Michigan Ross Broadens STEM-Designated Specialization to Create a More Accessible Path for Full-Time MBA Students
After announcing a new STEM-designated option last year, the Ross School of Business is broadening the Specialization in Management Science to make it more accessible to students in its Full-Time MBA Program.
In addition, Michigan Ross is allowing 2020 Full-Time MBA graduates who satisfied the updated requirements in the course of earning their degree, to receive the specialization retroactively.
These decisions by Michigan Ross align with the school’s commitment to listening and supporting current and future students and alumni. In part based on student feedback, the school launched the STEM-designated track and the Business Consulting Corps program to provide summer work experience to students whose internships were impacted by the pandemic. Ross also launched a standardized test waiver to 2020-21 Full-Time MBA applicants due to the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
“We constantly consider how we can support our students with a curriculum that helps them achieve their academic and professional goals, and we recognized an opportunity to greatly improve the pathway to qualify for the Specialization in Management Science,” said Brad Killaly, associate dean of MBA Programs at Michigan Ross. “I’m very pleased to expand the specialization’s scope and offer this more accessible STEM-designated path to Full-Time MBA students.”
Creating an expanded, more accessible STEM-designated specialization
The Michigan Ross Specialization in Management Science offers Full-Time MBA students the ability to customize their STEM-designated path to their interests through a diverse set of courses spanning seven academic areas. Course topics range from artificial intelligence for business to marketing engineering and analytics.
To develop a more accessible pathway for students, Michigan Ross expanded the number of applicable courses. This includes adding eight Ross courses to the foundation course category; two Ross courses to the elective course category; and 23 courses from U-M’s Schools of Engineering, Public Health, Information, and Environment and Sustainability to the foundation course category. The school also reduced the total number of required credit hours from 18 to 14.
The new changes to the specialization’s requirements were made after a comprehensive review by Michigan Ross, with a focus on increasing its scope and making the specialization an option for more students. For example, the updates allow Full-Time MBA students who are pursuing a degree through the Tauber Institute for Global Operations a more convenient path to earning the specialization.
Now available to 2020 Ross Full-Time MBA graduates
Michigan Ross worked to make the Specialization in Management Science available to 2020 Full-Time MBA graduates after listening to those grads and recognizing the value of being able to have the STEM-designation on their academic transcript.
Since Michigan Ross announced the STEM-designated specialization last year, interest for such options in full-time MBA programs has continued to increase.
The specialization is available to 2020 Ross Full-Time MBA graduates - including those who graduated in the winter, summer, and fall - who satisfied the requirements of the specialization in the course of earning their degree.
