MBA in New York: Top 6 Programs

New York is the cultural and financial capital of the world. It is the largest city in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau 2010 statistics, there are 519,504 private businesses providing employment to over 7 million people. Over 35% of New York residents are foreign born and they speak over 200 languages. It is also home to Wall Street and some of the leading businesses in the world.

An MBA from New York offers unmatched industry exposure and vast networking opportunities. Students learn to work with individuals from diverse, multicultural backgrounds. We have picked some of the best business schools in New York.

Columbia Business School (CBS)

Columbia Business School is located in Manhattan, New York City, just a short distance from Central Park. It was established in 1916 and is among the six elite Ivy League business schools. Columbia’s USP has always been its faculty.  The school boasts of 13 Nobel Prize winners in Economics, including present-day professors Edmund Phelps, Robert Mundell and the famous Joseph Stiglitz. Another standout feature is the wide alumni network of 40,000 covering 120 countries. While the MBA program covers 21 months, students have the option of completing the same course in 16 months, by opting out of internships.

One advantage of being close to New York City is that industry experts can visit Columbia Business School regularly and supplement the learning process. Columbia empowers students to analyze, decide, and lead, with a unique teaching methodology that involves case studies and collective learning methods.

The school’s learning atmosphere includes CaseWorks – Real life case studies developed by the faculty’s own research; The Individual, Business, and Society (IBS) Curriculum – Ethical dilemmas are dissected with case studies and group sessions; Master Classes – Project based electives that bridge theory and practice; and The Program on Social Intelligence (PSI) – Imparts dynamic leadership techniques. The school provides strong incentives for entrepreneurship through the Lang Center, and its incubation space. Electives include innovative and contemporary subjects like, The Future of Financial Services, Global Immersion, Napoleon’s Glance and Modern Political Economy.

NYU Stern

New York University’s Stern Business School was established in 1900 and is among the oldest schools in the US. The school seeks to promote disruptive thinking and encourage experimentation to create value.’ Stern’s MBA is noted for its academic quality. It also has a specific focus on developing Emotional Quotient among managers that lead to stronger relationships with the team members.  Students become part of a well-integrated community of faculty, peers, and the Stern Network. The biggest advantage is of course the benefit of living, working and studying in the world’s financial hub – New York City.

• Stern’s MBA is extremely flexible. The core program itself can be customized. The school provides the largest choice of electives with the option to have upto three specializations - Accounting, Supply Chain Management and Global Sourcing. Stern’s unique Leadership Development Initiative nurtures standout leaders through targeted workshops, the Leadership Speaker Series and leadership simulations. Real time experience is imparted through a nine-month fellowship stint as a board member (Non-voting) of a city nonprofit institution.

• The Stern Consulting Corps (SCC) enables students to work in a nonprofit or a small business. Students also get to make real life investment decisions for the Michael Price Student Investment Fund. International experience is part of the learning curve. DBi – Doing Business in allows students to work abroad for one or two weeks. With IBEX (International Business Exchange Program), students can spend one full semester at one of the top B-Schools in the world.

Johnson Graduate School of Management (Cornell University)

Johnson Graduate School of Management is located in Ithaca. The School offers two-year full-time MBA and One-Year accelerated MBA program. The full-time MBA curriculum provides a high degree of flexibility with course customization. Students can choose from more than 80 electives. However, the added advantage is that students can choose electives taken from other worldclass institutions at Cornell that include industrial, law, hotel, language, technology, biotech and agricultural schools.

Johnson’s experiential learning modules like the Johnson’s Leadership skills program and Performance Learning, place students in real-world Business scenarios. They have to efficiently respond to real-time Business variables and create effective solutions.

University of Rochester - Simon Graduate School of Business Administration

The Simon Graduate School of Business Administration is located in Rochester, New York state. The full-time MBA program is known for its small size and class diversity (represents over 130 Countries). The School offers three programs to choose from - Traditional Two-Year Full-time MBA, Accelerated 18-Month MBA and One-Year MBA program. Individual attention enables faculty to monitor the academic and personal growth of the student. It also has a cross-functional curriculum that is grounded in economics. This is based on FACt - Simon’s Unique three step process - Frame, Analyze, and Communicate, to solve unstructured real life problems.

The Experience Simon Modules encourage real-world problem solving, and application of the lessons learnt. The school also offers a wide range of case competitions, panel discussions and student clubs.

Frank G. Zarb School of Business (Hofstra)

Hofstra University’s Frank G Zarb School of Business is located on suburban Long Island, just 25 miles from Wall Street. The school has its own trading floor. The 2-year MBA program offers specialization in a wide range of fields: Finance, Health Services Management, Information Technology, International Business, Management, Marketing, Quality Management, Real Estate, Sports and Entertainment Management, and Taxation. Hofstra’s faculty includes industry experts from Wall Street. A salient feature here is that students can easily access faculty while maintaining a strong link with businesses and industry.

Besides a rigorous 41-48 credit core curriculum, students must also master a 15-credit concentration as well as a capstone course where they tackle intricate business problems with a cross-disciplinary focus. The curriculum encourages cross-pollination across disciplines. With proximity to leading Business, students benefit from high-value internships, as well as experiential learning segments that include real-time business consulting.

(CUNY) - Baruch College - Zicklin School of Business

Baruch College's business school is known as the Zicklin School of Business. It was established in 1919 and is located in New York City. The college offers a great reach with an alumni network of over 100,000 in the city. Students can choose between a 22-month program or a 17-month spring entry program. The curriculum incorporates team based, and activity oriented learning. MBAs gain leadership experience through competition, community service, travel grants, and student clubs.

Zicklin’s Leadership Speakers Series helps nurture visionary leaders. Students can specialize in subjects like Decision Sciences, International Business, and Industrial Organizational Psychology. They also have four core management topics to specialize in: Entrepreneurship, Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Operations Management and Sustainable Business.