Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business

The Tepper MBA: What You Need To Know

Carnegie Mellon’s Graduate School of Industrial Administration was founded in 1949. Tepper has just over 190 MBAs enrolled in the program, and when asked what makes their student experience unique, Tepper MBAs often answer with one simple word: community. Each Tepper MBA is an integral part of a tight-knit, inclusive community. Much of the deep connections are found right on the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania campus of Carnegie Mellon where Tepper is housed. Pittsburgh was nicknamed the Steel City after the industry which played a significant role in the city’s growth and development. Today, the city is home to top companies such as PNC, UPMC, and EQT.

“The Tepper School is part of the larger Carnegie Mellon University ecosystem with a focus on world class technology and innovation. In a short walk, students can encounter cutting edge brain science, innovative start-ups, driverless cars, big data, Nobel and Turing prizes, robots and the list goes on. For example, in the past 10 years, more than 400 startups linked to CMU have raised more than $7 billion in follow-on funding. Tepper students are encouraged to take classes outside of the business school as they learn how to succeed in The Intelligent Future that is being created at Carnegie Mellon University. Coming to Tepper means meeting at the intersection of business and technology,” says Assistant Dean Tad Brinkerhoff.

Many business schools try to foster an interdisciplinary vibe on campus, but few have gone as far as Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business to make it a reality. Tepper says its two-year curriculum is less about gathering big data and more about making big decisions. In other words, providing MBAs the resources to take mounds of data and use it to drive a business forward.

The curriculum is STEM designated, with traditional core courses like analytics, marketing, finance, and strategy with a modern rendition of “management science” that has always underpinned a Tepper education. Through a summer internship, Full-Time MBAs gain hands-on experience in the field and industry of their interest.

A unique component of the Tepper MBA program is its mini-semester format, essentially doubling the number of courses that students take, allowing them to explore more during their time in the program. MBAs can choose from concentrations in Accounting, Business Technologies, Communications, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Health Care Analytics, Marketing, Operations Management, Operations Research, Organizational Behavior, Strategy, and Sustainability.

Leadership and job searching are embedded in the MBA from day one. Grads often sing the praises of the school’s career services team, which holds 2,000 one-on-one coaching sessions per year. Over 40 clubs and societies help create a social glue that contributes to a supportive atmosphere. More than a hundred events by outside speakers each year ensure that students hear about cutting-edge issues and make lots of useful contacts.

For prospective Tepper MBAs, past students have some advice.

“Having a clear goal and purpose of pursuing an MBA helped me in more ways than I could imagine, both during the application process and in school. I clearly communicated my goals and highlighted how the Tepper MBA program would help me achieve them. I also emphasized on how I could add value to the community with my skills and experiences. In short, authentically communicating what and why I wanted and how I planned to reach my goals with the MBA program helped me get into Tepper,” says Shravya Amarnath, Class of ‘22.

Tepper MBA Rankings Data

Tepper MBA Employment Stats

Tepper no longer publishes in its employment report its top employers, preferring to list all of the firms that made offers to students and/or have participated in recruiting events.

MBA Program Consideration Set:

Stretch Schools: Berkeley, Duke, Virginia, New York University

Match Schools: Michigan, Yale, Cornell, UCLA, North Carolina

Safe Schools: Texas at Austin, Emory, Indiana, USC

Notes: MBA Program Consideration Set: If you believe you’re a close match to this school – based on your GMAT and GPA scores, your age, and work experience – you should look at these other competitive full-time MBA programs as well. We list them by stretch, match, and safety. These options are presented on the basis of brand image and ranking status.

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