At Clemson, students in the new Management Consulting Signature Program will learn consulting by taking on the work itself. Mock cases and industry mentorship come first. Real clients follow. The experience culminates in a year long advanced engagement that asks students to turn research and analysis into real-world recommendations.
Launching in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, the two-year, four-semester program will connect students with Clemson faculty, consulting-firm mentors and client organizations. The for-credit sequence is designed to build consulting skills through experiential learning and interdisciplinary teamwork.
Interdisciplinary teams tackle complex business questions
More than 300 students across Clemson have expressed interest in the initiative, with 54 students currently participating across two cohorts, representing 15 academic majors from business and engineering to computer science, phycology and more.
Students work in teams of six to eight on questions involving technology implementation, mergers and acquisitions integration, growth strategy, supply chain optimization, technology feasibility, strategic assessment, enterprise value creation and robotics implementation.
“The Management Consulting Signature Program brings together students from a wide range of academic majors to learn from one another, collaborate across disciplines and work together to solve complex business problems for real clients. This combination of interdisciplinary collaboration, industry mentorship and hands-on client work prepares students with the skills and experiences required to lead in an increasingly dynamic marketplace.”
Wendy York, Dean of the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
Each engagement brings together a Clemson faculty member, student team, client organization and dedicated industry mentor from a consulting firm. Clemson faculty lead the academic work, while industry practitioners participate in dedicated co-instruction, regular team meetings, client interactions, presentations and networking opportunities.
Travel is a major component of the program. Students have traveled domestically and internationally to conduct research, visit clients and gain exposure to different business environments. The program has traveled to Orlando, Mexico City and Winnipeg, and plans to visit other domestic and international destinations in coming cohorts. These experiences give students opportunities to connect client work with what they see and learn beyond campus.
Building on a decade of success
The program builds on a decade of Clemson consulting education. From 2016 through 2022, the Deloitte Consulting Creative Inquiry involved 25 students per semester who analyzed technology and enterprise resource planning. From 2023 through spring 2024, the Clemson Consulting Academic Pilot used diverse subject-matter case studies across multiple semesters. Between spring 2024 and 2026, the program became a Dean’s Key Initiative as the Clemson Management Consulting Initiative. This initiative expanded the program from four to eight industry partner firms and from 24 to 54 students across two cohorts.
“Over the past several years, Clemson’s consulting program has evolved from a promising partnership with Deloitte into the four-semester, interdisciplinary experiential-learning program it is today,” explained Dirk Roskam, Ph.D., visiting professor. “More than 120 students have participated in that evolution, which now includes eight mentoring consulting firms and more than 16 live client engagements—made possible by the commitment of students, alumni, faculty, and business leaders locally and globally.”
Launching as a Signature Program
Following a special edition of The Power of Leadership: A Signature Speaker Series on the future of management consulting, Clemson University and the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business celebrated the official launch of the Management Consulting Signature Program on Friday, October 16. Guests gathered to recognize a decade of success in consulting education and celebrate the new opportunities it will create for students as an official Signature Program.
The celebratory launch announcement hosted by York and the College brought together consulting industry experts, current and former clients, program mentors, student participants, alumni and faculty. Program director, Matt Hersel, Ph.D., and visiting professor, Roskam, reflected on the initiative’s growth and what its new Signature Program status makes possible for students. They recognized the contributions of the supporters who helped bring the program to this point and looked ahead with gratitude and excitement for this next phase.
Prior to the reception, a panel of consulting professionals shared perspectives on the future of management consulting, giving students and guests a chance to hear from industry experts. The discussion connected with the program’s focus on learning through experience and offered an exciting segue into the future of consulting at Clemson.
As the Management Consulting Signature Program begins this new chapter, Clemson students will continue learning through collaboration, mentorship and client work. The launch marked an opportunity to celebrate the program and the community supporting its next stage.
Preparing the next generation of students for careers in consulting and beyond
“Many graduates of the program go into consulting, but the skills they develop serve them just as well in industry roles or graduate school. They leave with experience working across disciplines, navigating unfamiliar problems and communicating recommendations to real clients,” said Hersel. “For the Powers College of Business, the program builds skills among our students, develops connections with students across campus and creates opportunities to deepen corporate partnerships and pursue applied research with South Carolina companies and beyond.”
For students considering consulting or strategic leadership roles in organizations, the program offers a direct way to explore the field. Students who participated in past iterations of the program left with 100% full-time job placement within 90 days of graduation and an average starting compensation package of $91,283.
“The Clemson Management Consulting Initiative has been the most valuable program I’ve been part of during my time at Clemson,” said Alex Brousseau, a senior studying financial management. “Working with real clients and consulting firms gave me hands-on experience directly relevant to entering the consulting industry. The connections I built with professionals at those firms were invaluable, and they helped me land my internship last summer and, ultimately, a full-time offer from EY. I am excited to see this initiative officially become a Signature Program.”
About the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
The Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business empowers students to evolve into innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders thriving in the dynamic global marketplace of ideas. Through immersive learning inside and outside the classroom, students graduate as adept, market-ready leaders prepared to influence the future of business.
