2025 MBA Jobs: At NYU Stern, Sharper Gains For International Grads

NYU Stern School of Business MBAs are back on the rise. After a choppy hiring cycle in 2024, the school’s new employment report shows momentum returning fast – and nowhere more clearly than among international graduates.

International grads at Stern posted some of the largest year-over-year gains in the school’s newest MBA employment report, with the Class of 2025 recording a 4.5% increase in accepted offers at the three-month mark compared to the Class of 2024. That helped placement outcomes for the overall class achieve stability a year after a big decline, with 86.3% of graduates receiving job offers after three months, compared to 86.1% in 2024, and 86% accepting them, up from 84.6%. Stern notes, too, that accepted offers rose even more in the months after the customary 90-day period, getting closer to the rate of job accepts reported by the school from 2021-2023.

Perhaps most importantly, pay is up for Stern MBAs. Based on Poets&Quants’ methodology – base salary plus signing bonus, weighted by the percentage of graduates reporting a bonus, in this case 82.3% – total compensation for the Class of 2025 reached $202,719, up 1.6% from last year’s $199,473 and a new school record. (Stern calculates its 2025 total compensation as slightly lower: $202,705.) That’s a nice improvement for the school after a tough 2024 when the compensation total was 1.4% less than its immediate predecessor.

NYU STERN MBA COMPENSATION, CLASSES OF 2023-2025

Total MBA Grads	2025 Average	2025 Median	2025 Low	2025 High	2024 Average	2024 Median	2024 Low	2024 High	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High
Base Salary	$168,970	$175,000	$50,000	$400,000	$166,148	$175,000	$80,000	$225,000	$168,182	$175,000	$85,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$41,007	$35,000	$5,000	$125,000	$37,028	$30,000	$5,000	$120,000	$38,192	$30,000	$5,000	$120,500
U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents	2025 Average	2025 Median	2025 Low	2025 High	2024 Average	2024 Median	2024 Low	2024 High	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High
Base Salary	$169,993	$175,000	$80,000	$400,000	$165,630	$175,000	$100,000	$225,000	$168,802	$175,000	$85,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$40,507	$35,000	$10,000	$105,000	$35,275	$30,000	$5,000	$80,000	$38,765	$30,000	$5,000	$120,500
International	2025 Average	2025 Median	2025 Low	2025 High	2024 Average	2024 Median	2024 Low	2024 High	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High
Base Salary	$166,147	$175,000	$50,000	$225,000	$167,891	$175,000	$80,000	$217,984	$165,888	$175,000	$85,000	$202,947
Signing Bonus	$42,323	$40,426	$5,000	$125,000	$43,411	$40,000	$5,000	$120,000	$36,170	$30,000	$10,000	$65,000

Source: NYU Stern

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COMPENSATION DATA SHOW GAINS AT THE TOP OF THE MARKET

Average base salary for Stern’s Class of 2025 rose to $168,970, up from $166,148 in 2024, while the maximum base salary – for a grad (or grads) in healthcare/pharma/biotech – surged to $400,000, nearly double last year’s peak of $225,000. The median base salary held steady at $175,000. Average signing bonuses increased to $41,007, compared with $37,028 last year, and the top bonus reached $125,000, up from $120K last year.

Stern’s domestic grads captured the larger share of that upside. U.S. citizens and permanent residents reported an average base salary of $169,993, up from $165,630, while international grads posted an average base salary of $166,147, slightly below last year’s level; both maintained a median of $175,000. Internationals reached a high of $225,000, and their signing bonuses matched the top of the market at $125,000.

Over the summer, internship compensation for the Class of 2026 – an indicator of next year’s full-time outcomes – showed a stable market with a lower ceiling than recent cycles (see below). The average weekly base salary of $2,667 is nearly unchanged from last year and just below the Class of 2024’s $2,677. The median grew slightly to $2,885, up from $2,813 for the Class of 2025 but down significantly from the $3,288 for 2024.

The top weekly salary reached $4,330, below last year’s $4,500 and sharply lower than the strikingly high $7,373 reported for the Class of 2024. Domestic interns averaged $2,709, while international interns averaged $2,541, with U.S. students seeing modest growth and internationals a modest decline in median pay.

NYU STERN MBA INTERN PAY, CLASSES OF 2024-2026

Total MBA Interns	Class of 2026 Average	Class of 2026 Median	Class of 2026 Low	Class of 2026 High	Class of 2025 Average	Class of 2025 Median	Class of 2025 Low	Class of 2025 High	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,667	$2,885	$231	$4,330	$2,677	$2,813	$640	$4,500	$2,771	$3,288	$431	$7,373
U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident with Permanent U.S. Work Authorization	Class of 2026 Average	Class of 2026 Median	Class of 2026 Low	Class of 2026 High	Class of 2025 Average	Class of 2025 Median	Class of 2025 Low	Class of 2025 High	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,709	$3,000	$369	$4,330	$2,729	$2,885	$640	$4,500	$2,760	$3,288	$500	$4,808
International without Permanent U.S. Work Authorization	Class of 2026 Average	Class of 2026 Median	Class of 2026 Low	Class of 2026 High	Class of 2025 Average	Class of 2025 Median	Class of 2025 Low	Class of 2025 High	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,541	$2,524	$231	$4,327	$2,550	$2,598	$640	$4,327	$2,803	$3,298	$431	$7,373

Source: NYU Stern

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3-YEAR INTERNATIONAL OUTCOMES PROVIDE IMPORTANT CONTEXT

Stern provides a three-year aggregate picture for graduates without U.S. work authorization. Across the Classes of 2023-2025, 85.2% of international graduates who accepted full-time roles did so in the United States, underscoring that Stern continues to place a large majority of its global MBA talent in U.S. jobs despite shifting employer sponsorship patterns – and, this summer, despite significant headwinds on the home front. Most – 67.2% – have found work in New York City. For those accepting roles outside the U.S. – a group representing 14.8% of international graduates across the three cohorts – Asia was the top destination, at 9.8%, with Europe well behind at 2.2%.

For all international Stern grads between 2023-2025, consulting, investment banking, and tech were the three most dominant sectors, with consulting accounting for 39.1%, followed by investment banking at 29.5%, and tech at 14.7%.

A parallel three-year dataset tracks summer internship outcomes for international students. Here, 89.2% of Stern’s international interns worked in the United States, including 66.5% in New York City. The remaining students interned abroad, again with Asia (5.4%) as the most common non-U.S. region.

NYU STERN MBA JOB OFFERS & ACCEPTANCES, 2016-2025

Timing Of Offers	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Received By Graduation	76.4%	80.6%	85.4%	87.4%	86.2%	83%	90%	89%	83%	87%
Accepted By Graduation	75.6%	78.4%	85.1%	86.6%	85.9%	79%	86%	84%	79%	82%
Total Received 3 Months After Graduation	86.3%	86.1%	94.3%	94.1%	95.8%	92%	95%	95%	94%	94%
Total Accepted 3 Months After Graduation	86.0%	84.6%	94.0%	94.1%	95.2%	89%	94%	94%	91%	92%

Source: NYU Stern

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OFFER TIMING SHOWS A SLOWER CYCLE BUT STRONGER FINISH FOR 2025

The report’s timing data show that Stern 2025 MBAs were less likely to secure roles by graduation than earlier cohorts. Only 76.4% of the Class of 2025 had received offers by commencement time, down from more than 80% of the Class of 2024 (which itself was down nearly 5 percentage points from 2023), and 75.6% had accepted them, compared with 78.4% accepted by the Class of 2024 (itself a decline of more than 6 points). The rates remain well below pre-pandemic years, when more than 85% typically secured jobs before commencement.

However, as employers pushed decision-making deeper into the summer, the three-month outcomes nearly closed the gap. Offers received after 90 days climbed to 86.3%, and accepted offers reached 86%, matching or exceeding last year’s results – though still well below the mid-90s levels typical of earlier years – while Stern notes that accepted offers have since risen to 90%.

INDUSTRY SHIFTS SIGNAL A RECOVERY IN TECH AND FINANCE

Sector-level data show distinct areas of improvement. Investment banking rose from an already strong base of 27.4% of accepted offers in 2024 to 28% for the Class of 2025. But it was tech that saw the strongest rebound: after contracting to 9.1% in 2024 – its lowest share in years – tech jumped 5.1 percentage points to reach 14.2% of accepted offers in 2025. The 2024 longitudinal table shows a clear downward slide in tech hiring from 17% in 2022 to 14.2% in 2023 and then to 9.1% in 2024, making this year’s recovery especially noteworthy. Consulting (32.8%) was Stern’s second-largest destination after finance (36.6%) but softened slightly as tech and finance expanded.

Regional data (see above) show just how concentrated Stern’s outcomes remain in the Northeast, where 82.4% of the Class of 2025 accepted jobs and earned an average salary of $171,891 with a median of $175,000 and a high of $400K. The West was the second-most common destination at 7%, with average pay of $170,956 and a high of $235K, followed by smaller shares in the Mid-Atlantic (3.5%) and South (1.8%), the latter posting the highest regional salary median at $192K.

Globally, 96% of 2025 Stern MBAs found work in North America, while only 3.1% accepted roles in Asia and the Middle East, where salaries averaged $104,937.

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“In the current business cycle with unpredictable factors, human capital has become more important than ever,” says Brian Ruggiero, associate dean, careers. “That’s where Stern MBA graduates really shine. Employers have told us that what they need in today’s work environment is foundational soft skills – a growth mindset, curiosity, and adaptability.  Stern MBAs are consistently valued for their high EQ, and we double down on building their agility through their MBA experience to prepare for any market, both in the short- and long-run. It’s incredibly validating to see this come to fruition with students getting jobs that align with their goals along with top compensation.

“We have an extraordinary advantage sitting in the heart of New York City. This is more than just access, it’s a mutually beneficial ecosystem with so many alumni nearby and staying engaged not only in recruiting, but also as career advisors and role models to the next generation of students.”

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