NYU to Offer Full-Time MBA Program in United Arab Emirates

• New York University's Stern School of Business will offer a full-time MBA program at the school's campus in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
• That will make Stern the only top business school to offer a full-time MBA program in the Middle East, according to a press release from the school.
• The one-year program will feature instruction in both Abu Dhabi and New York City.
• Applications open in October 2023 and the first cohort will begin classes in January 2025.

The New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business will soon become the only top U.S. business school to offer a full-time master of business administration (MBA) degree program in the Middle East.

Stern will offer the one-year, full-time MBA program at NYU's Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) campus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting in January 2025, school officials announced in a Sept. 19 press release. Applications for the program will open in October.

The program will include spring and fall courses in Abu Dhabi and summer instruction in New York City, according to the release. The program will also include "experiential internship projects" with a focus on hands-on learning.

NYU President Linda G. Mills called the establishment of the MBA program in Abu Dhabi a "landmark occasion" and noted the MBA will be NYU Abu Dhabi's first professional degree offering.

"It is also a wonderful example of the type of cross-school collaboration that we can expect to see more of in the coming years, and I have no doubt its impact will be felt both regionally and globally," Mills said in the release.

NYU Abu Dhabi Vice Chancellor Mariët Westermann said the new program "marks a pivotal moment for education in the UAE."

"The Stern School's presence at NYUAD will help fuel the knowledge economy in this dynamic crossroads region, respond to the surging demand for global business leaders, and the opportunity to take international business education to the next level," Westermann said in the release.

The program will be led by Robert Salomon, a longtime professor of management at Stern who will also serve as the inaugural dean of the business school's Abu Dhabi branch. Salomon is an expert on globalization and global strategy, according to the school's website, and also a management researcher.

Stern's move in the Middle East comes as business schools embrace international immersion and global business programs. The University of Notre Dame announced in August that it would overhaul its executive MBA program to focus on global leadership and immersion trips starting in fall of 2024.

Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business will shutter its executive MBA program in Chicago as part of that overhaul to bring students together at its South Bend, Indiana, campus and will require students to go on two international immersions with a focus on the Global South.

"The shift to a global perspective aligns with the larger business demand for effective leaders with a strong understanding of the complexities of a global economy, particularly in working with varied work cultures," Martijn Cremers, the Martin J. Gillen, dean of the Mendoza College of Business, said in a release at the time.