Stanford GSB Edges Closer To Gender Parity

Stanford Graduate School of Business

A THREE-PERCENTAGE-POINT DROP IN MBA STUDENTS FROM HIGH TECH

The percentage of students who come from humanities and social science backgrounds also increased. Stanford said that humanities and social science undergraduate majors make up 50% of this year’s entering class, up two percentage points from the 48% last year. STEM grads with engineering, math, and natural sciences degrees fell to 33%, from 34% a year earlier, while business majors in the class dipped a single percent to 17% from 18%.

When it came to the pre-MBA work backgrounds of incoming students, there were a few notable changes. The most surprising, perhaps, given the school’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley, is a three-percentage-point drop in the number of MBA students who had worked in the technology industry to 14% from 17% a year ago. It’s the smallest percentage of tech backgrounds in a Stanford MBA class in at least five years (see table below).

This year’s class also saw a two percentage point decline in students from investment management, private equity and venture capital to 19% from 21%. But when you add the slight increase in those from financial services, moving to 7% from 6%, the overall part of the class with financial backgrounds was pretty much the same: 26% this year versus 27% last year.

CONSULTING, CONSUMER PRODUCTS, HEALTHCARE & MILITARY STUDENTS UP SLIGHTLY

Gaining in the mix was the representation of consultants in the class, rising a single point to 20% from 19% last year. MBA students who had worked in consumer products and services also gained a point, rising to 8% from 7%. Those with backgrounds from healthcare and the military also both rose a single percentage point to 5% and 3%, respectively.

Generally, though, there were few changes in the industry backgrounds of students. the government, education and non-profit sectors remained stable at 10% of the class; cleantech, energy and environmental consulting comprised 3% of the class, while 3% comes from manufacturing, exactly the same as last year.

DON’T MISS: HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CLASS OF 2021 PROFILE or WHARTON MBA CLASS OF 2021 PROFILE