Hidden MBA Gems: How These B-Schools Have Embraced The STEM Surge

Alabama’s STEM Pathway to the MBA allows high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in STEM disciplines to complete coursework to earn an MBA from the Manderson School. File photo

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No. 51 Purdue University Krannert School of Management

MBA in Business Analytics and Information Management, Finance, Global Supply Chain Management, or Marketing

Purdue’s Krannert School launch a STEM-designated MBA degree option last fall, with four options for specializations: business analytics and information management, finance, global supply chain management, or marketing. The 60-credit-hour, four-semester STEM-designated MBA is based on statistics, computer applications, and data analysis, along with core business classes. “We believe this new degree option will be a perfect fit at Purdue, which is renowned for its excellence in STEM-related fields,” Greg Beaver, executive director of Krannert’s MBA, Master of Science and doctorate programs, said in 2019. “The four concentration areas give students the chance to personalize their degree by taking courses that are aligned with their career aspirations. They also will be able to gain valuable practical experience through collaborative opportunities with the Purdue Foundry, Discovery Park, and other campus incubators and innovation centers.”

No. 53 University of Alabama Manderson Graduate School of Business

The STEM Path to the MBA

Launched in Fall 2011, the STEM Path to the MBA allows high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in STEM disciplines to complete coursework to earn an MBA from the Manderson School in only one calendar year beyond the completion of an undergraduate degree. When the program launched — five years ahead of Wisconsin — Alabama Manderson was ranked 78th by U.S. News. “We began graduating students in 2016 (we’re a five-year program) and this year we moved up to 41st in the U.S. News rankings,” Robert Morgan, program director, tells Poets&Quants. “We recruit incoming freshmen who hold at least a 28 ACT (our average is 32.1) and 3.5 high school GPA (our average is 4.17), who are intending to major in a STEM discipline. STEM for us includes engineering, computer science, math, life sciences, physical sciences, and all of the healthcare professions. Students, beginning in the fall of their freshman year, take a 1.5-credit-hour STEM Business Honors course each semester that they are undergrads, where we introduce them to the various business disciplines and do lots of small group innovation projects and presentations. They typically formally apply to the MBA in the fall of their junior year, take their first MBA courses during the summer between their junior and senior years, and then do the bulk of their MBA studies during the 12 months after graduating undergrad.”

No. 57 Babson College F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business

Quantitative Finance Concentration in the Full-Time MBA; Business Analytics & Machine Learning Concentration in the Full-Time MBA; Master of Science in Finance; Master of Science in Business Analytics

“Rigorous, quantitative STEM training (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Babson’s unique entrepreneurial mindset are a powerful combination, giving graduates of our STEM Masters programs a competitive edge in the market.” The Quantitative Finance major includes such executives as Financial Trading Strategies, Risk Management, and Financial Macroeconomic Data Analysis; the BAML major includes Machine Learning Methods for Business, Marketing Analytics, and Programming for Business Analytics. The two specialized master’s degrees can be completed in nine to 16 months.

No. 61 College of William & Mary Raymond A. Mason School of Business

MBA/MSBA Dual Degree

This course of study allows students to merge the business acumen and leadership from the MBA curriculum with the highly technical skills from the MSBA to solve complex problems in today’s workplace. Candidates must apply to the MBA and MSBA programs separately to pursue the dual degree.

No. 68 Case Western University Weatherhead School of Management

MBA STEM Track

One of the newest STEM MBA options is Case Western’s offering, announced in September 2019. It promises graduates they will “benefit from Weatherhead’s comprehensive MBA approach while developing specific knowledge essential for a career in leadership.” The STEM MBA was designed with “a strong management core and STEM MBA electives offered in Corporate Finance, Business Analytics and Operations. Courses include Quantitative Risk Modeling, Advanced Marketing Analytics, Six Sigma and Quality Management Predictive Modeling and Artificial Intelligence.” Case Western’s STEM MBA is just the latest STEM business program offered at the Cleveland, Ohio school; earlier this year it added a STEM track in Accounting to go with already established tracks in Business Analytics, Finance, and Operations Research & Supply Chain degree programs.