Kogod School of Business
The Kogod School of Business at American University offers undergraduates a route into consulting through business coursework, student organizations, and hands-on projects with real clients. Its Washington, D.C., location also puts students near government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses, while Kogod’s career resources include a dedicated consulting channel and a student Consulting Club.
Consulting placement
Kogod’s public undergraduate business page reports that 94% of business graduates were working, in graduate school, or both within six months of graduation. Kogod lists companies where graduates have started their careers, including Deloitte, EY, Accenture, KPMG, and PwC.
For students, the practical takeaway is to build a profile that demonstrates structured problem-solving, analytical thinking, communication, and teamwork while using Kogod’s career resources to identify specific opportunities.
Consulting clubs and experiential learning
Kogod’s career-development resources list a Consulting Club among the student and professional organizations students can explore. Students should check the current club listing and contact its leadership for details.
A second option is Consult Your Community at American University. The organization describes itself as a student-run nonprofit that provides pro bono consulting to small businesses. Its model involves semester-long work with local businesses, with students receiving training and guidance from faculty, graduate-student mentors, and experienced professionals. This can help students practice client communication, research, and business analysis in a real-world setting.
Kogod also integrates consulting-style work into its curriculum. In the 2024 Capstone Championship, undergraduate teams presented recommendations for two real clients: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and American University’s Office of Sustainability. The project involved industry research, internal analysis, and final presentations, with clients choosing the winning teams. This was a course-based capstone experience, not a consulting-club event, and students should not assume every undergraduate participates in the same format.
Career services support
Kogod’s Consulting & Professional Services career channel is the most directly relevant starting point. It organizes consulting-focused resources and recommends following consulting employers on LinkedIn and checking company career sites regularly so students do not miss application deadlines. The channel also lists the Consulting Club and Consult Your Community as ways to build skills and professional connections.
Kogod’s Office of Career Engagement provides school-specific career support, while American University’s Career Center offers resources for résumés, interviewing, job searches, and networking. Handshake is used to find opportunities, apply for positions, register for recruitment events, and schedule interviews through on-campus recruiting when available.
Recruiting timeline
The consulting career channel specifically advises students to follow target firms on LinkedIn and check employer websites throughout the summer. Use those channels alongside Handshake to monitor openings, information sessions, and recruiting events.
Start by exploring the Consulting Club and Consult Your Community, then build a résumé around analytical projects, leadership, and client-facing work. Practice case interviews independently and use university career resources for interview and application preparation. Most importantly, track each firm’s application dates directly: a general school calendar or employer list is not a substitute for a verified deadline.