The entire basis of modern computing came from Silicon Valley. Companies in San Francisco and the Bay Area reinvent technology almost weekly. Uber transformed transportation around the globe. Tesla reinvented the electric car for a newer, cleaner era. Apple changed what connectivity means with the smartphone. Hollywood effects deliver entertainment experiences that are right next door to real life.
It’s inevitable that all things science, tech, engineering, and math born from bright minds in the Golden State would have an impact on business around the world. And now, California’s universities have reinvented the business degree with some of the best STEM MBA programs in the world.
MBA STEM Programs Are a Recent Innovation To Keep Up With Developments in Business and Technology
Our society and our future relies on science, technology, engineering, and math. This fact can’t be overstated. Although modern businesses usually involve all those disciplines, a business degree is not traditionally thought of as being STEM-centered. So the fact that many MBAs in California and elsewhere in the country, are now designated as STEM programs means there’s a powerful new option for business grad students interested in leaning hard into a tech-reliant future.
A 2022 Report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that STEM MBA grads had a 97% job placement rate within six months of graduation, higher than MBA grads in other disciplines.
It doesn’t take a lot of reflection to see that all the scientific breakthroughs in the world, the most creative engineering, and the latest technology don’t really happen in isolation. Instead, it’s through the course of business that they are chiseled into applications that impact society. Management, organization, communication, budgeting, distribution… it’s all part of the world of business studies. And they are all being changed almost daily by STEM innovations.
By combining those traditional MBA components with rigorous technical and quantitative training, California’s business schools are turning out graduates that have a deep understanding of how almost every aspect of business intersects in some way with technology, engineering, and the sciences.
Is an MBA A STEM Degree?
Does an MBA count as STEM? It’s a simple question with a complicated answer that all depends on how you’re asking it.
MBAs with a certain focus and curriculum components do meet the definition, others however, do not.
An MBA isn’t a STEM degree in the sense that you’ll complete the program qualified to build bridges, launch rockets, or write tight, functional code after graduation.
But in technical terms, business education degrees, including the MBA, can fulfill the official DHS (Department of Homeland Security) criteria for STEM education.
DHS uses the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CIP (Classification of Instruction Programs) codes to determine what programs are eligible for STEM certification.
STEM fields of study are defined as those… “included in the Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy within the two-digit series containing engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, or a related field. In general, related fields will include fields involving research, innovation, or development of new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science, or natural sciences (including physical, biological, and agricultural sciences).”
For the most part, those include the kind of studies you would imagine… everything from veterinary science to agronomy.
But on the official list from NCES, there are four CIP codes describing concentrations and curriculum components that open the door to STEM MBAs:
- Management Science
- Business Statistics
- Actuarial Science
- Management Science and Quantitative Methods
So What Exactly Is a STEM MBA at California Business Schools?
Not every program that involves management science is automatically categorized under those particular CIPs, however. And DHS does not actually consider or evaluate programs for STEM-designation. They only list the CIP codes they will accept as qualifying for STEM degrees.
There are also other types of STEM-degree designations, such as those used by the National Science Foundation.
Ultimately, it’s up to each school to evaluate its own degree programs and decide which CIP (Management Science, Business Statistics, Actuarial Science, Management Science and Quantitative Methods) they fall into. There is no official governmental authority that decides what business degrees meet STEM criteria and which do not.
That allows California’s top business schools a lot of latitude in how they put together their STEM MBA degrees. In essence, they simply need to determine that the primary purpose of the MBA program aligns with one of those four CIP code fields: Management Science, Business Statistics, Actuarial Science, Management Science and Quantitative Methods.
Exploring the Differences in STEM MBA Education Versus Regular MBAs in California
The fact that the decision is left to each individual university means that STEM-designated MBAs in California can be quite different from school to school. Each college can decide which elements of the curriculum serve to make their MBA more technically or quantitatively focused than the standard MBA focus of Business Administration and Management.
The major differences in STEM MBAs come through the addition of more rigorous coursework requirements in quantitative and statistical methods.
At UC Davis, these additions have been baked right into the core full-time MBA curriculum. Every MBA granted by the school to full-time students, no matter what concentration they select, qualifies as STEM.
But at California Miramar University, only the MBA in Data Analytics is offered as a STEM degree. The other MBA concentrations don’t include the qualifying coursework.
The Special Coursework You Can Expect in A STEM-Designated MBA
Because you can compare STEM and non-STEM MBAs at various business schools in California, it’s pretty easy to spot the differences in curriculum requirements between the two kinds of programs.
For the most part, you’ll find it happens in courses that focus on the management aspects of information systems, such as:
- Strategic Information System Management
- Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Administration
- Information Storage and Management
- Cloud Computing in Business
- Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing
But there are also plenty of programs that go even more hardcore, with straight-up tech classes like:
- Database Administration
- Python Programming
- Machine Learning
- Data Science and Analytics
The most rigorous STEM MBAs can include coursework that wouldn’t look out of place in a computer science degree.
These options can make an MBA program with STEM certification an excellent choice for students operating in the common intersection of high-tech development and the demands of the global market. Which is to say, basically anyone bound for careers in Silicon Valley or tech startups popping up in any corner of the world.
Why It’s Well Worth Earning a STEM-Certified MBA at One of California’s Top Business Schools
This all leads to the obvious question: Is a STEM-designated MBA worth it to you?
Of course, it will always depend on your career path. Are you pursuing a senior product management position at a top California tech firm like Meta or Google? Planning to launch your own startup with the hottest AI innovation of the decade? It’s hard to think of a cleaner alignment between these kinds of ambitions and a STEM MBA.
The reality is that there are fewer and fewer business opportunities in the world today that don’t benefit or even demand a strong familiarity with technology, science, math, or engineering.
Even executive positions which don’t immediately jump out as tech-focused are still being drawn in by the efficiency and accelerating impact of high tech.
A CFO (Chief Financial Officer) may be mostly responsible for accounting practices, investment analysis, and regulatory compliance. But the practical execution of those responsibilities today run through complex Enterprise Resource Planning software packages. Operational advantages in business happen as a result of intensive Big Data analysis. New efficiencies are gained with AI tools and robotics.
So STEM-designated MBAs are quickly becoming the option of choice for almost any sort of business career.
A STEM MBA Can Come With Significant Boosts in Career Prospects
A STEM MBA doesn’t come with a diploma that says STEM MBA on the front. But you don’t need to be shy about telling potential employers that your MBA is STEM-designated. The kind of coursework that comes with those degrees will set you apart in terms of skills and knowledge needed to manage some of today’s hottest industries.
That adds up to paychecks and job prospects that can beat the average for other California MBA graduates.
UCLA reported in 2020 that employers are increasingly interested in graduates who have an analytical and technological orientation in addition to traditional management skills.
Hard salary data is tough to come by in the world of executive management, but what you can find comes straight from university surveys looking at starting salary offers among graduates. UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, for instance, which has put STEM certification on all its MBA programs, reported that a quarter of their graduates in 2023 received job offers from the technology industry.
The median compensation for those positions was $146,729 to start, with almost three quarters of candidates receiving a signing bonus valued at an average of more than $50,000. That was the highest bonus level of any job category and third highest salary level.
Of course, even that doesn’t give a complete picture of the potential advantages of STEM MBAs, since there is no telling how many hires in other industries were also snapped up because of their STEM qualifications.
One thing is certain: having a STEM MBA is definitely not going to hurt your prospects for top jobs in any industry today.
The Big Question for International Students: Does an MBA Count as STEM for Visa Purposes?
Yes – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) STEM-designated MBAs count for the purposes of getting a student F1 visa and allows for Visa extensions for practical training even beyond the MBA program.
You may be asking yourself why the Department of Homeland Security is involved in evaluating STEM degrees in the first place? Well, it has a lot to do with visa and immigration policy.
STEM designation is a nice-to-have feature for many American students, but for international MBA students in California, it can be a career-changer.
That’s because of rules established by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding employment authorizations for students in the country on F1 visas.
In general, any F1 student may be eligible to take temporary employment in a position related to their field for up to 12 months after graduation. Called OPT, or Optional Practical Training, it’s been around since at least 1992.
That makes OPT a valuable extension that both lets you build up relevant experience in the field, while making contacts and attempting to land a permanent position in the United States that is eligible for other types of work visas.
The STEM OPT extension rule, however, can effectively double that period of eligibility. It was first adopted in 2008 and has been periodically adjusted, giving STEM professionals more time to get up to speed in their more challenging fields. Today, up to 24 months on top of the initial year can be granted, based on factors such as pre-graduation internships you may have participated in.
Given all the advantages that the state has for students from overseas, California STEM MBA programs are highly sought-after to help build careers both in the U.S. and internationally.
That’s a big deal for shaping your career and getting critical experience at an American company. In fact, employers are more likely to make offers to students they know won’t have to return home after only a year. It also offers some breathing room to work through the complex process of getting an H1B or other employment visa.
That’s been a key advantage for foreign students pursuing computer science and other technical degrees. But with the addition of MBAs to the STEM family, studying in the US is just as worthwhile now for business students.
Online STEM MBA Programs Offer Convenience but Come With Limitations for International Students
Like many other types of MBA degrees, online options are becoming commonly available with STEM-designated MBAs. They offer all the same conveniences for many students:
- Online STEM MBA programs deliver real flexibility in keeping up with coursework, removing your commute and sometimes allowing time-shifted courses you can work on any time of day or night
- An online STEM MBA can be more cost-effective, allowing you to live in a low cost-of-living environment while attending a school in a more expensive area, and letting you continue to work through your studies
- Choosing from among STEM MBAs online opens up your selection of schools to those that may otherwise be too far or not possible for you to relocate near
But there’s a catch for international students: the most common student visa, the F-1, allows only one class, or three credits, of online studies to count toward the required full-time load needed to stay in compliance with the visa.
That rules out a STEM MBA online in its entirety. It is still possible to pursue hybrid STEM MBAs, however, and many students put that flexibility to good use at schools that allow it.
It’s also the case that because of the intensive technical and analytical courses required for STEM MBAs, not every school offers them online. At CSU Chico, for example, only the on-campus MBA in Business Analytics qualifies for STEM. The Project Management concentration, which shares the same core coursework but is available both on campus and online, does not.
Are There 1-Year STEM MBA Degrees Available in California?
There’s nothing about a STEM MBA program that rules out other popular formats, either. So you will be able to find STEM-designated MBAs that come in fast-track one-year completion tracks, flexible and part-time programs, and even executive MBAs. The UC Riverside A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management has a professional MBA with year-round admissions that can be completed in as few as 64 quarter credits… just the thing if you’re a working professional who needs a fast-track to STEM success.
The USC Marshall IBEAR, a popular one-year international business education MBA, is STEM-designated and open to international students.
If you’re considering a 1-year STEM MBA in the USA, California is the place to get it. The fast pace of high-tech here plus the international connections mean that you are getting an up-to-date education in the latest tools and methods in both IT and management… with a valuable list of contacts to help get your career moving after you graduate in only twelve months.
As the wave of the future of business, STEM isn’t a field that any executive can afford to come up short with. STEM MBAs ensure that you have the mindset and the toolset to manage business in the 21st century.