Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School
Established 1916
Type Private business school
Endowment $643 million[1]
Dean R. Glenn Hubbard
Academic staff
 136
Postgraduates 1,433
~100
Location New York, NY, USA
Campus Urban
Affiliations Columbia University
Website gsb.columbia.edu

Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students. It is one of six Ivy League business schools, and its admission process is among the most selective of top business schools.[2]

History

Logo introduced in the 1950s
Logo introduced in the 1990s

The School was founded in 1916 with 11 full-time faculty members and an inaugural class of 61 students, including 8 women. Banking executive Emerson McMillin provided initial funding in 1916, while A. Barton Hepburn, then president of Chase National Bank, provided funding for the School's endowment in 1919. The School expanded rapidly, enrolling 420 students by 1920, and in 1924 added a PhD program to the existing BS and MS degree programs.[3][4]

In 1945, Columbia Business School authorized the awarding of the MBA degree. Shortly thereafter, in the 1950s, the School adopted the Hermes emblem as its symbol, reflecting the entrepreneurial nature of the Greek god Hermes and his association with business, commerce and communication.[5]

In 1952, CBS admitted its last class of undergraduates. The school currently offers executive education programs that culminate in a Certificate in Business Excellence (CIBE) and full alumni status, and several degree programs for the MBA and PhD degrees. In addition to the full-time MBA, the school offers four Executive MBA programs: the NY-EMBA Friday/Saturday program, the EMBA-Global program (launched in 2001 in conjunction with the London Business School), the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA program (launched in 2002 in conjunction with the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley), and the EMBA-Global Asia program (launching in 2009 in conjunction with the London Business School and the University of Hong Kong Business School). Students in jointly run programs earn an MBA degree from each of the cooperating institutions.

On July 1, 2004, R. Glenn Hubbard became Columbia Business School's eleventh dean. Hubbard, the former chair of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, has worked at the intersection of the private, government and nonprofit sectors and played an active role in shaping national and international economic policy, including the deregulation policy leading up Wall Street bank failures in 2008. In Charles Ferguson's 2010 documentary, Inside Job, when prompted, Hubbard strongly maintains that his political and financial connections to government and Wall Street firms do not create any potential academic conflict of interest.

Campus

Butler Library
Low Memorial Library

Today, Columbia Business School is primarily housed in Uris Hall, a recently renovated 1960s structure at the center of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus. An auxiliary space, Warren Hall, is situated on Amsterdam Avenue and is shared with the law school. Eventually, the school will be moved to a new, more spacious facility at Columbia's planned new campus on 125th Street in Manhattanville, currently under construction.[6]

Uris Hall, standing behind Clement Meadmore's 1968 sculpture "The Curl"

In October 2010, Columbia Business School announced that alumnus Henry Kravis, the billionaire co-founder of private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR & Co.), pledged $100 million to fund expansion of Columbia Business School, the largest gift in its history. The donation will go toward construction of the business school’s new site in the Manhattanville section of New York City, where Columbia University is extending its campus. One of the school’s two new buildings will be named for Kravis.[7] The buildings will be designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.[8] In December 2012, Ronald Perelman also donated $100 million to the construction of the second business school building.

MBA program

The Columbia MBA Program is highly competitive with an admission rate of 15% in 2009.[9] The student body is highly accomplished and diverse. Students in the class that entered in 2009 come from 61 countries and speak more than 50 languages.[10]

The revised core curriculum, launched in the fall of 2008, represents about 40% of the degree requirement.[11] It consists of 2 full courses and 12 half-term courses including Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting, Managerial Statistics, Managerial Economics, Leadership, Operations Management, and Marketing Strategy.[12] While the first year of the program is usually devoted to completing the requirements of the core curriculum, the second year provides students with the opportunity to choose from the more than 130 elective courses available at the School and supplement them with more than 4,000 graduate-level classes from the University's other graduate and professional schools.[13] Among the most popular electives at Columbia Business School are the Economics of Strategic Behavior, Financial Statement Analysis and Earnings Quality, Launching New Ventures, Modern Political Economy, and the Seminar in Value Investing.[13]

Columbia Business School has a firm grade non-disclosure policy, stating that students refrain from disclosing specific class grades, GPAs, or transcripts until they accept full-time, post graduation positions.[14] Students enter Columbia's MBA program in two tracks. The traditional fall term is approximately 550 students, while the January term "J-Term" is approximately 200 students. Students entering in the fall are divided into eight clusters of approximately 65 students that take all first year core classes together. J-Term students are broken into three clusters. The J-Term is aimed at students who want an accelerated 18 month program who usually plan to return to their previous job, are company sponsored, and will not pursue a summer internship because they take classes during the summer.

The recently launched Columbia CaseWorks program utilizes the faculty’s research and industry experience and brings that perspective into the classroom through the development of new cases and teaching materials.[15] Beginning in orientation and continuing through core classes and electives, students are immersed in cases that use faculty research to address real-world business issues. Columbia CaseWorks challenges students to debate corporate decision making and to develop appropriate recommendations and solutions. During their first year, students study and discuss an integrated case that focuses on a single company and is incorporated into several core courses. This encourages students to think about a company holistically, analyzing it from the perspective of various disciplines.[16]

In 2013, the median starting base salary was $110,000, with a median $30,000 signing bonus and a median $20,000 of other guaranteed compensation.[17] According to Forbes magazine, 90% of billionaires with MBAs who derived their fortunes from finance obtained their master's degree from one of three schools: Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, or The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.[18]

Areas of focus

Though there are no official tracks within Columbia Business School, many students choose to focus on a particular area in order to gain deeper knowledge in a specific discipline. Columbia Business School offers the following areas of focus:[19]

As part of its MBA curriculum, Columbia Business School offers the Value Investing Program at the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing, for a handful of selected business school students.[20] The program includes Applied Value Investing and Special Situations Investing. Adjunct professors include hedge fund managers, such as Joel Greenblatt,[21] Paul Sonkin,[22] Ken Shubin Stein and William Von Mueffling.[23] The program also features an extensive list of guest speakers which include Seth Klarman, Michael Price, Bill Nygren, Charles Brandes, David Einhorn and Chris Browne. Notable graduates of the value investing program include Warren Buffett, Mario Gabelli, Leon G. Cooperman, Chuck Royce, Paul Sonkin and William von Mueffling.

Columbia Business School's Entrepreneurship Program trains students for four career paths: entrepreneurship in new ventures, entrepreneurship in large organizations, private equity financing and social entrepreneurship.[24] Consequently, entrepreneurship among Columbia MBA students is on the rise, with 20 students in the MBA Class of 2007 starting their own businesses directly after graduation.[10] To supplement its Entrepreneurship Program, the Business School launched, in June 2012, an entrepreneurship lab in downtown Manhattan, an incubator space for entrepreneurs.

MBA rankings

Business School Ranking
U.S. MBA
Bloomberg Businessweek[25] 5
Forbes[26] 5
U.S. News & World Report[27] 8
Worldwide MBA
Business Insider[28] 7
CNN Expansion[29] 10
Financial Times[30] 5

For 2014, national rankings of Columbia's MBA program include #5 by Forbes,[31] #5 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek,[32] and #8 by U.S. News and World Report.[33] In global rankings, Columbia was ranked #5 by The Economist[34] and #5 (2014 ranking) and #4 among U.S. Schools by Financial Times.[35]

In the most recent aggregated "ranking of rankings" of U.S. business schools, Columbia's MBA program ranked #1 in the Financial Times and #5 with Poets&Quants. Each of these rankings is a composite of five major MBA rankings published by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Economist, The Financial Times, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and/or U.S. News & World Report which is meant to eliminate anomalies and other statistical distortions that are often present in any single ranking.[36][37]

Joint-degree programs

Columbia Business School students can combine an MBA with one of ten other professional degrees. In general, a dual degree requires one less year than it would take to complete the two degrees separately. Candidates must apply separately to Columbia Business School and the other degree program.[38]

Joint degrees offered include:

Student life

The Columbia Business School Follies is a student club that works throughout each semester to put together a production in which students write, choreograph, and perform comedy skits. It achieved notoriety in 2006[41][42][43] for Every Breath Bernanke Takes, its video parody of the Police song "Every Breath You Take". It purports to be from Glenn Hubbard, Dean of the Business School, in response to Hubbard's being a runner-up to the Fed Chairmanship assumed by Ben Bernanke. In 2008, the Follies team released a sequel to this video called[44] The Market Crashed On Me, a parody of the Boyz II Men song "On Bended Knee". The Follies' other notable video parodies include Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banka, B-School Guy vs. Law School Guy, Baby Got WACC, and MRS.[45][46][47][48]

Admission to the MBA program

Key Admission Stats – Columbia MBA:

Average GPA of admits: 3.5

Average GMAT of admits: 716

Average Age of admits: 28

Admission requirements include a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution, three essays, two letters of recommendation, a GMAT or GRE score and a TOEFL or PTE score for international applicants.

Executive MBA programs

Columbia offers various executive MBA programs.

The Executive MBA (EMBA) Friday/Saturday Program is a 20-month graduate program designed for individuals that are looking to enhance their education without interrupting their careers. The EMBA program is taught on campus at Columbia University by full-time faculty. The first year of classes consists of the same core curriculum as the Full-Time MBA program. Executive education is the focus of the second year. This Friday/Saturday program is targeted at individuals with approximately 10 years of work experience.[49]

The Executive MBA (EMBA) Saturday Program is a 24 month graduate degree program designed for individuals that are looking to enhance their education, but cannot take any time away from work. This program is the same as the Friday/Saturday program, with the exception that classes only meet on Saturdays over a longer period of time.

In addition to the New York–based EMBA Program, Columbia offers three partner programs to meet the differing needs and geographical distribution of prospective students.[50] Because students in the partner EMBA programs must satisfy the separate requirements of each school, they earn an MBA degree from each participating university. Likewise, they become alumni of each university and business school and may avail themselves of all programs and privileges afforded to alumni.

EMBA rankings

MS Programs

Columbia Business School currently offers three separate Master's of Science degrees in Management Science & Engineering, Financial Economics and Marketing. Admission to the programs is extremely competitive with 543 applicants to the Financial Economics program in 2011, its first year, and only 10 students accepted.[57]

Doctoral Program

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is offered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and is administered by the Business School. Admission is highly competitive with 894 applicants in 2010 for positions in an entering class of 18 students (2%).[58] A PhD in Management or Business is a common precursor to an academic career in business schools.

Throughout the program, students become familiar with research methods and the literature of their major fields through research projects and directed reading.[59] Doctoral candidates begin the program mastering basic research tools by studying subjects such as economics, behavioral science and quantitative methods, in addition to completing course work and examinations in the major field of study. The completion of course work and qualifying examinations normally requires two to three years.

The research phase begins as early as the first year, when students serve as research assistants, and continues throughout their time at the School.[59] Students gradually become more involved in the design and execution of research and, by the end of the second year, have typically produced at least one paper suitable for publication, often as coauthor with a faculty member. The later years of the program are dedicated to original research and the creation of the dissertation.

Recent Columbia Ph.D. program graduates have placed in the following institutions: Harvard Business School, Wharton School, London Business School, Kellogg School of Management, Cornell University, University of Notre Dame, Stern School of Business, University of Minnesota, Fordham University, Polytechnic University, Baruch College, University of Washington, EWHA Womans University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto, IAE Business and Management School, Universidad Austral, and University of Texas at Austin.[60]

Executive Education

Columbia Business School's Executive Education programs offer graduate Executive Certificate Programs such as the Advanced Management Program (AMP),[61] and the Columbia Certificate in Business Excellence (CIBE).[62] Additional programs and courses are offered in General Management, Leadership, Finance and essential business practices.[63]

Academic Divisions

The School's faculty are divided into five academic units:[64]

Research centers, programs, and institutes

Research centers, special programs, institutes, and cross-disciplinary areas at Columbia Business School include:[65]

People

Faculty

Columbia Business School employs 136 full-time faculty members,[66] including Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel laureate in economics who also teaches at the university's School of International and Public Affairs; Ray Fisman, the Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise; and Bernd Schmitt, the Robert D. Calkins Professor of International Business. The current Dean is the former Presidential Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Glenn Hubbard. Hedge fund gurus Joel Greenblatt and Ken Shubin Stein are currently adjunct professors. Bruce Greenwald teaches Value Investing and Economics of Strategic Behavior electives. Adam Dell, brother of Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell, is a venture capitalist who teaches Business Innovation and Technology. Jonathan Knee teaches Finance and is the author of a book titled "The Accidental Investment Banker". James Freeman teaches Investment Banking and is the CEO of a boutique investment bank by the same name. Frederic Mishkin, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, returned to teach at CBS starting fall 2008.[67] Rita Gunther McGrath is a well known member of the strategy faculty and the author of four books on the subject, most recently The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast As Your Business (2013, Harvard Business Review Publishing)

Alumni

Columbia Business School has over 39,000 living alumni.[68]

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Henry Kravis, Founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Vikram Pandit, Ex-CEO of Citigroup
David Dodd, Father of value investing
Nand Khemka, Chairman of SUN Group

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gsb.columbia.edu/donors/financials
  2. ↑ "Top 5 Most Selective Business Schools". About.com. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  3. ↑ http://www.gsb.columbia.edu/about-us/history
  4. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=wmXOAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_ViewAPI
  5. ↑ http://www.gsb.columbia.edu/alumni/news/New-Visual-Identity
  6. ↑ "Columbia University Announces Business School Plan to Move in First Phase of Proposed Expansion in Manhattanville". Columbia University. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  7. ↑ "KKR's Kravis pledges $100 mln to Columbia". Reuters. October 5, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ Russell, James S. (January 12, 2011). "Columbia Business School Picks Diller Scofidio for New Campus". Bloomberg.
  9. ↑ "About Columbia Business School: Students and Faculty". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Columbia Business School 2007 Employment Report" (PDF). Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Columbia Business School MBA Core Curriculum". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Columbia Business School MBA Program Core Curriculum". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Columbia Business School MBA Program Electives". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  14. ↑ http://cbsgba.com/culture/grade-non-disclosure-gnd
  15. ↑ "About CaseWorks". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  16. ↑ http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/academics/versatile
  17. ↑ Columbia Business School Employment Report – 2011.
  18. ↑ Forbes: Billionaire Clusters.
  19. ↑ "Columbia Business School MBA Program: Areas of Focus". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  20. ↑ "Heilbrunn Overview". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Joel Greenblatt – Columbia Business School Faculty Staff Directory". Columbia Business School. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  22. ↑ "Paul Sonkin – Columbia Business School Faculty Staff Directory". Columbia Business School. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  23. ↑ "William Von Mueffling – Columbia Business School Faculty Staff Directory". Columbia Business School. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Entrepreneurship Career Paths". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Business School Rankings and Profiles: MBA". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  26. ↑ "Business School Rankings and Profiles: MBA". Forbes. 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  27. ↑ "Best Business Schools". U.S. News & World Report. 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  28. ↑ "The World's Best Business Schools". Business Insider. 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  29. ↑ "Ranking:Los Mejores MBA en el mundo 2013". CNN Expansion. 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  30. ↑ "Global MBA Rankings". Financial Times. 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  31. ↑ Forbes MBA Rankings 2011
  32. ↑ Bloomberg-Business Week MBA Rankings 2012
  33. ↑ US News and World Report MBA Rankings 2011
  34. ↑ Economist MBA Rankings 2012
  35. ↑ Financial Times MBA Rankings 2012
  36. ↑ "Financial Times Ranking of Rankings" (PDF). The Financial Times. 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  37. ↑ "Poets&Quants’ Top 100 MBA Programs in the U.S.". Poets&Quants. 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  38. ↑ MBA Student Services : Dual Degrees
  39. ↑ Columbia Law and Business Schools to launch 3-year joint JD/MBA degree
  40. ↑ Columbia adds three-year J.D./MBA program
  41. ↑ Levitt, Steven D. (May 2, 2006). "The Best Economics Humor Ever". New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  42. ↑ "Dean-a-Go-Go". BusinessWeek. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  43. ↑ Henderson, Nell (April 27, 2006). "A Fed Wannabe Feels Students' Sting". Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  44. ↑ "Spring 2008 Videos". Columbia Business School. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  45. ↑ "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banka". CBS Follies.
  46. ↑ "B-School Guy vs. Law School Guy". CBS Follies.
  47. ↑ "Baby Got WACC". CBS Follies.
  48. ↑ "MRS". CBS Follies.
  49. ↑ "Columbia Business School EMBA Overview". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  50. ↑ "EMBA: Partner Programs". Columbia University. 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  51. ↑ "FAQs". London Business School. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  52. ↑ Businessweek, 2011 Executive MBA Rankings, Worldwide
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 "EMBA Rankings 2010" (PDF). The Financial Times. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  54. ↑ "Executive MBA – Best Business Schools". US News & World Report. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  55. ↑ "The Top Executive MBA Programs". BusinessWeek. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  56. ↑ "Leadership Ranks". The Wall Street Journal. September 29, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  57. ↑ "Columbia Business School MS Financial Economics Candidaite Profile".
  58. ↑ "Columbia Business School Doctoral Program Admissions Statistics". Columbia Business School. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 "Columbia Business School Doctoral Program Overview". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  60. ↑ "Columbia Business School Doctoral Program Placement". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  61. ↑ "CSEP Program Details"
  62. ↑ "CIBE Program Details"
  63. ↑ "Columbia Executive Education"
  64. ↑ "Academic Divisions". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  65. ↑ "Faculty & Research". Columbia Business School. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  66. ↑ "Columbia Business School MBA Program: Faculty". Columbia Business School. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  67. ↑ "Fed Governor Mishkin resigns effective August 31". Reuters. May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  68. ↑ About Columbia Business School : Alumni
  69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 Miet, Hannah (February 25, 2011). "Serendipity Is No Algorithm on College Dating Site". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 70.2 70.3 "2006 Employment Report" (PDF). Columbia Business School. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  71. ↑ http://www.zocdoc.com/ourteam/cyrus-massoumi
  72. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=374379&ticker=LNG

External links

Coordinates: 40°48′36″N 73°57′39″W / 40.80998°N 73.96096°W