With enrollment in two-year general management programs across the US slumping, business schools are tweaking their offerings with shorter, specialist courses. New York University’s Stern School of Business is hoping to court a generation of MBA-skeptics by launching two new tailored programs. Starting next Spring, students at Stern will have the option to embark on a one-year Tech MBA or the Fashion and Luxury MBA.
 
The Tech MBA is a no-brainer as many of today's fastest-growing companies are in the tech sector, which is why MBA hopefuls might consider specializing in the field. The Fashion and Luxury MBA is likely to be a niche choice.
 
"We are looking to start with 20 students,” Jeff Carr, director of Stern’s Fashion Lab — the specialist course teaching centre, told the Financial Times.
 
“If in a few years I can bring in 60 who are passionate about the fashion industry and get them into this business that would be an absolute qualified success,” added Carr.
 
Specialist masters’ courses and MBA programs focused on fashion are in vogue in top business schools, including HEC Paris, London Business School, Politecnico di Milano School of Management and EMLyon.
 
Schools in the US also cater to the special needs of marketing professionals in the fashion business. A Bachelor of Science Degree in Design and Merchandising offered by Drexel University in Philadelphia is an intricate blend of fashion and business. New York’s Parsons The New School for Design offers targeted fashion marketing programs integratating design, craft, and marketing. You can read more about the Parsons advantage on our website. (www.braingainmag.com/fashion-marketing.htm)
 
Stern proposes to charge $96,000 for its specialist fashion MBA, compared with $138,000 for its full-time program. Median pay for freshly-minted MBAs securing jobs in consultancies stands at $140,000, while for those working in the fashion industry it is $95,000, according to Transparent Career, a US employment service that analyzes starting salaries.
 
Stern's new focused MBAs will incorporate real-world business projects and hands-on learning. The inaugural classes for the Tech MBA and Fashion and Luxury MBA will start in May 2018. Students will take 51 credits over 12 months and earn an MBA from Stern in one year.

“Stern’s Tech MBA and Fashion and Luxury MBA are intentionally designed for a specific type of MBA candidate, one with a definitive career focus and a passion for these fields,” said Raghu Sundaram, Vice Dean for MBA Programs and Online Learning, at the Stern School of Business.

For students with a strong interest in innovation and entrepreneurship, experts say a tech MBA may be a better fit than a traditional MBA degree with a concentration in marketing or finance. Stern's Tech MBA is designed for business candidates with strong tech backgrounds. The program will help them advance their careers in product management, fintech and tech entrepreneurship. The program’s tech core was designed with NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Stern will rope in its large faculty of computer and data scientists.

Peter Henry, dean of NYU Stern, says the Tech MBA hopes to plug an acute need for people in the tech industry who understand both business and technology.

The average MBA starting salary among 2016 graduates of business schools ranked by US News and World Report who were hired by tech companies was $110,538.


Uttara Choudhury is a writer for Forbes India and The Wire. In 1997, she went on the British Chevening Scholarship to study Journalism in the University of Westminster, in London.