Slice of Life Video: Master of Management

The UC Davis Master of Management program brings together an eclectic mix of aspiring leaders—from industrial engineers to multilingual globe-trotters to Division I athletes—all united by the drive to figure out what's next. 

This intensive one-year program creates space for genuine discovery, where complex concepts like data analytics become surprisingly accessible and perspectives shift in unexpected ways. 

Students find a community that actually shows up: a career team who'll walk you through your first salary negotiation, alumni who genuinely want to help and classmates who push you to think differently. Whether you're balancing practice schedules with problem sets or dreaming of a role abroad, this program meets you where you are. 

Watch this Slice of Life video to see what the UC Davis Master of Management experience looks like.

Video Transcript

Emmanuel Durojaiye MM 26

Looking at the background that the Master of Management program had to offer, I believe it coupled perfectly with where I wanted to go with my career. I have an engineering background: Industrial Systems Engineering background, Master of Management. How could I say no to that?

Resources that have helped me out the most, I would definitely say the careers team. They do an amazing job with providing us with opportunities to meet with career panels for individuals and our career interests. How should I go about my cover letter? Applying for jobs. When we do get to that point where we have official offers, they do an amazing job of helping us through the negotiation process. Because I never negotiated a contract before.

I truly believe that we are the embodiment of all of our experiences, and I believe now that I have perspective outside of just my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. And seeing how I've been able to see that difference so quickly in the short amount of time truly shows how much UC Davis has had an impact on me.

Maike Bertens MM 26

I really thrive in group environments, so being able to connect with other people and learn about their experiences and their points of view is something that I really look forward to every day I come to class. I could see myself in either marketing or project management. I do have great leadership skills, and I think it's time for me to use them. I really want to move abroad. I see myself in Europe. I speak three languages; English, Spanish and German. That would be a great value that I could add to any company.

I'm surrounded by student-athletes every day. So seeing them putting the work in motivates me and inspires me to do the same. I just want to give out to people whatever they give to me, which is just making me feel included.

Sebastian Calonico, Assistant Professor

In recent years, companies have started to value more analyzing data related to data science, big data, machine learning. So all of these are areas where you can apply the concepts that we discuss in class. So I think it opens a broad set of options in terms of what you can do. You realize that you don't need to have a very technical background. You don't need to be a mathematician to do that. It's just about learning the right tools in the right way.

Megan Norris MM 26

This is my fifth year being a student athlete here at UC Davis, and I just love it so much. I mean, just the environment we're in, just being able to do the sport I love while getting an education, is just truly an unreal experience. And I'm really grateful for it. I chose Davis for a number of reasons. Obviously, the academics are really just unbeatable. And then I love this program. This team, all the coaches, just welcomed me, and I really found a second home here.

The alumni community is incredible. I actually have a teammate who was a part of the MBA program. Tess Sussman. She's amazing person, an amazing teammate. I could not recommend her more. And just like talking with her and talking with people who are part of the program, they just want to help, any way they can. And just building that network, everyone is working towards making sure that your future is the best it can be.

Time management is really crucial for the balance of student life and athlete life. And then just making sure that I'm on top of things, like communicating with my professors, is really important. Making sure I'm there and present in class and taking care of my work. It doesn't feel like that much effort if you're really having fun and around a good group of people and taking good use of your resources.

Jennifer Gross, UC Davis Women's Basketball Head Coach

The Graduate School of Management has been a tremendous opportunity and resource for our student-athletes here at UC Davis. And I think it's just a great program, where students can really go into any area of business. We want to give them the tools to be successful in whatever that is. And so, student-athletes are really fortunate that we get to learn these skills in a really fun and competitive way.