Columbia Business School (CBS) offers not only a highly acclaimed MBA program ranked #1 globally by the Financial Times, but one that is located in New York City. It is hard to imagine any aspect of CBS that is not enhanced by its location in the world’s most famous city; outstanding faculty, business leaders visiting campus, and an endless array of networking and recreational opportunities are just a few examples. Applications to CBS are also timely, as the school inaugurated its new $600M Manhattanville campus – the most expensive business school ever built – in 2022.
CBS offers a well-rounded MBA program, with finance, real estate, marketing, and nonprofit among its strengths. With 51% of its latest MBA class being international citizens, and 42% being minorities of US origin, CBS also has one of the more diverse programs in the US. Students can choose between two intakes in a year: the traditional one starting in August and graduating in two years, and a 16-month option starting in January that does not include a summer internship. This latter term, dubbed J-Term, typically enrolls only about one third the number of students as August’s, and is especially attractive for sponsored students, entrepreneurs, and students with family businesses.
As for sector preferences, the 2022 class saw 37% of alumni pursue careers in finance, 34% in consulting and 16% in TMT. A full 17% of graduates took up positions in investment banking and brokerage, and 3.6% in real estate, both well above the average for US business schools. Notable CBS alumni include Henry Kravis (Co-Founder of KKR, MBA 1969), Emillio Lozoya (former Secretary of Energy of Mexico, MBA 1972), James Gorman (CEO of Morgan Stanely, MBA 1987), and Harvey Schwartz (former President and COO of Goldman Sachs, MBA 1996).
Small Town
Large City
100
1,000
Flexible
Structured
30%
90%
10,000
110,000
680
740
Top 25
Top 5
$100,000
$175,000
