A Program that Takes Students and Companies to the Next Level.
Companies are matched with a small team of Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) students in their final year of study. The assignment: conduct a 360-degree analysis of the company, then use the findings to develop an effective business strategy to advance the company’s growth. To this end, students work as consultants; attending conferences, conducting interviews, and meeting with top management. Their research covers market assessment, competitive analysis, product development, sales, marketing, and a host of other critical areas. Collectively, GAP teams will invest over 2,500 hours by the time they deliver their finished business plan to industry professionals, investors, and their GAP company management team.
The following testimonials are excerpted from interviews with several of the students who have participated in the UCLA Anderson Global Access Program (GAP):
"The research effort with GAP met my expectations. However, I did not expect the different twists and turns and came out of the research. GAP was a true real world experience, where I had to constantly challenge my own initial perceptions, and realize there is not really a perfect answer that awaits me at the end of the project. So this was very different from classrooms. As I now think about switching careers, and the industry knowledge I picked up while researching for GAP has helped me during my interviews. I was able to use the right jargon and demonstrate that I have experience in this industry."
"The greatest takeaway is confidence I think. I now know I am capable of creating a business plan for a new product. I know what it takes, the amount of research required, for me to come up with a comprehensive business plan for the successful launch of a new product."
— Shane Liu, FEMBA Class of 2010
Timeline for GAP 2013 (all dates are 2013):
| Friday, Mar. 1: | Students submit updated resumes to GAP office | |
| Monday, Apr. 1: | Petition deadline for admission into MBA Applied Management Research (AMR) | |
| Thursday, Apr. 4: | All students who have not received an official email notification of approval for AMR enrollment are automatically enrolled in GAP | |
| Monday, Apr. 8: | Submit names of 5 student team list to the GAP Office | |
| Friday, Apr. 26: | GAP Office posts approved team list | |
| Saturday, May 4: | GAP INFORMATION SESSION #2: 12:45PM - 2:00PM Topics: Overview of Available Companies |
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| Thursday, May 16: | Company Bidding Round #1: Team submits top 3 choices of companies | |
| Friday, May 24: | GAP Office posts 1st round bidding results | |
| Sunday, June 2: | Company Bidding Round #2: Teams not assigned companies in round #1 will submit top 3 choices | |
| Monday, June 10: | GAP Office posts final company bidding results/Student teams begin contacting company executives |
2013 GAP Schedule (all dates are 2013):
* = Mandatory Attendance
| Saturday, June 22: | Student Launch: 8:00AM - 6:00PM * | |
| Saturday, July 13: | All-day Plenary | |
| Thursday, July 25: | Reception for Company Executives: 6:00PM - 8:30PM (1 student per team attends) |
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| Friday, July 26: | Company Launch Day 1: 8:00AM - 6:00PM * | |
| Saturday, July 27: | Company Launch Day 2: 8:00AM - 6:00PM * | |
| Saturday, Aug. 10: | All-day Plenary (Final Summer Session) | |
| Aug. 12 - Oct. 4: | Research Travel Period | |
| Saturday, Oct. 5: | Mid-Course Presentations * | |
| Sunday, Oct. 13: | Mid-Course Presentations sent to companies | |
| Saturday, Oct. 19: | Plenary 10:00AM - 1:00PM | |
| Saturday, Nov. 9: | First Dry-Run Session (all-day) * | |
| Saturday, Nov. 23: | Second Dry-Run Session (all-day) * | |
| Saturday, Dec. 7: | Final Presentations (all-day) * |
• Times listed are for group lecture and event sessions only. Students are advised to plan on being available in the afternoon following plenary sessions in order to accomodate meetings with faculty advisors and/or their GAP team.
• Dates and times may change during the course due to the availability of facilities.
