STEM MBA programs are getting more and more popular owing to more benefit it offers to international students. No wonder business schools are jumping onto the STEM MBA bandwagon with NYU Stern and Columbia to be the latest business schools to get their full-time MBA program STEM-designated. As staying back to work in the US is getting more difficult with time, business schools have started using STEM MBA programs to attract international students. These programs bring along with it an extended visa duration which non-STEM programs do not.
In this article, we’ll explore STEM MBA programs, their advantages, the opportunities STEM graduates get, and who is the right fit for this program.
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Here is the outline of the article:
- What are STEM programs?
- What are STEM MBA programs?
- What are the benefits of STEM MBA programs?
- List of STEM MBA programs
- Who is the right fit for these programs?
What are STEM programs?
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. If a field of study falls in any of the four disciplines mentioned, then that program is categorized as a STEM program. Click here to access the full list of STEM programs as per USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)
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What are STEM MBA programs?
Technically, business education programs cannot be categorized as STEM courses. However, in recent years, US business schools have been offering STEM MBA programs to attract international students. What a STEM MBA program offer is business skills with an emphasis on STEM applications.
They include accounting, business analytics, decision theory, finance, economics, information technology, law, marketing, management, statistics, and strategy while providing business skills to be successful in management and leadership roles.
What are the benefits of STEM MBA programs?
These programs offer a mix of business and technical education. STEM MBA graduates, therefore, find employment in specialized fields related to technology and analytics.
According to this report by Jacqueline Varas, Director of Immigration and Trade Policy at the American Action Forum, there will be a shortage of 1.1 million STEM workers by 2024. This shortage tells us the scope of opportunity for STEM graduates in the United States.
Employment opportunities for STEM MBA graduates on the rise
As more businesses tend to use data to make business decisions, data analytics and business skills will become more intertwined. This trend will result in organizations needing graduates with a business as well as an analytics acumen. STEM MBA graduates will be the ones to step in to meet this rising demand.
STEM MBA offers a 36-month OPT
STEM MBA graduates will also be able to leverage the OPT extension period after graduating. A typical graduate gets a 12 month OPT (optional practical training) as compared to a 36 month OPT for a STEM graduate. Here is complete information on OPT.
Recently, NYU Stern, Columbia, UC Berkeley and CMU Tepper received STEM designations for all its MBA programs.
List of STEM MBA programs
Here is a list of STEM MBA programs offered by US business schools:
- Full-time MBA –Columbia Business School
- Full-time MBA – Stanford GSB
- Full-time MBA – NYU Stern
- STEM-designated track – Michigan Ross
- STEM MBA concentration – Yale SOM
- Management Science and Quantitative Analysis – Dartmouth Tuck
- STEM Concentration – UNC Kenan Flagler
- Management Science – Northwestern Kellogg
- Majors in Statistics, Actuarial science, Business Analytics, Business Economics & Public Policy – Wharton
- Business, Energy, Environment & Sustainability – Wharton
- Operations, Information, and Decisions – Wharton
- Business Analytics and Analytic Finance – Chicago Booth
- MBA (All programs) –UC Berkeley Haas
- MBA (All programs) – CMU Tepper
- MBA (All programs) – University of Rochester – Simon Business School
- Master of Business Analytics – MIT Sloan School of Management
- MS Business Analytics & Information Management, Purdue – Krannert School of Management
- MS Marketing, Purdue – Krannert School of Management
- MS Finance, Purdue – Krannert School of Management
- MS Global Supply Chain Management, Purdue – Krannert School of Management
- MS Economics, Purdue – Krannert School of Management
- MBA in Operations and Technology Management (MBA specialization) – Wisconsin School of Business
- MBA in Supply Chain Management (MBA specialization) – Wisconsin School of Business
- MBA in Business Analytics – University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Charlton College of Business
- MBA/MS in Business Analytics Dual Degree – University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business
- MBA – Worcester Polytechnic Institute – Foisie Business School
- Masters in Finance – Tippie College of Business
- Masters in Business Analytics – Tippie College of Business
- Masters in Finance – Whitman School of Management
- MS in Finance – Caroll School of Management, Boston College
- MS in Finance degree – SMU Cox School of Business
Here are detailed reports on top business school including Harvard, Stanford, Kellogg, Wharton, Columbia, Chicago Booth, INSEAD, and LBS.
STEM MBA – Who is it for?
STEM MBA programs in their current form are a mix of business and analytics courses. They are focused on building business skills using data sciences. However, not every MBA applicant will be from a technical academic background and might be less interested in this program.
Moreover, there will be applicants who will be aiming for a more general management program, and therefore, STEM MBA might not be a good fit for them. Therefore, while opting for a STEM MBA make sure you are comfortable with the technical and science-based curriculum.
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STEM MBA FAQs
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
MBA is not a STEM degree per se. However, a few MBA programs are STEM-designated owing to the focus of the MBA in business analytics, decision theory, finance, economics, information technology, law, marketing, management, statistics, and strategy.
These business schools’ full time MBA programs are STEM designated:
Columbia Business School
NYU Stern
UC Berkeley Haas
CMU Tepper
Simon Business School
Harvard Business School has two STEM degrees.
1. Master of Science in Engineering Sciences and Master of Business Administration (MS/MBA), operated jointly with the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
2. The MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences Program is a collaboration of HBS and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
The OPT period for MBA students is 12 months. However, if you’re a graduate of STEM MBA programs then your OPT would be 36 months.
