Breaking News: Michigan Ross to Offer New STEM Track for Full-Time MBA Students

The new STEM track represents a significant move within the Full-Time MBA curriculum at the Ross School of Business, allowing students interested in pursuing quantitative management and business analytics roles across many industries to participate in a formal program. 

“Business analytics has become essential in helping organizations make strategic business decisions, and we are excited to announce this new pathway for our Full-Time MBA students who are interested in pursuing STEM-related careers in business,” said Scott DeRue, the Edward J. Frey Dean of Michigan Ross. “Our new STEM track will leverage the world-renowned general management curriculum at Ross to prepare students from a variety of backgrounds to be leaders in the business world of today and tomorrow.” 

Along with completing the required Full-Time MBA core courses, the STEM track will require 18 credit hours to be completed from a specific set of electives across many business disciplines, including accounting, finance, management and organizations, marketing, and technology and operations. 

Among the electives slated for the new track are Big Data Management: Tools and Techniques; Marketing Engineering and Analytics; and FinTech: Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Other Technology Innovations. 

Full details on the approved set of electives for the STEM track will be made available in February.

This announcement marks the latest in a series of innovations that Michigan Ross has implemented within its Full-Time MBA program and action-based learning curriculum. This year, Ross began offering a +Impact Studio course, in which Full-time MBA and graduate students from across U-M are translating insights from faculty research into solutions for pressing societal challenges. In addition, the school launched the Michigan Ross FinTech Initiative, a comprehensive academic program aimed at preparing students for successful careers in the rapidly growing fintech sector. 

Three years ago, Ross created a data and business analytics concentration, which has seen strong student interest. In addition, the school continues to expand its Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning (REAL) portfolio, a collection of experiences that allow students to start, advise, lead, and invest in real businesses while at Michigan Ross. 

“We are constantly looking for new ways to provide our students with the educational experiences and opportunities that will enable them to thrive in their future careers,” said Soojin Kwon, managing director of Full-Time MBA Admissions and Program at Michigan Ross. 

Current first-year Ross MBA students will be able to express their interest in pursuing the STEM track later this semester, and all incoming Full-time MBA students will be able to participate.