by Kelly Wilson
Considering a STEM MBA? Some Benefits and Options
The U.S. Department of Education’s STEM classification includes college degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For an MBA program to earn a STEM designation, its curriculum must emphasize the quantitative and technical side of business management − areas such as business analytics, mathematics, data modeling, digital marketing, and technology. Historically, the MBA degree has not qualified for this designation. Traditional MBA programs focus on broad business skills, including management, marketing, finance, and human resources.
Over the past five years, 15 of the top 25 business schools in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report ranking have achieved STEM designation for their full-time MBA programs. The balance of the programs offer a STEM option through one or more concentrations, majors, or pathways. This shift toward STEM designation was a strategic move to boost application volume when applications to full-time programs began declining. At the time, the designation provided an extension for Optional Practical Training (OPT), which was a clear benefit to international students, but less apparent was the benefit it provided for U.S. citizens and permanent residents as well.
My experience at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business gave me a unique perspective on MBA programs. In the late 1940s, departing from the case study method that was the mainstay of graduate management education, the business school faculty at Carnegie Mellon pioneered “management science,” which the school describes on its website as “the first approach to integrate scientific methods into complex problem-solving.” Business schools around the world have since adopted this approach. Tepper continues to position itself as a b-school at the intersection of business and technology, where data-driven decision-making is the program’s approach to delivering the MBA. As the volume and speed of data generation increased, it was evident that the Tepper MBA was not just adapting but also leading the way in preparing students for the future of business.
Fast-forward to today, and it’s clear that data are an integral part of our personal and professional lives. According to the 2023 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey, data analysis is a critical skill – one of the most important for graduate management education (GME) graduates. The need for this and similar kinds of skills is not a passing trend but a fundamental shift in the business landscape. The demand for professionals who can lead in a tech-driven world is growing, and the time to adapt is now. The ability to understand and master data analysis is not just beneficial but crucial for future business success.
Employer Interest in STEM MBAs
The STEM MBA combines management skills and technical expertise as a broader skill set to meet growing employer demand. Employers have shared that these skills – along with data analysis and interpretation, communication, and strategy and innovation – are essential and will continue to be so for the next five years.
Of the employers surveyed in the 2023 Corporate Recruiters Survey who view technology, software, and programming as important for GME grads, 80% specifically identify Web3 (aka Web 3.0), blockchain, and virtual reality as in-demand tech skills for U.S. and international students alike, while 75% indicate cloud-based technology, and 74% indicate AI and machine learning. The benefit for international students is a 24-month extension for OPT, which increases the time they can work in the United States to three years, with H1B sponsorship from their employer. The STEM MBA prepares students to use technology to make complex business decisions across industries such as finance, healthcare, marketing, and operations, and in such functions as management, strategy, and innovation.
The following table highlights the STEM programs and features available at the top 25 business schools in 2024, according to U.S. News & World Report. Schools whose names appear in bold offer a full-time STEM-specific MBA degree.
Top STEM MBA programs in the United States
| 2024 Ranking | School | STEM Programs |
| 1 | Stanford | Full-time MBA |
| 1 | UPenn Wharton | Nine majors within the full-time MBA: Business Analytics; Business Economics and Public Policy; Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability; Environmental, Social and Governance Factors for Business; Finance, Operations; Information and Decisions; Quantitative Finance; Social Governance Factors for Business; and Statistics |
| 3 | Chicago Booth | Full-time MBA |
| 3 | Northwestern Kellogg | Full-time MBA (one year and two year), MBAi, Future Leaders MBA, Executive MBA |
| 5 | MIT Sloan | Full-time MBA, Sloan Fellows MBA, Executive MBA |
| 6 | Harvard | Management Science track within full-Time MBA |
| 7 | Yale | Concentration in management science within the MBA |
| 7 | NYU Stern | Full-time MBA; Andre Koo Technology and Entrepreneurship MBA |
| 7 | Berkeley Haas | Full-time MBA |
| 10 | Dartmouth Tuck | Management Science and Quantitative Methods Option within the full-time MBA |
| 10 | UVA Darden | Specialization within full-time MBA: Management Science |
| 12 | Michigan Ross | STEM-designated track within the full-time MBA |
| 12 | Columbia | Full-time MBA, Executive MBA |
| 12 | Duke Fuqua | Full-time MBA |
| 15 | Cornell Johnson | Full-time MBA, Johnson Cornell Tech MBA, 1+1 MBA |
| 16 | Texas McCombs | Fourteen concentrations within full-time MBA: Information Management, Supply Chain and Operations Management, Business Analytics, Brand and Product Management, High Tech Marketing, Marketing Analytics and Consulting, General Finance, Corporate Accounting, Investment Management, Corporate Finance, Energy Finance, Clean Tech, Private Equity, and Real Estate Finance |
| 16 | CMU Tepper | Full-time MBA, Online Hybrid MBA |
| 18 | USC Marshall | Full-time MBA (one year and two year), Part-time MBA |
| 18 | Emory Goizueta | Full-time MBA |
| 20 | UCLA Anderson | Full-time MBA, Fully employed MBA, Executive MBA |
| 20 | Indiana Kelley | Five majors within the full-time MBA: Business Analytics, Finance, Marketing, Strategic Analysis of Accounting Information, Supply Chain and Operations |
| 20 | UNC Kenan-Flagler | Full-time MBA, Online MBA, Evening Executive MBA, Weekend Executive MBA, Charlotte Executive MBA |
| 20 | Vanderbilt Owen | Three concentrations: Consumer Psychology and Marketing Analytics, Finance, Operations and Analytics |
| 24 | Georgetown McDonough | Management Science major within the full-time and Flex MBA |
| 25 | Georgia Tech Scheller | Full-time MBA, Evening MBA |
As the former executive director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and assistant dean of admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School and the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School, Kelly Wilson has 23 years’ experience overseeing admissions committees and has reviewed more than 38,000 applications for the MBA and master’s programs in management of information systems, computational finance, business analytics, and product management. Want Kelly to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
