10 Business Schools to Watch in 2023

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Poets&Quants’ “10 Business Schools to Watch” honors MBA programs that aren’t just adapting to the marketplace — they’re confusing. These schools keep a close eye on trends, trends and customized programs that make employers more competitive and more efficient. They acted as a roadmap and inspiration in the process.

Now in its eighth year, the feature features schools that operate like real businesses. Recognizing that complacency represents their biggest threat, the “business schools to watch” are always looking to do more and be more. They embrace their strengths, leverage their assets – and invest to maximize their impact. Take the Wharton School. This year, the program is bringing the Ivy League Executive MBA online to the masses, the first M7 program to do this work. Similarly, Georgetown University’s McDonough School has launched a major five-year plan with sustainability, international business and mentoring in its Jesuit DNA. In addition, Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business has pioneered employer partnerships that allow students to gain valuable hands-on experience.

What do the 10 business schools to consider in 2023 have in common? They charged ahead without fear of danger or criticism. They never allow their creativity to be swallowed up by bureaucracy or diluted by negotiations. They set forth what is necessary for students to harness the spirit of our age. More than anything else, they shaped the advantage, created an identity, and shaped a way to distinguish them. Along the way, they have overtaken their peers and become must-see programs.

10 business schools to watch that are setting the pace for business education

Which business schools are the best as we enter 2023? From IM Ahmedabad to Washington University’s Olin School, here are MBA programs to set the pace for the coming year.

The Wharton School’s Huntsman Hall. Courtesy photo

Is the online experience equivalent to an in-person classroom? Does the market pay a high price for a degree from a reputable brand?

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Come May, the Wharton School will go online with its Global Executive MBA. Technically, Wharton has been online for over a decade. After all, the school literally wrote the book on developing a MOOC with MBA-caliber programming taught by star faculty. However, Wharton is the first among the ‘Big 5’ business schools (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago and Northwestern) to offer an online hybrid MBA program. Running for 22 months, the program expects to initially enroll 60-70 students, increasing Wharton’s EMBA population to about 300 students.

One difference: three-quarters of the teaching is conducted in live online sessions, generally in the morning and late evening. The remainder will be held over five residential weeks at the Watton campus. In other words, Global EMBA students can get to know their classmates and professors in person while taking the majority of their courses.

“I’m not entirely comfortable calling it an online degree, because it means sitting in bed watching videos with your laptop,” Wharton senior vice dean for teaching and learning Brian Bushey said in a 2022 interview with Poets & Quants. Here, 100% of class time will be with one of our professors, and some will be in person.

This caution may be good on Bushi’s part. Wharton is charging $214,800 for the program — about the same price as its fully in-person EMBA programs in Philadelphia and San Francisco. In some ways, you have to admire Wharton’s confidence. Let’s face it: the school is simply applying the same faculty, programming, and support to its online audience, some of whom are expected to be executives from overseas. True, the online program includes less food and housing for students. However, on-site EMBs will tell you that this benefit is offset by the cost of returning to campus every two weeks.

Call it an option designed for executives who can’t give up two weekends a month for the Wharton MBA. For that flexibility, Wharton expects to add $15 million to its coffers from its first Global EMBA class. The program represents several risks to the Wharton brand. Unsurprisingly, P&Q Grizzled editor-in-chief John Byrne is happy to play devil’s advocate.

For one, Wharton poses the obvious question: Is the cost worth the return? He points to Indiana University’s Kelly Direct online MBA — the #1 online MBA program in the world — at $82,158, nearly a third of Wharton’s cost. At Boston University and the University of Illinois, Byrne added, online students can earn an MBA for about $25,000. When it comes to honors, Harvard Business School Online offers a somewhat viable option – though not a full degree program.

“Here’s another way to look at it: Executives can take every online course from Harvard Business School for $33,250. For that sum, you’ll find 19 courses in everything from business essentials to leadership and management, entrepreneurship and innovation, finance and accounting, strategy and business and society. HBS teaches its online students how to list their certificates and credentials from the school on LinkedIn and the old-fashioned written resume. Take each course for $33,250, or 15% of the cost of Wharton’s new online EMBA.

What’s more, Byrne notes, an online EMBA can compete with Watten’s on-site EMBA option against online players like Michigan Ross, Carnegie Mellon Tepper, and UC Berkeley Haas. “The school is betting that the online format won’t significantly disrupt its in-person programs in Philly/SF. But the affordability makes this a difficult proposition. Assuming the learning content and experience are the same, why would anyone choose the required 50 Friday/Saturday trips to Philly/SF over the same 22 month period, get certification from employers that they get every Friday off work, and commute hours when they can limit living quarters to a few module weeks. do you spend

Walton students walk through Locust Walk at the University of Pennsylvania. Courtesy photo

Within the MBA population itself, Berne wonders whether MBAs want to switch between on-site and online formats. And that’s not even counting how full-time MBAs — about 1,800 students — might respond to the addition of an online program.

“Adding a cohort or two of students to an already massive student population requires additional faculty resources,” Byrne wrote. “Full-time students may react negatively to both the proposed integration of the Wharton MBA and the list of full-time MBA faculty teaching.”

Those are big risks for Wharton. This past year, the school was ranked as the #1 full-time MBA program Financial Times, American news and world reportt, and Poems&Quants (Not counting first step #1). Still, launching an online program reveals something profound about the Wharton School. As many business schools grow their offerings, The Wharton School is continually investing in enhancing the student experience. That includes Tangen Hall, a center for entrepreneurship. At seven stories, Tangen Hall connects Penn’s startup and innovation communities, providing a space for young people to design, experiment, and scale their ventures.

“The new 70,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building features a food innovation lab, street-level storefront pop-up retail spaces for student retail, a virtual reality environment, a digital media lab, maker studios and lots of open work space. ” shares Blair Mannix, P&Q’s 2022 Admissions Director of the Year. “Tangen Hall Introduces New Partnership at Wharton School, Penn Engineering and Stuart Weitzman School of Design to Strengthen Penn’s Startup Ecosystem.”

This year, the Wharton School is launching a new focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The school does not only teach these areas. They are increasing, women represent the majority for two years in a row. Still, you could say scale and scope are the Wharton School’s greatest strengths. The school has an alumni network of 100,000 members in 153 countries, covering every industry, company and role. And then there’s the payoff, with Wharton graduates enjoying the biggest ROI of their careers for their MBAs.

“Wharton teaches business differently,” says Blair Mannix. We value “learning by doing” and provide an education that will help our students meet the biggest business challenges of tomorrow. Our program is versatile and innovative, and helps students gain work knowledge and specialist skills to expand career options and join one of the world’s largest and most prestigious alumni networks.

And what can future MBAs expect from the Wharton School? Ironically, the future – like continuing education – is exactly where the school will train its next positions. “I really want Wharton to be a trusted, lifelong partner in your pursuit of business education,” he explained in a 2022 interview with P&Q. “Obviously, we’ll try our best to educate you during the two years you’re here. But, we can’t teach you everything you need to know, and you never know what’s coming five years or 10 years down the road. Thinking about the customized, personalized journey doesn’t have to stop after two years.

Next page: Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management