These Are the Big Moves Business Schools Made in 2024
Credit: Image Courtesy of Purdue University- 2024 was a year of pivotal change for business schools.
- Business schools across the country rolled out AI-focused curricula this year.
- Another common theme was new online programs for working adults.
- Business schools also undertook major building projects.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has shaken up the business landscape, but business schools in 2024 embraced that change.
2024 was a year of business schools embracing and overcoming challenges. They adopted AI into their curricula, rolled out programs for working adults who want to upskill in tech, and planned ambitious new facilities to help them prepare for a rapidly changing world.
Those new curricula and programs have already shown promise: Business school applications are on the rise. An October report from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) showed a 12% increase in applications to business schools following two consecutive years of decline.
GMAC CEO Joy Jones said in a press release at the time that the record growth “hints at a pendulum swing toward graduate business education.”
That rise in applications was seen across degree formats, including in-person, online, and hybrid degrees.
Here are some of the factors that drove growth in 2024 — and will continue to shape the business education landscape.
Education for Working Professionals
New business degree programs launched in 2024 tend to share a common theme: They’re geared toward working professionals.
That includes hybrid, flexible programs that offer a mix of in-person and online learning.
Hybrid learning is a popular option for prospective business students, according to 2024 research by the consulting firm CarringtonCrisp. Master of business administration (MBA) students in particular want both the flexibility offered by an online program and the cohort-based networking of an in-person program.
Hybrid and online MBA programs launched in 2024 emphasize flexibility for working professionals.
Many offer asynchronous classes, and some — like the University of Arizona’s new one-year MBA to launch in 2025 — include in-person residencies and offer classes outside of work hours to help students earn their MBA without leaving the workforce.
Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School Vice Dean Andrew Knight previously said that “demand for flexible part-time graduate degree programs has skyrocketed in recent years” in announcing a Flex MBA program that launched in 2024.
The rapid growth of flexible MBA programs in 2024 will continue into 2025: Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business will launch a program geared toward working professionals in fall 2025.
That program’s structure “allows working professionals to build business acumen and network on a schedule that isn’t disruptive to their career or family commitments,” Brian Cameron, associate dean for professional graduate programs and executive education at Smeal, said in a press release.
Embracing AI
Business schools’ overwhelming adoption of AI into their curricula might be the biggest business education trend of 2024.
A GMAC survey found that the majority of business schools have adopted AI. Only 22% of business schools surveyed as part of the 2024 Application Trends Survey said they hadn’t incorporated AI into student learning.
Separate research from CarringtonCrisp found that AI is an important topic to prospective business students, who want to see it incorporated into their curriculum.
Business schools’ embrace of AI has taken a number of forms.
Rutgers Business School partnered with Google and revamped its curriculum to incorporate AI across classes. American University’s Kogod School of Business reworked its curriculum to focus on AI and machine learning. The University of Virginia Darden School of Business launched an institute dedicated to AI ethics. Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business rolled out graduate and undergraduate degrees in AI and financial technology (fintech).
Fintech is another rapidly growing field that includes a number of technologies that augment or automate finance for consumers. It also includes cryptocurrencies. Like AI, business schools took on fintech education in 2024, with some like Arizona State and other institutions launching degrees in that rapidly growing field.
Those specialized master’s degrees also reflect a growing demand for niche expertise from employers, BestColleges previously reported.
“To prepare our students to enter the global marketplace, we are being aggressive and bold with our curriculum,” Kogod Dean David Marchick said about launching the revamped curriculum.
“American University, like many others, is accelerating its AI-focused research agenda. But the driving force behind the changes we announce today is the impact we will have on the student experience — and on student outcomes after they leave us.”
While AI is set to grow in importance for employers, it won’t replace the strategic thinking and leadership skills taught at business schools: Employers told the GMAC that those human skills will remain most important in their hiring processes.
Record Gifts and Ambitious Plans
Rising applications and innovative curricula spurred new plans for the future at business schools across the country.
Purdue University’s new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business received major donations to build a modernized facility earlier this year.
Inaugural Daniels School Dean James Bullard previously told BestColleges that he expects the school’s mix of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) instruction and interdisciplinary work will position it for major moments in the coming years.
“Purdue’s in a great position to combine the business school with the technological prowess of the rest of the campus and create a distinctive brand that will challenge the top business schools in the nation,” Bullard said in an early 2024 interview.
Purdue isn’t the only school planning a major expansion. The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management launched a $600 million fundraising campaign in October that will include a new, state-of-the-art building on its Evanston, Illinois, campus.
Kellogg expects to break ground on the new building in early 2025. That new building will give students “an enhanced learning experience that seamlessly integrates in-person and virtual education to bring together students, alumni, corporate leaders and elite faculty around the world,” according to a press release from the school.
Daniel McCrudden, director of facilities administration at Kellogg, told BestColleges that the new facility will help executive education students across the globe feel like they’re studying in person.
“We learned a lot about hybrid learning through the pandemic, and that was a big consideration as we looked at the design and creating of our classrooms,” McCrudden said in a previous interview.
The University of Michigan Ross School of Business celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2024 — and used that landmark to plan for its next 100 years. The school this fall announced a new, 20,000-square-foot downtown Los Angeles campus to “serve as a hub of educational programming for executives.”
“This is what we see as a great way to capitalize on the momentum we have and build from it,” Ross School Dean Sharon Matusik told BestColleges in an interview.
Ross isn’t the only business school planning an expansion far from home.
Vanderbilt University is planning a $500 million campus and innovation hub in West Palm Beach, Florida, to serve roughly 1,000 students. The Palm Beach County Commission unanimously agreed in October to give Vanderbilt 5 acres of land in West Palm Beach, according to a press release from the school.
“A campus in the financial nerve center of West Palm Beach will provide rich new opportunities for our students and faculty,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in the release. “At the same time, it will allow us to bring our economic impact, innovative capacity, and spirit of radical collaboration to South Florida.”