Wall Street Journal article : Schools Rush To Add Science To MBA Programs Feb.,6, 2020

“Business schools are racing to add concentrations in science, technology, engineering, and math to their MBA programs as they try to broaden their appeal to prospective students overseas who want to work in the US.”

“Several schools have unveiled STEM-designated MBA degrees in recent months.”

“A STEM degree or designation will allow foreign graduates of US universities to apply for a work-authorization program that can extend their stay in the country by two additional years versus a more traditional business degree.”

MBA programs at UCal-Berkeley Haas, Northwestern-Kellogg, UNC-Keenan-Flagler, Purdue-Krannert, and Lehigh University are some schools which have created “STEM certified tracks for their MBA programs as a recruiting tool for international student applicants, a demographic that accounted for nearly 40% of all applicants to US business schools in 2019.”

This represents a dramatic change in US MBA programs designed to curtail shrinking applicant pools and to attract more foreign student applications.

I do not have a website link for the article as I receive hard copies of the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon, based in Seattle, Washington, announced recently that it is going to change their MBA hiring patterns. No longer will Amazon just recruit from the highest ranked MBA programs, now it will spread recruiting over 80 MBA programs in search of candidates who have both business & tech knowledge.

Many MBA programs are revamping their curriculums to include STEM elements / courses.

Amazon hires about 1,000 MBAs per year.