Located in Orange County, Calif. the University of California—Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business focuses its program on small class sizes and personalized attention. The school offers what it calls a “visionary curriculum,” which encompasses three core focuses of the Merage School—strategic innovation, information technology, and analytic decision making. Students that enter the full-time M.B.A. program are immersed in an intensive two-week orientation, known as M.B.A. boot camp, which introduces students to the work and ideals they will encounter during their time on campus. During the second year of the full-time program, students have the opportunity to customize their degree by choosing elective courses, such as Brand Management or Global Competitive Strategy.

Along with the full-time program, the school also offers an executive M.B.A., a part-time M.B.A., a healthcare executive M.B.A., and a Ph.D. program. A joint degree is offered in conjunction with the UC-Irvine School of Medicine.

All students of the Merage School are members of The Merage Student Association which oversees all social and networking opportunities within the school. Students can join more than 15 clubs and organizations, including the International Business Association and the Sports & Entertainment Business Club. UC-Irvine, in Southern California, is home to 42 miles of year-round beaches and is roughly an hour’s commute to both Los Angeles and San Diego.

Notable alumni of the Merage School include Wright Massey, founder and CEO of architecture and design firm Brand Architecture, Inc.; Reza Meshgin, director, president, and CEO of electronics firm Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc.; and George Kessinger, former president and CEO of the nonprofit Goodwill Industries International.