What are my chances of getting into Duke MQM with a commerce degree?

Question

I studied BBA from NMIMS with a 7.2 CGPA. During undergrad I worked on two internships, one in market research and another in corporate finance, but I don’t have a strong technical background in coding or statistics. Planning to take the GRE and aiming for 315–320. My target is to get into analytics consulting in the U.S. after graduation. Will Duke MQM consider a commerce profile like mine, or do they mainly admit candidates with engineering/data science backgrounds?

Aarushi S · Accepted Answer

Duke MQM does admit students from commerce and business backgrounds, so a BBA with 7.2 CGPA and internships in research and finance is a workable profile. The program isn&rsquo;t restricted to engineers &mdash; what they care about is whether you can handle analytics-heavy coursework and show clear career goals. A GRE score of 315&ndash;320 is competitive, though pushing closer to 320+ would make your chances stronger.
For someone without deep coding experience, it helps to show exposure to analytics through projects, Excel modeling, or finance tools during internships. Many MQM admits come from non-technical fields but highlight how they&rsquo;ve applied data in real settings. Your stated goal of moving into analytics consulting also fits well with the program&rsquo;s outcomes, so as long as you connect your past experiences with that future plan in essays and interviews, you&rsquo;ll be considered seriously.

V Gupta · Answer

A lot of students think Duke MQM only admits engineers, but that&rsquo;s not true &mdash; business grads with clear quant potential also make it in.
&bull; A GRE of 315&ndash;320 is decent, but aiming for 320+ would balance out a mid-7 CGPA. &bull; Market research and finance internships are relevant &mdash; emphasize how you worked with data, client deliverables, or financial models instead of just routine tasks. &bull; Coding isn&rsquo;t mandatory for admission, but showing basic knowledge of tools like Python, R, or SQL (even through online courses) can strengthen the application. &bull; What Duke really wants to see is employability. If you frame your BBA background as a base for analytics consulting, and show you&rsquo;re building technical skills on the side, the profile looks much stronger. &bull; One unique plus for commerce applicants is strong communication skills, which Fuqua values since many MQM grads move into client-facing consulting roles.