Ready to engage a team of Fuqua students to tackle a strategic or operational business challenge for your organization?
If you’re unsure which program is right for you, fill out our Client Interest Survey→ so our team can direct you to the best program for your needs.
Program Overview
| Program Timeline | Master of Management Studies (MMS) | Daytime MBA | Executive MBA (EMBA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program timeline | November 2024-February 2025 | December 2024-April 2025 | Late January 2025-June 2025 |
| Student work experience | Average 14 months | Average 6 years | Average 11 years |
| Admin fee | No fee | $1,000 to $10,000 depending on company size | $1,000 to $10,000 depending on company size |
| Application deadline | September 13 | September 13 | November 15 |
| Application link | Apply to MMS | Apply to Daytime MBA | Apply to Executive MBA |
| More information | MMS FCCP Program Overview ↓ | MBA FCCP Program Overview ↓ | EMBA FCCP Program Overview ↓ |
*The administrative fee for an MBA team is $10,000 per student team. For non-profit organizations and small businesses (less than $10 million in annual revenue), the administrative fee is $1,000. This administrative fee helps cover a portion of the program’s operating costs. FCCP considers partial grant requests and you can indicate this in the application. The approval process considers the size and mission of your organization, as well as the financial need relative to your business unit or operating budget.
Application steps
1. Select the FCCP program you’d like to apply to based on your project timeline, budget, and student profile preference.
We welcome you to use our Application Overview documents to collaborate with colleagues on your project idea before submitting your final project application.
2. Complete an application to your preferred program by the application deadline. You’ll briefly describe your organization and the challenges you’re bringing to FCCP. Please note that to participate in FCCP and support FCCP Students, your organization and Duke will need to complete the following two agreements before your organization is accepted into FCCP and project work begins;
- FCCP Master Agreement. An authorized representative of your company and Duke University will need to enter into an FCCP Master Agreement with Duke (“Master Agreement”) that sets forth terms and conditions that are applicable to each specific FCCP Project that you might provide support for over the course of the three-year term of the Master Agreement.
- FCCP Project Agreement. The Master Agreement includes a template (Annex 1) that we will use to create an agreement, to be signed by authorized representatives of your organization and Duke University, for each specific FCCP Project that your organization agrees to support (each, an “FCCP Project Agreement”). The Template incorporates the terms and conditions of the Master Agreement and includes the details of the FCCP Project.
In addition, FCCP students will sign one agreement as follows:
- Student Acknowledgement. The Master Agreement contains terms and conditions that the FCCP Students must follow. Once an organization and Duke University sign an FCCP Project Agreement, the FCCP Students who will be preparing and delivering consulting reports to the organization will sign a letter from Duke University, copied to the organization, in which they acknowledge the FCCP Project Agreement and agree to abide by all terms and conditions therein which are applicable to FCCP Students.
Please click on the links below to download and review the Master Agreement, which includes the FCCP Project Agreement Template attached as Annex 1, specific to your region:
While we expect that many organizations will be able to sign the Master Agreement, we realize that its insurance requirements may be challenging for some smaller or international companies. So, if you have any questions or concerns before completing an application, please email Dr. James Emery at fccp@fuqua.duke.edu.
3. Once your application is submitted, the FCCP program office and student fellows will review your application thoroughly and follow up with specific questions before presenting your project to students.
4. We’ll notify you of the outcome of the team-matching process, and if your project is successfully staffed with a team of Fuqua students, you’ll get an outline of the next steps to meeting your team and launching the project.
Frequently asked questions
Please get in touch with our office via our Client Interest Survey to help us better understand your business. We can review your business challenge or idea and assess alignment with one of our student programs.
We invite applications from organizations of all sizes with a compelling business challenge. Most FCCP clients are established businesses that have been operating for at least three years, have 25 or more full-time employees, and at least $1 million USD in revenue or operating budget. Historically, our clients have included large public companies, small businesses, startups and nonprofits.
Clients benefit the most from FCCP when they present our students with a compelling project. Business issues, challenges, or opportunities that would merit engaging a management consultant are more likely to stimulate student interest and result in recommendations of real value to your organization. Adequate internal support is also crucial. Clients tend to do well when they have a senior leader serving as a Project Sponsor and a junior or mid-level person that can serve as a day-to-day Project Lead. Learn more about client expectations here.
Your team’s senior-level Project Sponsor will meet with students at four main points throughout the course: The project kickoff, the work scope review, the midpoint presentation, and the final presentation. Your organization’s designated Project Lead will also attend these meetings, along with meeting with students weekly throughout to provide input and resolve any outstanding items. Learn more in this video.
Sectors that tend to resonate with Fuqua students include Tech, Healthcare, Sports & Entertainment, Energy, Sustainability, and Social Impact, but this changes with every incoming class and with larger economic trends. International projects have historically been in strong demand. For more context on successful past engagements, explore Projects.
We welcome applicants to re-apply with a new project in the following year.
All engagements conducted under the FCCP are covered by our FCCP Master Agreement, FCCP Project Agreement, and Student Acknowledgement documents. Links to the FCCP Master Agreement and FCCP Project Agreement are provided under Application Steps and within the online application. Please do not release any confidential information to the students, faculty or teaching assistants until all parties have signed these agreements.
For our Daytime and EMBA programs, the standard administrative fee is $10,000 per project, which helps cover a portion of our program operating costs. For nonprofits and small businesses with less than $10 million in annual revenue, the administrative fee is $1,000. We consider need-based grants, which you can request upon application. There is no fee for participating in the MMS program. Learn more about our fees in this video.
Clients are only invoiced if they are successfully matched with a student team. There is no invoice for MMS student projects.