addition of living expenses, however, the school estimates that costs climb to $99,928 for out-of-state residents and $82,116 for in-state residents. Each year, Kenan-Flagler helps students defray the cost of their education by offering a limited number of merit-based fellowships that award funding ranging from partial tuition to full tuition and a stipend. All applicants are automatically considered for the fellowships. Students looking to finance their MBA degrees with loans may consider federal loan programs, extended only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or private loan options. International students may apply for a loan through Discover, which does not require a co-signer.
Cost of Attendance
Tuition
- State Resident $52,552
- Out-of-state Resident $71,364
Books $1,290
Food $5,240
Housing $14,028
Health Insurance $2,616
Miscellaneous $1,820
Direct Loan Fee $262
Grad PLUS Loan Fee $1,934
Travel $1,374
Totals
State Resident $82,116
Out-of-state Resident $99,928
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Real Humans of JP Morgan: Charlie Burnett, UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA ’19, Private Banker
Transitioning from military service to the business world can be difficult, but not for today’s Real Humans: Alumni Charlie Burnett, who credits the experiential learning and collaborative comm
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The interviewer had not read any part of my application, only had access to my resume. Questions: 1. Tell me about yourself, your goals and why MBA. 2. Why UNC? 3. Tell me about a challenge you faced
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Take a closer look at MBA graduates’ tech industry jobs placement overall and at Big Tech firms for the full-time MBA Classes of 2018 to 2022. Despite a recent decline in tech industry hiring, t
The Week Ahead: MBA Deadlines & Decisions, March 13-17, 2023
Welcome back to the series, The Week Ahead, in which we provide a brief rundown of what is happening in MBA admissions this week! Round 2 final decisions are coming. Round 2 decisions are starting to