The best business school for a particular student will depend on many factors, including the student’s current education level, previous work experience, career goals, and life circumstances.
Many schools offer four-year Bachelor of Science degrees in business administration and one- or two-year Master of Business Administration degrees.
In addition, a number of schools offer part-time and full-time programs and online programs, as well as dual degree programs, meaning that students can earn a business school degree alongside a degree in another field, such as nursing, law, public affairs, engineering, or another subject.
Most business schools have some key features in common: students will have opportunities to network with local business leaders and intern at companies in the region.
Of course, when “local” is a few hours (or a few minutes!) from Wall Street, “local business leaders” can mean anything from the owners of mom-and-pop shops to the CEOs of multinational investment banks.
Hands-on experience is highly prioritized by business schools, and, in addition to internships, many integrate real-world projects into their educational programs.
Students can consult for local businesses, create start-ups, engage in venture capital investment, and graduate with real practical skills.
As the world has become increasingly interconnected, the skills necessary to operate a global enterprise have expanded.
Accordingly, business degree programs now encourage students to concentrate on a variety of subspecialties, including technology, supply chain management, health care management, information systems and data analytics, real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, and more.
Here are 10 of the best business schools in New York. These schools were selected for this list as they are frequently included in online publications of the best business schools in New York state.
New York University Stern School of Business (New York, NY)
New York University Stern School of Business (students call themselves “Sternies”) prides itself on being on the cutting edge of business innovation. The school’s finance program is ranked #3 by U.S. News & World Report and #1 by The Princeton Review.
A majority of students at Stern get a Bachelor of Science in Business, a part-time MBA, or a two-year full-time MBA.
For students who know exactly what they want to do, NYU has two one-year specialized programs: the Luxury & Fashion MBA and the Andre Koo Tech MBA allow students to complete an MBA in half the usual time and at half the usual cost.
Students in the Luxury & Fashion MBA program are paired with an industry executive mentor, enabling them to build the relationships that are crucial to a career in the fashion industry.
Through Stern Solutions, businesses can tap the Stern talent pool and students can gain unique experiences, such as evaluating sustainability in retail businesses and developing capital markets in emerging economies.
Stern’s International Business Exchange Program (IBEX) has partners in Singapore, China, Australia, Denmark, England, France, Hong Kong, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, Spain, and Thailand, allowing students to spend a semester at a business school in another country.
Notable alumni include the current and former CEOs of multiple Fortune 500 companies, including the New York Stock Exchange, Chase Manhattan Bank, McKinsey & Company, and CBS.
Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management (Ithaca, NY)
The Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management is ranked #15 by U.S. News & World Report on their list of Best Business Schools and #9 by Forbes.
Cornell is located in the town of Ithaca, NY, and students who visit the campus may quickly become familiar with the slogan “Ithaca is Gorges,” a reference to the area’s stunning, glacier-carved rivers and waterfalls.
In addition to a full-time two-year MBA in Ithaca, the Johnson school offers a one-year STEM-designated Cornell Tech MBA, in which students devise technological solutions and forge relationships with industry partners and venture capitalists based in NYC.
Johnson’s specialized programs include the Executive MBA Metro NY, offered on weekends in NYC for working professionals who wish to upgrade their skills without delaying their career progress by taking time away from work.
Cornell’s programs are immersive and encourage students to select an area of specialization early on, such as digital technology, capital markets and asset management, or strategic operations.
Although Cornell is the largest of the Ivy League schools, Johnson maintains a deliberately small student body of approximately 650; students come from a variety of backgrounds and engage in collaborative projects that foster productive and long-lasting relationships.
Columbia Business School (New York, NY)
Columbia Business School is one of the oldest business schools in the world and has been co-ed since its founding in 1916. It is ranked #8 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Business Schools.
The NYC-based school recently moved to its new $600 million Manhattanville campus in January 2022, which includes two buildings by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the FxCollaborative architecture firm. The new campus design is intended to foster community among faculty and students and integrate the school into its upper Manhattan neighborhood.
Columbia’s Digital Future Initiative is a think tank devoted to exploring the transformation of the global economy in the digital age and the ways in which emerging technology is becoming woven into every facet of daily life.
It encompasses four research labs dedicated to interdisciplinary work in engineering, law, policy, and medicine, that address subjects as varied as blockchain technology, algorithmic decision-making, automation, and the evolution of media and entertainment.
Columbia Business School Executive Education Division’s recently launched program Business and Climate: The Journey to Net Zero is an immersive, interactive program for future leaders to examine the present and future impacts of climate change, investigate strategies for industry response, gain an understanding of concepts like green finance and net zero portfolios, and learn to manage organizational change.
Columbia has been identified by Forbes magazine as a “billionaire cluster”: almost 90% of finance billionaires with MBAs earned their degrees from three universities, one of which is Columbia.
Baruch College Zicklin School of Business (New York, NY)
Baruch College Zicklin School of Business is a member of the City of New York (CUNY) system and offers the top-ranked public MBA in the state. It is the largest business school in the United States and has over 10,000 enrolled students.
The Weissman Center for International Business Internship Program places students with companies in the NY metro area based on the student’s area of interest; companies include public and private enterprises in finance, entertainment and media, law, fashion, health care, and specialty businesses.
The Zicklin School offers MBA, MS, and executive degree programs, including an Evening MBA program offering either full-time or part-time study and a dual degree JD/MBA program with Brooklyn Law School and New York Law School.
Baruch is home to a number of cross-disciplinary institutes, including the Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity (RZCCI), which prepares students to confront ethical dilemmas in the modern business world, such as corporate governance, responsibility, and transparency, risk assessment and mitigation, and ethics in global business development.
The Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute develops research on crucial subjects such as comparative market analysis, asset repositioning, public transportation, historical preservation, energy efficiency, and more, and shapes policy recommendations for industry and related agencies and organizations.
Notable Baruch alumni include Anthony Chan, the chief economist at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Oscar N. Onyema, the CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and Stuart Subotnick, the President and CEO of Metromedia.
University of Rochester Simon Business School (Rochester, NY)
The University of Rochester Simon Business School offers a full-time and a part-time MBA, MS, and a variety of PhD programs, including finance, computer information systems, and operations management.
Simon emphasizes the teaching of analytical thinking to create practical responses to real-world problems and was the first business school to offer STEM-designated business degrees that prepare students for the data-driven climate of business today.
Simon is committed to furthering the role of women in business, and partners with Forté, an alliance of corporations and business schools that work to increase the number of women in the corporate sector.
Simon students gain experience through hands-on projects: Simon Vision Consulting pairs students with Rochester-area companies to provide business insights and help local firms address their most pressing challenges while establishing meaningful relationships within the Rochester community.
The Simon Venture Fund is a seed fund managed by MBA students. With the guidance of an advisory board composed of successful industry professionals, students learn to make sound investment decisions related to venture capital, private equity, and entrepreneurship.
Fordham University Gabelli School of Business (New York, NY)
Fordham University Gabelli School of Business is a private, Jesuit research university in NYC with a commitment to ethics and creating future business leaders who will know how to enact transformational change. The school has campuses in the Bronx and near Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Gabelli #12 in Accounting, Finance, and International Business, and the school offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business as well as specialized programs, including an Executive MBA, a dual JD and MBA, and a PhD in Business Administration.
Gabelli encourages its 40,000-member global alumni network to remain involved by hiring Gabelli students and graduates as interns and employees and making themselves available to answer questions and discuss their career paths with current students.
Fordham is one of a limited number of universities globally to incorporate Bloomberg terminals into their educational offerings, providing practical hands-on experience with a critical analytical tool used by the leading decision-makers in finance, business, and government to analyze markets, interpret developing news, and track ongoing and historical trends.
Multidisciplinary industry collaborations provide top companies with access to Gabelli’s talent pool and enable students to build relationships with industry leaders.
Specialized programs include the First-Year Diversity Scholars Program, which identifies top students who are Black, Hispanic, and Native American for career-path preparation, and the Esteé Lauder Internship Program, which offers placements for undergraduate students with Esteé Lauder’s Global Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability team.
Distinguished alumni include Maria Elena Lagomasino, former CEO of JPMorgan Private Bank and current director of The Coca-Cola Company; Stephen J. Hemsley, executive chairman of the board of UnitedHealth Group, Inc.; and Jack Keane, retired four-star general, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and current national security analyst and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War.
Rensselaer Lally School of Management (Troy, NY)
The Lally School of Management emphasizes data-driven thinking and seeks to create analytical and innovative global leaders. In addition to a traditional MBA, Lally offers STEM-designated master’s degrees in business analytics, quantitative finance and risk analytics, and supply chain management.
The Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship (SCTE) at Lally seeks to teach the principles of entrepreneurship and provide students who have innovative ideas with a pathway for turning those ideas into viable businesses.
The Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT), a partnership between RPI and Stevens Institute of Technology, is currently working on preventing financial fraud in cryptocurrency by advancing blockchain technology.
RPI is partnering with the National Science Foundation New York I-Corps Hub to enable students to turn their technological innovations into commercial enterprises; projects are likely to include novel research in materials, software, hardware, medical devices, and more.
Marist College School of Management (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Marist College School of Management was founded as a Catholic religious institute and became a secular school in 2003. Situated in the picturesque Hudson River Valley, the school is surrounded by natural beauty and only a brief train ride from Manhattan.
Marist seeks to educate visionary business leaders of the future, providing them with the analytical skills and ethical foundations necessary for success. Undergraduates receive a liberal arts education that highlights the fundamental principles of business.
The Investment Center houses an operational trading floor with professional resources, including 12 Bloomberg terminals, a stock ticker, and large-screen TVs.
Students from all disciplines can access up-to-the-minute news and data for research, analysis, and a realistic taste of working on a Wall Street trading floor.
Among Marist’s notable faculty members is Accounting Professor Tracey Niemotko, who was selected in December 2022 as one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential people.
Notable Marist alumni include New York City’s current mayor, Eric Adams.
Syracuse University Martin J. Whitman School of Management (Syracuse, NY)
The Syracuse University Martin J. Whitman School of Management prioritizes an interdisciplinary approach and hands-on experience, ensuring that students are exposed to various ideas and perspectives.
The school provides multiple opportunities to gain real-world experience; for students interested in community engagement, the South Side Entrepreneurial Connect Project seeks to promote investment and business development on Syracuse’s South Side.
The Whitman School offers a degree in entrepreneurship, one of only a handful in existence nationwide. The Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises track combines academic coursework with hands-on experience and extracurricular activities to provide an outstanding education.
Among the school’s specialized programs is the Defense Comptrollership Program, which educates students on resource management in uncertain or volatile environments in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Clarkson University Reh School of Business (Potsdam, NY)
The Clarkson University Reh School of Business undergraduate degree in global supply chain management is ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report among global supply chain management programs nationally.
The program incorporates concepts and faculty from multiple disciplines to create a collaborative systems approach.
The school offers research opportunities in collaboration with faculty for interested students; recent subjects have included climate change mitigation strategies for the fossil fuel industry, the impact of El Niño on food and agricultural stock prices, and teaching ethics in accounting.
The Reh School’s online MBA program is ranked in the top 100 Best Online MBA Programs of 2023 by U.S. News & World Report.
The Brookings Institution has rated Clarkson among the top ten schools in increasing the lifetime earnings of its alumni, and one in five Clarkson graduates is an owner, CEO, or senior executive of a company.
Clarkson’s notable alumni include Martin Roesch, the CEO of Netography, founder of Sourcefire, and notable network security expert, and Brenda Louise Romero, Game designer and developer of the Wizardry role-playing series and one of PC Mag’s Top Ten Most Influential Women in Game Development 2018.
