Professional Seminar Series

The Professional Seminar is a one-credit course taken each quarter by all MBA students. Throughout the MBA program, the Professional Seminar Series offers access to innovative leaders, experts and advisors and to a variety of professional development opportunities. Series speakers and topics are suggested by each class and they complement issues being addressed in MBA courses.

For Full-Time MBAs, Professional Seminar provides a menu of opportunities to expand knowledge and skills. Speakers and workshops at Rady are typically scheduled during the day. Workshops focus on management communication, technology transfer, business law, tools for business research and career development. Speakers have included successful entrepreneurs, senior executives in marketing and finance and campus experts. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of speakers and workshops offered elsewhere on the UC San Diego campus and in the San Diego business community—on international relations, on sustainability, on emerging technologies and faculty research.

For FlexMBAs, Professional Seminar speakers and workshops are scheduled to fit in your class schedule. FlexWeekend speakers typically join the class for dinner on Friday evening of class weekends, offering their expertise on topics relevant to the curriculum or of interest to the class. Speakers have included CEOs, entrepreneurs, executives in marketing and finance and venture capitalists. Experts in business law, technology transfer, sales, management communication and leadership have also presented or conducted workshops. The informal setting and small class size enable discussion and personal interaction with business leaders and accomplished experts from an array of fields. FlexEvening Professional Seminars are held on periodic evenings and Saturdays, with additional options to join FlexWeekend speakers or workshops—meeting your Weekend colleagues and gaining access to exceptional business leaders.

As part of the Professional Seminar Series, all Rady MBAs are also invited to attend the school's Executive Speaker Series. This series brings to campus the most senior business leaders from San Diego and beyond and engages the entire Rady community. These occasions provide a chance for FlexMBA and Full-Time MBA students to network with one another and with alumni, as well as to learn from extraordinary business leaders.