Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School boasts a world-class faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, and a balanced integrated curriculum. One more aspect which gives it a major advantage over most other MBA programs. That advantage, of course, is its location in New York City, one of America's premier business centers and perhaps the finance capital of the world. But Columbia also brings all of the above-mentioned assets to the table, thereby offering a formidable university-city tandem. As one student puts it, "Columbia mirrors its city host - a beautifully mixed elixir of personality and ambition."
Finance is still the powerhouse department at Columbia - "It's a great school for finance-oriented careers!' bragged a typical MBA - although students also commend the "very challenging classes in entrepreneurship and management of organization." Others praise the "unique concentration in entertainment and media," while many voice approval for the "strong international emphasis" in their courses. Some students, however, still complain that "some nontraditional areas - nonprofit, for example - need improvement," while others point out that Columbia is "still weak in some non-finance areas, but constantly making improvements."

First-year studies at Columbia are entirely devoted to the "well-integrated" core curriculum, which focuses on four themes: globalization, total quality management, ethics, and human resource management. Each group of entering students - Columbia admits two groups, one in September and one in January - is divided into "clusters" of approximately sixty students who take all core courses together. During their second year, Columbia MBAs may choose a filed of concentration (although they are not required to do so). Eleven areas of concentration are available, with some departments offering areas of sub concentration; finance majors, for example, have the option of concentrating in corporate financial management, futures markets analysis, investment management, or real estate finance. Students may also develop their own areas of sub concentration in conjunction with the many other leading academic departments within the university.

Students give their professors mixed grades, noting that "we have some excellent professors but we also have some poor professors" and that professors in general are more research - than teaching-focused, but you learn who's good." Several students, however, volunteered that "most of the professors will go out of their way to help students out. They make themselves accessible outside the classroom." Another points out that "the New York City location means excellent adjunct professors who are current leaders in their fields."