The Yale School of Management began in 1971 as the School of Organization and Management after Yale received a donation to fund the creation of a management program.
The school saw its first class in 1976 and became known as the Yale School of Management in 1994.
This program focused on educating managers who would be equally competent in nonprofit, business, and government roles, conferring a master’s degree in public and private management. The school started offering its students an MBA degree in 1999.
Yale’s business school offers its students a range of graduate programs alongside its traditional and executive MBA programs. The school offers master’s degrees in systemic risk, global business and society, asset management, advanced management, and public education management.
Further opportunities for graduate studies include the Yale Silver Scholars program that provides seniors in college the opportunity to obtain an MBA degree immediately after graduation and a number of joint program options.
Students interested in doctoral studies can choose from operations, financial economics, marketing, accounting, and organizations and management programs.
In addition to providing a wide range of degree programs to its students, the Yale School of Business also operates a number of centers and initiatives.
Among these are the Program on Social Enterprise, exploring methods for businesses to help achieve societal goals, and the Center for Business and the Environment, training future business leaders to meet challenges to the global environment.
Whether a student is applying to the Yale School of Business in order to begin work on an MBA, or as a more seasoned business leader seeking further education, the opportunities provided by the business school are some of the best available.
Yale School of Management Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate for the Yale School of Management is 28%.
The school saw 3,237 applications to join the class of 2024, and the school ultimately admitted 894 of these applicants.
This is an increase from the acceptance rate for the class of 2023, which saw 914 out of the 3,877 applicants admitted to the school for an acceptance rate of 24%.
Of the students admitted to the class of 2024, 347 chose to enroll in the school for an enrollment yield rate of approximately 38%.
Yale School of Management’s MBA class of 2024 had a median undergraduate GPA of 3.69 and the middle 80% GPA range for the class was 3.34 to 3.90.
For students who chose to submit GMAT scores, the median score was 725, and the middle 80% range of GMAT scores was 690 to 760.
The class averaged 4.7 years of work experience before entering the MBA program, with the largest single percentage of students coming from the financial services industry.
38% of the class majored in a STEM field during their undergraduate careers, and another 25% majored in business as undergraduates. The remainder of the class majored in either economics or the humanities and social sciences.
Yale School of Management Ranking
As one would expect of a business school with such a prestigious parent university as Yale, the Yale School of Management is highly ranked among business schools in the United States and worldwide.
Organizations such as QS World University Rankings, the Financial Times, U.S. News and World Report, and others all regard the Yale School of Management highly.
QS World University Rankings placed the Yale School of Management in 2020 at number 7 in its EMBA Rankings – North America list and at number 12 in its EMBA Rankings – Global list.
The Financial Times ranked the business school’s MBA program at number 9 in its MBA 2022 list and at number 4 in its Global MBA Ranking 2021 list.
2019 saw Forbes place the Yale School of Management at number 11 in its list of the best business schools.
US News and World Report gave Yale’s business school the number 7 spot in its 2023 list of the best business schools. For specialty rankings, the school placed even higher, at number 6 for the management and number 1 for the non-profit categories.
Bloomberg’s Best B-Schools 2022-2023 list places the Yale School of Management at number 10 among business schools in the United States. This ranking is an increase of two spots from the school’s place in the same list for the 2021-2022 year.
Whether looking at MBA programs for executives or regular MBA programs for those who are earlier in their careers, the Yale School of Management regularly places highly in the rankings lists from multiple institutions.
Yale School of Management Requirements
Keeping with the trend of many universities and schools reviewing a candidate’s overall strength and qualities, the Yale School of Management reviews applicants holistically. The application is completed online through the school’s application portal.
In order to be considered for admission into the school’s MBA program, applicants must hold an accredited four-year bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an international institution of higher learning.
Additional application materials required by the school include transcripts from all previously attended universities or colleges, the application essay, two letters of recommendation, GMAT or GRE scores, answers to the school’s video questions, a completed behavioral assessment, and the school’s application fee, if applicable.
Applicants will submit unofficial copies of all transcripts during the application process and will be required to submit official copies upon being conditionally accepted into the program.
Similarly, students will self-report all valid GRE or GMAT scores, and the school will request official scores upon conditional admission.
The essay question asks applicants to describe the most significant commitment they have ever made and how they fulfilled it.
No minimum GPA or GRE/GMAT score is needed to apply to the business school.
Applicants are not required to have previous work experience, although most do. The Silver Scholars program provides a pathway for college seniors to enter the program directly out of college.
Letters of recommendation should be from people who can speak to the applicant’s professional achievements and characteristics.
Yale’s behavioral assessment seeks to elicit an understanding of an applicant’s characteristics associated with success in business school, and the video questions and answers are designed to give the admission committee an understanding of the candidate’s communication skills before an invitation to interview is extended.
All applicants are required to participate in an interview with the admission committee as a condition for admission to the program.
The program offers three admission rounds with deadlines on September 13, January 5, and April 11. Decisions for each admission round are released on December 6, March 24, and May 18.
Notable Alumni of the Yale School of Management
Students who have studied at the Yale School of Management have used their education and degrees as springboards to success in various fields such as business, finance, politics, public service, and many others.
Beth Axelrod, former senior vice president of human resources at eBay and current vice president at Airbnb, earned her master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management. Co-founder and former CEO of CarMax, Austin Lingon, graduated from the school in 1980.
Indra Nooyi became the fifth CEO of PepsiCo in 2006 and earned her master’s in public and private management from Yale in 1980.
Adam Blumenthal graduated from the school of management in 1989 before founding Blue Wolf Capital Partners, a private equity firm located in New York, in 2005. The president and CEO of Women’s World Banking, Mery Ellen Iskenderian, also earned her MBA from the business school.
The founder and CEO of Ripplewood Holdings, LLC, Tim Collins, received his MBA from the Yale School of Management.
Donald Gips, the CEO of the Skoll Foundation and U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa under Barack Obama, graduated from the school on his way to success.
Hilary Pennington graduated from the school of management and became a major philanthropist and the current executive vice president of the Ford Foundation.
All of these successful alumni from the Yale School of Management are sure to serve as inspirations and role models to future generations of successful business leaders and public servants.
Should You Attend the Yale School of Management?
Whether interested in studying in one of the Yale School of Management’s MBA programs or in one of its other graduate and postgraduate programs, those who have selected Yale’s business school as their school of choice recognize the excellent educational opportunities afforded by enrolling at the prestigious business school.
Known for the emphasis placed on ensuring its programs provide skills for success in non-profit, business, and government ventures to students of the school, the Yale School of Management has seen many of its alumni apply the knowledge and expertise gained from studying at the school to socially conscious businesses and philanthropic enterprises alike.
Along with producing leaders in philanthropic and public service endeavors, the school has seen many graduates serve as executives and presidents of major international companies and financial enterprises.
The many centers and initiatives like the Program for Social Enterprise, Program on Entrepreneurship, and Center for Business and the Environment have undoubtedly contributed to the prestige of the school and the success its graduates have found in a wide variety of fields.
Research at the school explores areas such as public education, social impact, healthcare, and finance & society in order to continually advance methods for the meaningful contributions of business to society.
Highly ranked among business schools in the United States and from around the world by many of the major publications, the Yale School of Business is renowned for the opportunities afforded to its students and for the successes of graduates from its programs.
Choosing to study at the school has been an inflection point in the careers of many successful leaders, and future business leaders would be wise to consider applying to the Yale School of Management.
