NYU Jumps Into Online MiM Space, Looking To Dominate

The new MSQM degree at NYU Stern will have two residential immersions at the school’s Greenwich Village campus in New York City. NYU Stern photo

Business schools in the United States don’t get much credit for their Master in Management offerings — look no further than the latest MiM rankings from The Financial Times, where exactly one U.S. school is listed among 100 ranked schools, for an idea of how little esteem stateside MiM offerings are held in. Which is not to say that the U.S. isn’t home to some elite programs: Northwestern Kellogg’s Master of Science in Management Studies, Yale SOM’s Master of Advanced Management, and Michigan Ross’ Master of Management are widely praised programs, at least outside the offices of the FT. 

If MiM programs in the U.S. are scarcely applauded in comparison with their European counterparts, then online versions of the MiM based in the U.S. are even more rarely talked about — because they are rare, period. This simple fact is a main driver behind NYU’s Stern School of Business stepping into the space. With Stern’s announcement today (February 13) of the launch of a new online Master of Science in Quantitative Management, the school’s officially becomes the premier U.S. business school to offer online delivery of a MS in Management. 

“There really are no top programs, top business schools, that offer a Master of Management online. So in a couple of ways, it’s unique,” says Kim Corfman, Stern’s vice dean for online learning, about the MSQM that will launch in August 2019. “We like the idea of appealing to a much broader audience geographically. We do that with our face-to-face programs when they’re full-time, obviously, but this is a part-time program and we expect to be able to draw from all over the world.”

NEW ONLINE MiM DEGREE INSTANTLY MAKES STERN LEADER IN THE SPACE

Kim Corfman. NYU Stern photo

Stern may be the top-ranked school in the space, but it is not the only player. Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business offers an online MS in Strategic Management, and Michigan State’s Broad College of Business has an online MS in Management, Strategy, and Leadership. In the Poets&Quants top 50, those have been the only online management choices; NYU’s new degree instantly shifts the landscape.

The 20-month, 22-course MSQM will focus heavily on foundational instruction and business analytics, employing a “lockstep” format that the school expects to “maximize work-life balance.” The curriculum covers accounting, business strategy, customer insights, data mining, finance, fintech, leadership, and predictive analytics, among other subjects, and will be taught by the same Stern faculty who teach on campus. There will also be two short residential immersions on that Greenwich Village campus that are not mandatory but highly encouraged, Corfman tells Poets&Quants, giving students a pair of opportunities to network face-to-face and experience New York — one of the world’s premier business and cultural hubs — firsthand.

The MSQM won’t be cheap, with a price tag of $64,800 — about $25,000 more than Kelley’s MSSM and nearly $20,000 more than MSU Broad’s degree. “Our other master’s programs were the model, and other online master’s and regular master’s programs in the U.S.,” Corfman says. “Our view about online programs is, they’re only worth doing if what the students can learn and the quality of the program is the same as face-to-face. We’ve got different tools to work with, so for the same learning objectives, you just do things different ways. We price all of our online offerings that are degree-related very comparably to our face-to-face offerings. That’s true across NYU, actually.”

And the content? How was that developed?

“We assessed the competencies that give graduates of our MBA programs a measurable advantage in the marketplace and set out to develop an online program that delivers those high-demand skills with our MS in Quantitative Management,” Corfman adds. “Our newest offering is ideal for non-business majors who seek knowledge, credentials and the flexibility of an online degree at this crucial stage in their career development.”

A NEW DEGREE THAT ‘FILLS A MARKET NEED’

Stern’s entry into the management master’s realm has been coming for a few years now, Corfman says. The school currently offers five online certificates in management; the MSQM has been in the works for about two years.

“As technology has fast become the new language of business and global demand for flexible learning modalities has continued to rise, Stern has pioneered new models from specialized MBA programs to online certificate courses taken by students in more than 100 countries,” says Raghu Sundaram, NYU Stern’s dean. “With our track record of innovation and one of the largest faculties of computer and data scientists among business schools, our MS in Quantitative Management program fills a market need.”

Corfman says Stern will cap the first cohort at about 50 students. Applications will resemble the school’s MBA app, meaning GMATs are recommended but GREs will be accepted. Application deadlines are March 15 and May 15. Speaking of the MBA, students in the MSQM program who have not completed the degree and wish to further their education with an MBA will be eligible to apply to Stern’s Langone Part-time MBA program and use the credits they have earned online toward their MBA.

(See next page for a Q&A with NYU Stern Vice Dean for Online Learning Kim Corfman.)