The Ross MBA: What You Need To Know

Founded in 1923, the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan rightfully believes that business can be an extraordinary vehicle for positive change in the world.

Michigan Ross is at the heart of both a renowned university and a welcoming college town. Ann Arbor is considered the most educated city in America (Wallethub) and the second-ranked place to live (Livability). The University of Michigan is the nation’s No. 2 public university (Niche.com) and boasts 117 graduate programs in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report. Among those programs is the Michigan Ross Full-Time MBA Program, which ranked eighth for 2023-24. In 2021, P&Q named Michigan Ross Full-Time MBA its MBA Program of the Year.

The two-year program has an average class size of 370-385 students and 57 credit hours total.
Michigan Ross emphasizes action-based learning, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The first-year core features four seven-week terms and provides a broad grounding in business fundamentals.

A staple of the program, in the fourth term, students put the core to work in the Multidisciplinary Action Project (MAP) course, combining analytical tools with teamwork and leadership development on a consulting project with an actual firm or organization. Students typically bid on over 80 available projects, most of which involve fieldwork and travel.

The program offers different concentrations, including a STEM-designated specialization in Management Science, an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Concentration, Data and Business Analytics Concentration, and Tauber Institute for Global Operations Concentration.

Michigan Ross hosts unique experiences through their multitude of REAL learning opportunities. REAL.START allows students to develop, launch, and scale new business ideas through courses at Michigan Ross and the resources and offerings of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

The school also offers REAL.ADVISE allows students to consult with real-world organizations on strategic issues, providing substantive analysis and recommendations during MAP and other courses.

REAL.INVEST allows MBAs to manage student-run investment funds in all aspects of its operations with $10 million in funds across more asset classes than at any other school, and REAL.LEAD allows students to help operate an ongoing business unit with a corporate partner. Respond to real-world situations in the Living Business Leadership Experience course.

There are seven student-run investment funds at Michigan Ross, for example, the Social Venture Fund, the first student-led impact investing fund at a business school. The school’s newest fund is the International Investment Fund, which invests in small to medium-sized enterprises in India and Africa.

Students get involved in co-curricular activities through 59 affinity and professional clubs and organizations, such as First@Ross (first-generation students), Detroit Initiative, and Hispanic Business Students Association. Many of the clubs host popular events, such as the Black Business Students Association’s Alfred L. Edwards (ALE) conference, Women in Leadership conference, Out for Business OUTx conference, VETx, Healthcare & Life Sciences Symposium, and Ross Connect conference.

“Michigan Ross is a pioneer in action-based learning, and we continue to believe students learn best by doing, receiving real-time feedback, and putting theory into practice. This orientation towards learning fosters a growth mindset and accelerates our MBA graduates’ ability to immediately drive positive change in business and society,” says Matt Ganderson, managing director of Full-Time MBA Admissions and Program.