STEM at Full Steam: on STEM MBAs, Immigration and Tech Jobs

(Published July 28, 2022; Updated September 19, 2022)

Fundamentally, most international applicants for MBA programs seek two things: a formative experience that will prepare them for attractive employment opportunities, and the prospect of working abroad post graduation. While traditional MBAs have long been designed to meet these needs, business schools are increasingly offering an additional, and arguably more attractive route: the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM MBA. 

The first top US business school to offer a combined program of business and technology was Cornell, which admitted an inaugural cohort of 39 students to its Tech MBA program in 2014. STEM’s watershed moment arrived in 2016, when a forecasted shortage of 1.1M STEM workers impelled the US Department of Homeland Security to bestow immigration benefits upon international graduates of STEM programs. Business schools took note, and began doing one of three things: offering majors in STEM subjects within their MBA programs, designating their MBA programs as STEM altogether, or offering separate Tech MBA degrees.  

On the immigration side of things, STEM-certified studies allow foreign students to obtain an extended Optional Practice Training (OPT) certificate, which is valid for two years, in addition to their one-year OPT after graduation. This entails a significantly higher chance of securing more longer-term stay permits, either by winning an H-1B visa – as one gets to participate in more of its lotteries during the extension – or by having additional time to apply to other visa or green card programs. You can read more on immigration here.   

On to jobs. While STEM MBAs are relatively new and vary in substance, there is a reason to believe they make good on their promise to improve employment prospects, at least partially. For one thing, among all recruiters, those from tech are currently the most bullish when it comes to hiring; a Corporate Recruiters Survey by GMAC indicates that 62% of tech companies are planning to hire international business school graduates during 2022, with consulting recruiters coming a distant second at 45%. Further, tech recruiters value “knowledge of tech, product design and production” among graduates more than recruiters from any other industry, at 55%. This appreciation is widespread. “Lack of technical skills” was cited by 46% of recruiters across all industries as hampering their confidence in graduates, the second most common concern after “limited functional work experience” with 49%. 

To what extent does all of this matter for international students? GMAC’s 2021 Application Trends Survey found that 42% of international graduate business students prefer a STEM program as compared to 24% of domestic candidates. From the perspective of business schools, 49% of the STEM-certified programs reported growth in the number of international applications, compared to 43% of programs without the certification.    

As of now, STEM MBAs have largely been confined to one side of the Atlantic. Madrid’s IE is thus far the only European business school to offer a Tech MBA, having admitted its first class in 2020. Barcelona’s IESE offers a concentration on Tech, Data Analytics & Digital Business as well. Neither confers immigration benefits.    

With that, here is the current state of play of STEM certifications in the top business schools: