Here’s What Business Schools Will Be Teaching in 2025
Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images- Business schools are set to double down on AI, STEM, and fintech in 2025.
- 2024 saw business schools pivot to embrace AI.
- The vast majority of business schools now include AI instruction.
- Those tech skills are set to continue to be important going forward.
The University of Rochester’s Simon Business School ended 2024 with a major announcement: It is overhauling all of its master’s programs to focus on return on investment.
That overhaul will mean cutting tuition and embracing an accelerated format, according to a press release. Accelerated degrees are a popular option for students who don’t want to spend too much time out of the workforce, and business students prize return on investment in getting their degree.
It will also mean a greater focus on technology. The Simon Business School, which already focuses on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into its core curriculum.
“The program enhancements are driven by the evolving needs of the marketplace,” Sevin Yeltekin, dean of the Simon Business School, said in the release. “Incorporating AI broadly in our MS (master of science) programs, offering relevant specializations, and maintaining competitive pricing reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional value.”
That will include AI core courses, workshops, and specialized tech tracks, Yeltekin said in the release.
Simon Business School’s embrace of AI reflects a larger trend in business education. 2024 saw business schools pivot to respond to employer needs in that fast-growing field — and 2025 will likely bring more innovation in that area.
Here’s what business schools will be teaching in 2025.
Artificial Intelligence
A 2024 Graduate Management Admission Council survey found that the vast majority of business schools have incorporated AI into their instruction in some way or another.
In fact, just 22% of schools surveyed said they hadn’t incorporated AI into their curriculum.
That number of non-AI-adopters is likely to become even smaller in 2025. Last year was a sea change for business schools. They scrambled to incorporate AI into their courses as demand ticked up from both prospective students and employers.
A number of business schools, including at Rutgers University and American University, have infused AI throughout their curriculum. Others, like the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, have invested in AI to boost research and instruction.
Other schools have taken a different approach, with the Arizona State University (ASU) W.P. Carey School of Business and other institutions rolling out AI-specific business degrees.
The push for AI shows no sign of slowing at business schools in 2025, and that’s to their advantage.
Schools have been applying their existing expertise to AI. At the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, for instance, a new institute will leverage the school’s longstanding expertise in ethics for use in AI research.
“The same principles that guide ethical decision-making in other settings are applicable here,” Darden Professor of Business Administration Yael Grushka-Cockayne, one of the new institute’s academic directors, told BestColleges in a previous interview.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
STEM has become ubiquitous in business education.
2024 saw even more schools, including Harvard University and Yale University, land federal STEM designations for their master of business administration (MBA) programs. Those designations recognize a curriculum’s STEM instruction and also provide international students an avenue to stay in the U.S. after graduation.
STEM skills are set to continue to be important at business schools in 2025. Some universities, like Emory in Atlanta, have even scored STEM designations at the bachelor’s level.
Microcredentials and certificates in STEM fields like business analytics, data, and AI are a growing trend within business education. Those credentials often feature interdisciplinary collaboration between business schools and other departments of a university, like engineering.
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), for instance, announced a financial engineering certificate last year as a collaboration between its McKelvey School of Engineering and Olin Business School.
“There is strong demand from financial firms for individuals with the skill set needed to succeed in financial engineering, and this certificate is designed to help WashU students meet that need,” Olin Professor and Chair of Finance Todd Gormley, who is also the academic director of the school’s global master of finance program, said in a press release at the time.
Expect more STEM — and more certificates and microcredentials — at business schools in 2025.
Financial Technology
Financial technology, or fintech, is a broad field that includes technologies that enhance or automate finance for consumers and businesses.
That field is projected to grow at a meteoric rate and be worth more than $1.5 trillion by 2030.
A number of business schools have embraced this rapidly growing industry: Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts in 2023 announced fintech degrees, building on a longstanding expertise in the field, and ASU in August announced a fintech degree alongside its AI program.
“The market need for fintech professionals is driven by innovation within traditional financial institutions, increasing digitization of financial services, the need for financial inclusion, and an increasing focus on regulatory compliance,” Laura Lindsey, director of the Department of Finance and Cutler Family Endowed Professor at W.P. Carey, said in a release at the time.
“W.P. Carey students who complete the fintech curriculum will graduate ready to fill and lead in these roles.”
Other schools, including The Ohio State University, have rolled out microcredentials or certificates in fintech.