Located in the heart of New York City, Columbia Business School places students in the epicenter of business, providing them with opportunities to rub shoulders with leaders across industries. CBS prides itself on developing students who respond dynamically to challenges in fast-moving environments.
Columbia Business School was founded in 1916 thanks to a generous contribution from Emerson McMillin, a successful banking executive. The university started with 11 faculty members and 61 students, eight of which were women. A. Barton Hepburn, president of Chase National Bank at the time, provided additional funding in 1919. The school expanded rapidly over the next four years, with enrollment jumping to 420 students in 1920. In 1924, the school started offering a PhD program in addition to its MBA programs.
Columbia Business School is one of the most competitive MBA programs anywhere – in 2020, its admission rate was 10%. Columbia is the only high-ranking Ivy league b-school located in NYC. Being situated right next to the business capital of the world certainly gives the school an extra edge. Columbia takes full advantage of this, pulling from a group of over 500 influential speakers to give guest lectures.
Columbia Business School’s core curriculum is designed to help students lay a foundation for success in a variety of fields. In addition, the school’s wide range of elective classes allow students to dive into specialized areas of expertise.
Columbia Business School Overview
Here’s a quick snapshot of the class profile, rank, GMAT range and more for Columbia Business School.
- School Rank: 7th for business schools
- Course Duration: 2-year full-time MBA or 2-year part-time executive MBA
- Average GMAT: 726
- GMAT Range: 580-780
- Approx. Class Size: 756
- Avg. Work Experience: 5 years
- Tuition Cost (per year): $77,376 per year
- Average Age of Student: 28
- Average Base Salary: $146,334
- Median Base Salary for Management Consultants: $160,000
- % Employed after 3 months: 90%
- Locations: New York, NY (Morningside Heights and Manhattanville)
Degrees Offered
- Accounting
- Consulting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Management
- Health Care Administration
- International Business
- Leadership
- Marketing
- Not-for-profit Management
- Portfolio Management
- Real Estate
- Quantitative Analysis/Statistics and Operations Research
- Technology
Specialty
- Executive MBA
- PhD
What is the Columbia Business School campus like?
Uris Hall is the primary building where the MBA program is housed. It’s at the center of Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus. This space is located on Amsterdam Avenue and shared with the law school.
In October 2010, CBS reported that Henry Kravis, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Columbia alumnus, pledged $100 million in funds to facilitate expansion of the business school. In December 2021, CBS is set to open a new location on the Manhattanville campus. Distinguished New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro teamed up with FXFowle to design the new facilities.
The current location in Morningside Heights is located in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Students can enjoy a variety of cafés, restaurants, as well as Riverside Park, located just west of campus. Some of New York’s most notable points of interest are also easily accessible from campus by subway. Examples include: Broadway, Central Park, museums, sporting events, live music, and many others.
Notable Alumni
Columbia Business School has nurtured many incredible business leaders over its 100-year history. Here is just a small sampling of notable alums – see a longer list at E-Gmat.
- Warren Buffet – CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
- Henry Kravis – Co-Founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
- Vikram Pandit – Former CEO of Citigroup
- James P. Gorman – CEO of Morgan Stanley
- Rochelle Lazarus – Chairman Emeritus of Ogilvy & Mather
- Michael Gould – CEO of Bloomingdale
- Lionel Pincus – Founder Warburg Pincus
- Jenny Rae Le Roux – Management Consulted CEO (we had to include her!)
Columbia Business School Employment Report
The Columbia Business School Employment Report highlights several important statistics from the 2020 graduating class to keep in mind if you’re considering CBS as your future MBA program.
These metrics include academic achievement, diversity, compensation, and job satisfaction. Despite a challenging year, Columbia MBA grads found full-time positions in a variety of businesses across the globe. The school facilitated 72% of the opportunities offered to graduates.
90% of graduates received a job offer within three months of graduating. 87% accepted an offer. According to US News, the average salary for a CBS graduate is $146,334. This is not including additional compensation (bonuses, relocation stipend, etc.).
To find out what the prospects are for you to break into consulting from Columbia Business School, see our breakdown of the Columbia Business School employment report here.
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