Hands-On Learning Opportunities
The Rady School is committed to providing you with exciting experiential learning opportunities. Our curriculum will place you in team-based projects in various courses, and we actively work with companies who have compelling projects and are looking to work with our innovative high-caliber students. You will complete projects for academic credit under faculty supervision in several formats.
Capstone Project: Rady Action Project
As an MBA student at Rady, you will have the opportunity to take part in the Rady Action Project (RAP) capstone course, which includes a choice between a New Venture track, and a Consulting track. For the New Venture track, you will work with other students in teams and evaluate the commercial potential of various business opportunities. Entrepreneurship project ideas must be significant market opportunities in the science and technology sectors including sustainability and social enterprise innovations that have a base in science or technology. For the Consulting track, you will work on a high-level experiential consulting project with a company sponsor. Consulting projects will be sourced from strong for-profit and non-profit organizations, with senior management involvement. Student teams will also have access to coach & mentor resources to provide them with guidance on their projects.
Rady Venture Fund
Gain experience conducting due diligence into startups with the opportunity to invest real funds into promising ventures. Graduate students (only) must be enrolled in MGT 496 A/B. Read more
International Immersion Trips
Join your fellow students on a week-long international trip (example countries include Mexico, Vietnam, Israel and more), and take part in action-based learning where you will gain exposure to international culture and business. Activities may include panel discussions with C-suite executives from multinational companies, strategy challenges, Q&A lunches with local entrepreneurs, or tours of global operational facilities, among other exciting professional development and cultural opportunities. The International immersion is an elective course, and all MBA students in their second year are eligible to apply. As a Rady MBA student, you may participate in more than one international immersion.
Upcoming trips for 2024-2025 include Singapore (December), China (March) and Mexico City (June). Check with your advisor to learn more. See more details about our most recent trips below.
Vietnam
Our MBA students embarked on an unforgettable journey during Spring Break, experiencing the vibrant culture of Ho Chi Minh City on the Rady School's first immersion trip to Vietnam. From company visits to cultural exploration and speed boat tours to the historic Cu Chi Tunnels, it was an enriching experience filled with learning, adventure, and camaraderie.
“Vietnam is a beautiful place, and the food is unparalleled. This immersion was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Most importantly, I got to build lifelong friendships with my cohort. Go Rady!”- Ying Asano, MBA '24
Mexico City
Rady MBA students had the opportunity to explore Mexico City. Rady's professors connected students with local businesses, including energy and telecom startups to help showcase the business landscape of Mexico.
“The immersion gave us the experience to interact with a wide range of companies, including talking to company CEOs and CFOs all the way to seeing production lines firsthand. Outside of the business aspects, I was able to create new friendships, make memories, and experience Mexico City in a new and memorable way.”- Irvin Palacios, MBA '24
Independent Study
You may also engage in Independent Study under the direction of esteemed Rady faculty. Most Independent Study projects are proposed by companies or nonprofit organizations. Rady faculty agree to supervise student teams on specific projects based on their educational value for your Rady MBA.
Short projects in other classes
Some Rady electives include projects that often allow students to identify companies for their required projects. The learning objectives are specific to the particular course and instructor.