Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, our regular column examining the programs, resources and opportunities that distinguish the leading MBA programs. Today we take a look at the academic specialization option at NYU Stern.
Though the Stern MBA is a general management degree, students may use their elective courses to complete up to three specializations of their choosing. Specializations are not required, but are often used to enhance personal knowledge in a specific field or to highlight an area of expertise on one’s résumé. Students declare their specializations through Stern’s Web Information System and may change their specializations at any point until they submit their application to graduate in the final semester of classes.
Stern offers more than 20 specializations in fields ranging from Leadership & Change Management to Corporate Finance. In general, each specialization requires nine credits, or 3-5 courses, though some may impose additional course requirements. For instance, students planning to specialize in Entertainment, Media & Technology (EMT) should register for the 1.5 credit Entertainment & Media Industries course early in their Stern careers, since this course provides the foundation for later study in the field. Upon completing this first course, EMT students then take 7.5 additional credits from among the graduate-level courses offered in the specialization.
Meanwhile, the Financial Instruments & Markets specialization requires students to complete nine credits from selected Finance department courses, six of which must be upper-level MBA courses. The structure of Stern’s specializations is similar to that of Chicago’s concentrations. In both cases, students are able to choose whether to pursue an area of focus, and each concentration or specialization typically requires just three courses to complete. This is in contrast with Wharton, where all students are required to complete a major, which usually consists of five or more elective courses.
For the full list of available specializations and more information on Stern’s academic opportunities, be sure to check out the Academics section of the Clear Admit School Guide to Stern!
Read the full article: Trivia Tuesday: NYU Stern’s Specializations