Leading Health Care and Real Estate MBA Programs
These programs were selected based on extensive online forum research conducted during January 2007.
So far we haven't found any formal rankings of real estate or healthcare MBA programs.
Leading Health Care MBA Programs
General forum post from 2001:
From a pharmacy perspective, most of the US giants are located on the East Coast, which means that West Coast schools really don't attract too many recruiters from pharma.
I am also interested in pharma after the MBA and I have done a little bit of research on the schools with the best ties to Big Pharma/Biotech.
Duke, Northwestern, Wharton, Stanford, UC Berkeley all have healthcare related concentrations… I've put these in order of the way that the schools seem to emphasize the program. Duke has a separate brochure and special programs for their health concentration. At Berkeley, there doesn't seem as much emphais (However, there are TREMENDOUS opportunities on the west coast in small bio startups, medical devices, and HMO's, if that's your cup of tea)
Surprisingly, NYU is popular among Pharma, perhaps because of its proximity to many companies. North Carolina in Research Triangle Park similarly benefits from proximity to the companies.
You would expect Cornell to have a great program, considering that the location, that they have a Genome Sequencing lab and an excellent brand management program, but they really don't concentrate in Pharma/Bio.
The CEO's of Bristol-MyersSquibb and Pfizer are both Tuck alums, but Tuck doesn't seem to have much of an emphasis on pharma either, focusing mainly on finance and consulting.
General forum post from 2003:
Wharton, Fuqua and Kellogg all have extremely strong MBA programs that incorporate a health care emphasis. Chicago and Berkeley both offer Certificates. Chicago's is pretty hard to find on their website though so if you need the link, I can give it to you–it's called a Certificate in GPHAP. You apply for it after you are accepted to the GSB. With Haas, you can also do a joint degree with the Public Health program. But there are many b-schools that offer joint degrees (MBA-MHA, MBA-MPH, MBA-MPA) that can provide you with the skill set to enter health care management. If you do not wish to pursue a joint degree, you can also create an emphasis within health care at many schools by taking courses within other graduate programs and/or by pursuing field studies/immersions relevant to health care.
Kellogg
Kellogg's Health Industry Management (HIM) program trains students for careers in medical products, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health care systems, health plan management, and other health-related fields. Award-winning members of the faculty act as consultants and advisors to major firms, organizations and government agencies. HIM is considered to be one of the leading health care management programs in the US. The program is also involved with the Center for Health Industry Market Economics (CHIME), which is headed by a member of the program's faculty.
Wharton
Wharton offers the Health Care Management major, which provides the students with extensive background in the different aspects and issues of the health care industry. The faculty of this program comes from the Business, Medical and Nursing schools of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as from local health and science organizations. Students acquire the necessary qualifications to become involved in hospitals, government agencies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms and other organizations in the health care field. The program is connected with the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) at the University of Pennsylvania. This major places more emphasis than other Wharton programs on the integration of academic and professional development
General forum post from 2001:
Wharton also has a great program, but it doesn't really delve into biotech.
UNC (Kenan-Flagler)
Located in one of the pharmaceutical hubs of the US (the North Carolina research area in Raleigh-Durham).
Fuqua
Duke university is home to the number-six medical school and one of the top ten medical centers in the US, and is among the largest biomedical research enterprises. It is located close to Research Triangle Park, ranked as the number three region in US for biotechnology development by Forbes magazine. Duke’s strong partnerships across campus and throughout the region mean HSM students have the opportunity to take full advantage of their proximity to some of the industry’s leading thinkers and movers. The Health Sector Management program is the largest health care program affiliated with a top-tier MBA program
Sloan (emphasis on biotech)
The Biomedical Enterprise Program (BEP) at MIT offers to students a curriculum focused on product development and commercialization in the health care industry. The program is jointly administered by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and the MIT Sloan School of Management. MIT is located near the largest concentration of biotechnology companies in the world. BEP students have access to unprecedented research resources and faculty talent from MIT, Harvard, MIT Sloan, and Harvard Medical School including the affiliated teaching hospitals. BEP's unique and fully integrated curriculum in biomedical science and business equips students with the intellectual foundation and entrepreneurial skills they need to discover and lead innovation in the biomedical industry.
Haas
The goal of the Graduate Program in Health Management is to build the top health management leaders in the country. The Program provides students with the necessary skills and background to take leadership roles in health services and health technology industries. The Program combines rigorous academic training with practical applications in real-world settings. Training is conducted by leading UC Berkeley academic researchers and industry leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area and from around the country.
A Certificate in Health Management within the MBA program is designed to prepare students to take business leadership roles in health services and health technology industries.
Columbia
Through an innovative curriculum, faculty mentorship and interaction with industry leaders, students gain the real-world insight needed to manage, invest in and launch healthcare enterprises. Columbia’s New York City location is key to our success. Nowhere else in the world offers such a vibrant environment for hands-on learning and networking in the worlds of biopharmaceuticals, medical products, healthcare services, among other fields. The program offers access to Columbia's renowned health-related schools, including the Mailman School of Public Health and the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Harvard
General forum post from 2001:
Another thought is Harvard. Although it doesn't have a specialty for any area, its reputation and general management approach is valued by many pharma companies (Merck's CEO is from HBS), and its name opens doors pretty much anywhere. For example, Harvard's latest brochure highlights Stephen Moret – HBS '01 – He conducted a field study with a prof. from Harvard Medical School on HIV/AIDS and pharma. They are assisting the Malawi government with a procurement, distribution strategy to dissmemenate phara throughout the country. That's the type of thing I'm interested in.
Leading Real Estate MBA Programs
General forum post from 2006(?):
An RE (Real Estate) MBA will basically gear you towards the financial side of things. An MS in RE might be either finance geared or development geared – depends where. Schools strong in RE are:
The bottom line is that you have to choose which route to go – the finance route or the development route. You will make very nice money in finance (especially if you do it in PE/IB), but as usual, the big payday (comparatively speaking) is for those who develop.
Columbia
The Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate is the home for the top-ranking real estate MBA program at Columbia Business School. Established in 2001, the Milstein Center continues a decades-old tradition of real estate education at Columbia Business School with their focus on capital markets, entrepreneurship, and global business. The center has unparalleled access to New York City's influential real estate practitioners and entrepreneurs, who lend their expertise and insight as adjunct professors, speakers, mentors and case writers. Faculty produce cutting-edge research that is enhanced by their access to a global business community
Forum post from 2006(?):
Columbia should definitely be on your list. It has strong connections with many real estate employers from finance to development. Also, we have an executive in residence (who had over 30 years of experience in the industry) available for personal counsel.
The REA is very good at providing access to employers through breakfasts, lunches, and evening events. The club also provides significant learning opportunities. There is a site tour at least once every two weeks, to new developments all around the city, and specialized workshops on topics like RE financial modeling, CMBS, RE private equity, etc…
Also, hate to harp on the NYC advantage, but RE is very big in NY, so there are a lot of alum nearby to network with.
Wharton
Wharton's Real Estate Department seeks to produce sophisticated professionals with the necessary skills to succeed in the business world but who also have a broader perspective on the issues involved in creating and maintaining living and working environments. Relevant issues that department faculty examine include finance, investments, production, operations, development law, design, environmental remediation, public policy, economic market analysis, and architecture.
The department is closely involved with the Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center, conducting research in critical issues affecting all aspects of the industry.
The Real Estate Department is ranked best in the country for the past twelve years by US News & World Report. In keeping with its commitment to excellence in education, the Center awards fellowships and scholarships to promising real estate students.
Johnson
The Cornell Master’s Program in Real Estate is a comprehensive, two-year professional graduate degree that is truly unique. Graduate students at Cornell benefit from a rich, diverse selection of real estate electives allowing for niche specialization—all in close interaction with the largest on-campus real estate faculty in the country. Cornell real estate education is dedicated to applied learning, highlighted by the Real Estate Project Workshop – a final semester capstone course that integrates real estate knowledge with real-world field experience.
The faculty are selected from 7 Cornell colleges, all recognized as the leading in their fields.
Sloan
MIT established the Center for Real Estate in 1983 to improve the quality of the built environment and to promote more informed professional practice in the real estate industry. It is the home of the first one-year Master's degree program in real estate development and a respected summer institute of professional development courses. Its membership program provides opportunities for students, practitioners and academics to get together on both a formal and an informal basis.
While at Sloan you are given the option to take two graduate level courses at the Center for Real Estate. The two real estate related courses currently at Sloan are "Real Estate Economics" and "Real Estate Finance and Investment."
USC Marshall
The goal of the Program in Real Estate is to provide an environment in which quality education in all aspects of the real estate industry can be pursued. The Marshall School of Business and the real estate faculty have been providing a rigorous and relevant instructional real estate program for over 30 years at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Southern California provides a living laboratory in which students can readily apply skills learned in the classroom, enhancing their learning experience. There are numerous opportunities provided for student-executive interaction, bridging the gap between the classroom and industry. The program is designed to provide its graduates with the theoretical grounding and the practical and analytical skills necessary for success in the real estate industry.
The Lusk Center for Real Estate is a co-venture of the Marshall School of Business and the School of Policy, Planning and Development. The Marshall School Program in Real Estate works hand in hand with the Lusk Center and the School of Policy Planning and Development to offer real estate students an integrative and current real estate education.
Forum post from 2006(?):
USC – very strong alum base on the west coast, most of them wealthy Trojans – has a combined MBA/MSRE, which should give you all the tools you need. If you have the stats [and it seems you do], you could probably get a lot of funding from them, and the weather ain't all that bad either [and a superior US college division I football team, but I'm not too sure you'd appreciate it]
Additional real estate MBA programs considered strong:
Wisconsin, UNC, McCombs (Austin)