“The holidays are a time to look back.”

That’s the start of many of toast this season. Chances are, the message will be the same: re-examine, re-focus, re-energize, and re-commit. You could apply those sentiments to the graduate business school community. Home for the holidays – before jetting off to Greece or hunkering down with their business plan – MBAs are taking a welcome pause. Of course, applicants aren’t so fortunate; they’re gearing up for interviews – or another rounds of essays and GMATs.

2023 was another year of scrambling and grinding for students and applicants alike. While they fixated on the prize, larger trends came into focus. Business schools dug into their pockets for programming for artificial intelligence – no different than analytics in recent years. Sustainability emerged as cornerstone content at programs like INSEAD and Georgetown McDonough, as employers sought ways to convert costs to cash. As business schools doubled-down on DEI programming, employers began to backpedal in the area, leery of its excesses as much of its middling returns.

Francesca Gino at Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School Professor Francesca Gino

A YEAR TO REMEMBER

The year was tumultuous in many respects. Deans stepped down at Duke Fuqua, Illinois Gies, IMD, London Business School, and Penn State Smeal. At the same time, new deans were appointed at Colorado Leeds, Cornell Johnson, Georgia Tech Scheller, INSEAD, North Carolina Kenan-Flagler, Northeastern D’Amore-McKim, Ohio State Fisher, Temple Fox, Vanderbilt Owen, Villanova, and Washington Olin. Nearly across the board, business school applications declined in 2023. When it comes to pay, the results were mixed. Spring graduates enjoyed marked pay increases at Chicago Booth, Duke Fuqua, INSEAD, Northwestern Kellogg, UC Berkeley Haas, and Virginia Darden. In contrast, starting pay plateaued at Cornell Johnson, Dartmouth Tuck, Harvard Business School, and the Wharton School.

Controversy is a given in any year – and 2023 didn’t disappoint. At Michigan State’s Broad College, Sanjay Gupta filed suit over his 2022 ouster, claiming he was the victim of a power struggle. NYU Stern learned just how prestigious its program was when ex-Congressman – and serial liar – George Santos claimed to have earned his MBA there. Of course, this drama pales in comparison to the Francesca Gino saga at Harvard Business School. She was placed on administrative leave for allegedly fabricating data – and subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against the school. Shortly thereafter, Harvard President Claudine Gay came under the microscope for plagiarism. Together, Gino and Gay have turned Harvard into a fountain of nerd jokes. The best one: Harvard researchers give new meaning to ‘sampling’.

More seriously, several business schools rolled out new programs. In Texas alone, you’ll find Rice Jones’ Hybrid MBA, Texas McCombs’ Online Master’s of Business Analytics, and Texas A&M Mays’ Flex Online MBA. Chicago Booth launched 10-month Master’s in Management and 15-month Master’s in Finance programs, while Yale SOM produced a 12-month Master’s in Technology Management program. By the same token, Chicago Booth collected a $100 million donation, while Purdue University pocketed $50 million dollars. Oxford Said hit gender parity for the first time as the Wharton School hit the mark for the third consecutive year. At Virginia Darden, the school added 195,000 square feet by opening The Forum, a hotel and meeting space that comes with a botanical garden, fine dining restaurant, and craft beer pub. To paraphrase The Eagles: “You can check out any time you want / but you may never want to leave.”

Wondering what you might have missed about your favorite schools in 2023? We got you covered with a school-by-school story listing (plus links to iconic features like Best & Brightest MBAs and 10 Business Schools To Watch). Here are some MBA stories that can give you an edge going into 2024.

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