Business School Trends to Watch in the 2024-2025 School Year

The 2024-2025 academic year is a pivotal moment for business education.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping both the academic and business worlds. A growing number of employers are seeking skills related to sustainability from business graduates. Students are increasingly prioritizing flexibility and staying in the workforce while pursuing degrees.

From elite private institutions to small regional colleges, business schools are stepping up to give students high-demand skills and respond to workforce shortages. That includes launching innovative new degrees, making major investments in emerging technologies, and meeting students where they are with flexible delivery methods.

Here are a few trends to watch in a rapidly evolving business education landscape this academic year.

Students and employers alike say AI skills are going to grow in importance in the coming years — and a number of business schools are adopting the high-demand technology into their curriculum.

Top schools have significantly ramped up their AI investments. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in June announced a new initiative focused on boosting both AI research and student instruction.

“Artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally transform every sector of business and society, and the world needs reliable, evidence-based insights about its practical and responsible use today,” Wharton School Dean Erika James said in a press release at the time.

The American University Kogod School of Business is another example of a top business school embracing AI. Starting this fall, Kogod will roll out 20 new and updated courses with a focus on artificial intelligence. That initiative will infuse AI technical training and decision-making throughout its curriculum.

Like James, Kogod Dean David Marchick noted that AI is a vital skill for future business leaders.

“Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and business students need to be prepared to utilize applications for generative AI on day one of their future jobs,” Marchick said.

A number of new AI-focused degree programs are launching this fall at schools across the business education landscape. Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business will launch both graduate and undergraduate degree programs in AI. That will complement ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s partnership with the university.

Daniel Mazzola, a clinical professor in the information systems department at the W.P. Carey School of Business, said in a previous interview that the new degrees will focus on both a mix of technical training and strategic decision-making.

“What we want to do is make sure that the management and the future leaders and the entrepreneurs of the future have the awareness of the transformational powers of artificial intelligence when used for good,” he said.

Combining leadership skills with knowledge of AI is a common theme as business schools integrate the emerging technology into their curriculum. The University of Rochester Simon Business School will also launch an AI-focused business master of science (MS) degree this fall with an emphasis on integrating AI into decision-making.

“AI technology is rapidly transforming the world of business,” Simon Business School Dean Sevin Yeltekin said in a press release.

“Our online MS in business analytics and applied AI is uniquely positioned to provide professionals with the advanced skills needed to leverage AI in data analysis and decision-making processes to add value to their organization.”

AI degree programs tend to feature cross-university collaborations. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, for example, a new AI-focused master’s degree will feature specializations in business as part of a collaboration with the WPI Business School.

The rise of AI doesn’t mean that employers are abandoning the human skills taught during a business education. A recent Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) survey found that employers still value problem-solving, strategic thinking, and leadership, and expect those skills to remain important going forward.

Expect the liberal arts and humanities to remain a part of business education. Purdue University Dean James Bullard previously signaled the ongoing importance of communication and related skills in addition to tech skills in an interview with BestColleges.

“In order to be successful, every single one of those students needs to be a good communicator,” Bullard said. “They have to be able to write well. They have to be able to communicate proposals well. They have to be able to explain technology to a group that may not be as well-versed as they are in the technology.”

Washington College in Maryland will soon launch a business school with a focus on liberal arts. College President Michael Sosulski previously told BestColleges that liberal arts will remain an important part of business education.

“You’ve studied multiple disciplines that are radically different from each other,” Sosulski said. “And that has trained you to think through problems from really different perspectives and problem-solving frameworks.”

With demand for “green skills” growing faster than the sustainability workforce, sustainability education is another area to watch during the 2024-2025 school year.

Like AI, sustainability is a topic on the rise in business education. A 2024 GMAC report found a high interest in sustainability among prospective graduate business students, with roughly 68% of those surveyed indicating that sustainability was important or very important to their education.

That has translated into action from students at top business schools. Students from some of the world’s top master of business administration (MBA) programs launched a pledge to combat climate change earlier this year.

“The climate crisis necessitates a fundamental transformation of the global economic framework, which will shape business strategies for decades to come,” Peter Golding, a Cambridge MBA candidate and Climate Legacy Commitment co-founder, said in a press release at the time.

That high interest from students has translated into a greater focus on sustainability at business schools.

The University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business will launch a combined MBA and master of climate solutions program as a cross-university collaboration with its Rausser College of Natural Resources this fall.

“Having this collaboration means that students can get a really strong business education, but then they can also, if they’re interested, get a really technical understanding of climate science and climate solutions,” Haas Associate Director of Sustainability Katherine Baird previously told BestColleges.

Haas has long led the charge on sustainability in business education, and its new program speaks to a broader trend beyond sustainability education. Whether a new business school program focuses on AI, financial technology (fintech), cybersecurity, or other high-demand areas, cross-university collaboration is becoming a focal point of modern business education.

The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) will launch a master’s degree in sustainable business this fall. That program embraces several other trends in business education, including incorporating stackable credentials into a flexible curriculum for students.

In a previous interview with BestColleges, Robert Hobbins, a clinical assistant professor of sustainability at CU Denver, stressed the importance of cross-university collaboration to give business students a holistic look at sustainability.

“It’s important that our business students have deep disciplinary or topical knowledge on particular issues,” Hobbins said.

There was a time when pursuing a business degree meant stepping away from the workforce. That time is over.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, flexible online and part-time degree programs were growing. Now, flexibility is vital for prospective business students.

The 2024 CarringtonCrisp Tomorrow’s MBA report found that students want “the best of both worlds” in terms of hybrid learning. More than entirely online or entirely in-person study, students increasingly want a mix of both.

“People want the flexibility that online study provides them whether that’s synchronous or asynchronous, and they want the face-to-face to give them the experience, and to give them the networking more than anything else,” report co-author Andrew Crisp previously told BestColleges.

In-person study with hybrid options is overwhelmingly popular. A 2023 GMAC report found that Gen Z students were actually even more likely to say they wanted to study in-person than millennial students, although they emphasized flexibility and remote options in their education.

Hybrid learning options for working students is increasingly popular in business education — especially in the MBA space, where students tend to have more experience under their belt and are looking to break into leadership roles.

Among the schools debuting MBAs with a focus on flexibility this fall is Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), which will launch a Flex MBA program.

WashU Olin Business School Vice Dean Andrew Knight said in a previous press release that “demand for flexible part-time graduate degree programs has skyrocketed in recent years.”

A number of smaller, regional schools have debuted their own entirely online MBA programs, presenting students with more affordable options. Schools with plans to launch online MBA programs in fall 2024 include New Jersey’s Kean University, Iowa’s Northwestern College, and Michigan’s Lake Superior State University.

Stackable credentials are another area within the broader topic of flexibility to watch.

The University of Jamestown, a private North Dakota university that also plans to launch an online MBA program in fall 2024, molded its entire curriculum around letting students earn credentials in growing fields like supply chain management, agribusiness, and healthcare administration.

Michael Brizek, director of online business programs for the University of Jamestown and a professor of business administration, previously told BestColleges that stackable credentials allow students to get more value out of their degree.

Adding a credential in agribusiness, for instance, could help students use their MBA to break into an industry that needs managers.

“Farming and agribusiness is a multibillion-dollar industry in the Midwest, and there is a talent gap there as far as the management and administration of agribusiness itself,” Brizek said.

Stackable and nondegree credentials can boost employability and earnings, BestColleges previously reported.

A growing number of schools are offering certificates, credentials, and related short-term trainings either as part of their degree programs or individually.

The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, for example, rolled out a microcredential in the burgeoning field of fintech earlier this year. That 4.5-credit-hour course is open to all professionals with a four-year undergraduate degree.

Offering short-term credentials is a boon to both students and colleges. Students can gain relevant skills and boost their resume — and colleges can connect with a larger number of professionals who may one day be interested in pursuing a graduate business education.