Catalyst

Catalyst

Designed specifically for non-management students, the Catalyst Program provides a solid and broad foundation in the functional areas of management.

Application open until March 15, 2024

Eight weeks that will change what's possible.

Management Skills 

Learn how organizations operate and develop management skills to contribute to complex, not-for-profit, business, and government entities. 

Real Courses, Real Credit

Complete the core management courses in one summer and receive 11 credits through the completion of three full courses and one Excel moduleideal for students who find it difficult to fit management courses into their schedules and those interested in completing a Carroll School minor.

Career Support

Develop career strategies for building your personal brand through employer panels and sessions on skills assessment, writing résumés and business letters, interviewing, and effective networking.

Résumé Booster

Stand out in the competitive job market for internships and full-time positions with enhanced credentials from the summer program, including Excel, and exposure to programming languages.

catalyst

At a Glance

How long is the program?


The Catalyst Program is an intensive, full-time summer program that runs for eight weeks beginning in May and ending in July. 

How many courses & credits?


Students take three full, graded courses that include Financial Accounting, Marketing Principles, and their choice of Fundamentals of Finance or Business Law. Students receive 11 credits upon completion of the program. 

Is there a career element?


As part of the program, all students take a career practicum covering a wide range of business management topics including Excel, Big Data, and career preparation. 

Faculty & Staff

Thomas Wesner

Thomas Wesner


Business Law & Society

Thomas Wesner


Business Law & Society

Director of Carroll School’s Summer Management Catalyst Program, an intensive, full-time, 8-week program designed for non-business students to develop a solid and broad foundation in the functional and critical areas of management, September 2016-present.

Initiated and helped manage highly complex litigation involving a successful lawsuit for the recovery of trust assets belonging to the estate of President John Adams. The case resulted in a multi million-dollar judgment, upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 2014. The case, Woodward v. City of Quincy, SJC-11390, addressed legal issues involving trusts, charitable trusts, investments, trustee's accounts, forensic accounting, damages, breach of fiduciary duty, interest awards, the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act, governmental immunity, municipal corporations, and waiver.

 

Jon Kerbs

Jon Kerbs


Marketing

Jon Kerbs


Marketing

Jon Kerbs's areas of expertise include branding, product management, sales promotion, advertising, marketing strategy, business development, digital marketing, public relations, retail marketing, and product development. In addition to teaching, he consults with organizations seeking to solve go-to-market problems as well as facilitating leadership training for Fortune 500 companies.

Rob James

Rob James


Finance

Rob James


Finance

Professor Robert F. James teaches Fundamentals of Finance, Corporate Finance, and Investments at the undergraduate level, and Corporate Finance, Financial Management, Financial Markets & Instruments, and  Investments at the graduate level.

John Neale

John Neale


Excel Module

John Neale


Excel Module

Professor John J. Neale has been a member of the Carroll School faculty since 2013. He teaches courses on operations and supply chain management, management science, and sports analytics. In 2016 John received Carroll School’s Coughlin Faculty Excellence Award in undergraduate teaching. 

Edward Taylor

Edward Taylor


Financial Accounting

Edward Taylor


Financial Accounting

Edward Taylor has taught a variety of accounting and taxation courses at Boston College since 1986 at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is a Certified Public Accountant and spent five years with the international accounting firm of KPMG.  

Drew Barksdale

Drew Barksdale


Career Advisor

Drew Barksdale


Career Advisor

Drew Barksdale is a Carroll School graduate with a dual concentration in Economics and Finance. He is a former scholarship athlete on the varsity football team. His work experience scopes across various industries (O&G, industrials, and financial services) and disciplines (sales, corporate finance, & M&A). Barksdale is a passionate self-starter, eager to coach and mentor students at Boston College.

In his role, Drew focuses on coaching students, nurturing and developing new corporate relationships, and teaching a pre-professional development course, Career Accelerator.

Madeline Cortes

Madeline Cortes


Career Advisor

Madeline Cortes


Career Advisor

Madeline Cortes is a graduate from the Carroll School class of 2017. She had concentrations in business analytics and marketing with a minor in faith, peace, and justice. Her professional experience includes roles in product and content marketing at Epsilon. At Boston College, Cortes advises undergrads, especially in marketing and business analytics, and teaches Career Accelerator.

Student Perspectives

Student Voices



 

FAQ

Scenes from Catalyst