I will teach you how to bring your life stories to essays faster with F1GMAT's essay guides. Download below or subscribe to F1GMAT's Service and work with me - Atul Jose, Author/Editor/Founding Consultant, F1GMAT(16 Years of helping applicants gain admissions to M7 and Top 30 schools) 
In the first part of the interview, we ask Rodrigo Malta, the Director of MBA Admissions at The McCombs School of Business about the biggest misconception, the curriculum structure, and the record 20 concentrations that the MBA program offers.
1. What is the biggest misconception about Texas Full-time MBA?
The misconception I hear is about the class size. There are a couple of items that I like to highlight for applicants considering the Texas Full-Time MBA Program at McCombs. The first is the fact that we are an intimate program at a large university. This allows our students to build a strong community with other students, faculty, and staff while taking advantage of the resources at a large, top-ranked research university. The second is the fact that we have a highly flexible MBA program that allows you to select from over 20 concentrations and tailor an MBA path that is right for you.
2. The Texas Full-Time MBA curriculum has an interesting mix of concentrations. Tell us the thought process behind the grouping.
We have over 20 concentrations for our Texas MBA students to explore at McCombs. The idea behind multiple concentrations is to give our students the ability to explore and tailor the MBA program to best fit their goals. Additionally, if a student is interested in courses spanning multiple concentrations, the student can work with our academic advisors to design a program path that meets their needs.
3. Who should consider the Business Government & Society Department (BGS) concentration?
This concentration is open to all our MBA students interested in the regulatory, political, legal, and ethical environment of business. Students interested in positions with business firms that deal with sustainability or corporate responsibility should certainly check out the courses offered under this concentration. Additionally, students interested in public or government affairs positions within business firms should look at the concentrations under BGS.
4. Interdisciplinary concentration caters to current market trends. Among the five niches in the concentrations, which is the most popular for the latest MBA class?
Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, and Social Enterprise have been very popular the past several years.
5. 2010-2014 period added 1 in 7 Texan jobs in the Energy sector. After the below $50 a barrel price correction, has the demand for the Cleantech concentration at TexasMBA reflected the renewable energy adoption in the US?
We continue to see strong interest from our students in the energy sector - for traditional oil & gas industry and renewables. The University of Texas at Austin is the premier institution in the nation for energy studies, and we continue to see that strength reflected in our recruitment and placement statistics. We also continue to see solid interest in the Cleantech concentration at McCombs.
6. Engineers and Professionals in Oil & Gas are realizing the change in market demands. They want to transition to the renewable energy sector. Will the Cleantech concentration help such professionals make the transition?
The Cleantech concentration is the fastest growing sector for MBA Employment. We prepare students for a career in renewable energy, and in niche specialization like energy efficiency and emissions abatement. Employers in the emerging industry reach out to us seeking MBA candidates who have not only excellent business, project and risk management skills, but an understanding of how technology and policy work in tandem.
Accordingly, the Cleantech concentration combines courses across multiple schools at the University of Texas and connects candidates to Austin's booming cleantech industry through on and off-campus opportunities and through our Clean Energy Incubator, regarded as one of the pioneers to invest in the sector.
7. Texas Medical Center (TMC) has the special honors of the highest density of medical professionals in the world, attending over 8 million patients a year. Do Doctors or medical professionals consider the Full-Time MBA program? Who should consider the Healthcare concentration?
The Healthcare concentration is for those students seeking career opportunity in the evolving healthcare, life science, and biotech industries. Companies recruit MBAs who not only have strong Business skills but understands the challenges of the industry.
Students have the opportunity to combine courses across various schools and disciplines to best prepare for their career of choice. Texas MBAs will also connect with the wider healthcare community through the Austin Technology Incubator, American College of Healthcare Executives, and more.
8. Over 30 Silicon Valley companies have their corporate offices in Texas, concentrated around the Dallas-Fort Worth (Silicon Prairie) and Austin (Silicon Hills). The post-MBA trends at Austin Full-Time MBA demonstrate the trend (29% of the class joining the Technology industry). What are the various job functions candidates interested in Technology pursue?
We place individuals in a variety of job functions in Tech. Product management is definitely a hot area, but we place a solid number of students in operations, finance, strategy and other functional areas within the industry as well.
9. Please list the top Technology recruiters. Are the Post-MBA placements concentrated around Texas? What are the popular industries and functions?
Top placement locations for Tech at McCombs include Austin, Dallas, Seattle and the Bay Area. We often place our students in a variety of small, mid, and large size tech firms. Some of the larger companies currently recruiting our students include Dell, Intel, Google, Amazon, HP, Adobe, Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, etc.
Reference
How to Choose the Best MBA in US: The Ultimate Guide
Texas MBA Academic Area
Texas MBA career Trends
Texas MBA Curriculum
About Rodrigo Malta
Rodrigo was born and raised in Brazil, moving to the United States in high school. He lived in Missouri through high school and then earned a Bachelor’s degree in management from Missouri State University. Mr. Malta leveraged his MBA experience at McCombs to transition from an internal audit career in the telecommunications industry with Sprint-Nextel to a marketing role in the technology industry with Dell Technologies. The passion for McCombs led him back and, eventually, to the current role as the Director of MBA Admissions – Rodrigo's dream job!
