New York University Stern School of Business

The Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly known as The Stern School, NYU Stern, or simply Stern) is New York University's business school. It was established in 1900 as the NYU School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. In 1988 it was named after Leonard N. Stern, an alumnus and benefactor of the school. Stern is located on NYU's Greenwich Village campus next to the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. A founding member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, The Stern School is one of the oldest and most prestigious business schools in the world.

History
The Stern School was founded by Charles Waldo Haskins in 1900 as the NYU Undergraduate School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance on the University's Washington Square campus. In 1913 Jeanette Hamill, J.D., M.A., joined the School's Economics department, becoming its first female faculty member. In 1936, women comprised 15 percent of the total enrollment. The graduate business program was launched in New York's downtown business district in 1916. The School's "Wall Street Division" served both full-time and currently employed students. The School awarded its first Doctor of Commercial Sciences degree in 1790.

By 1945, the school's enrollment was well over 10,000 with graduates hailing from 36 countries and 48 states. In the 1960s, International business courses were introduced and soon became an important focus of the School's curriculum. The New York University, C.J. Devine Institute of Finance (1959-1966), Graduate School of Business published many key Finance and Investment bulletins related to International finance. The NYU C.J. Devine Institute of Finance was named after benefactor Christopher J. Devine from 1959 to 1966. Devine was founder of C.J. Devine & Co. the largest dealer in U.S. Government Securities from 1933, until his death in May 1963.

The School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance was renamed the College of Business and Public Administration in 1972. In the same year, Tisch Hall, designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster (see also: Bobst Library and Meyer Building) opened at 40 West Fourth Street to house the undergraduate college. In 1988, a generous $30 million gift from the School's alumnus Leonard N. Stern (BS, 1957; MBA, 1959) allowed School to consolidate its graduate and undergraduate facilities at NYU's Washington Square campus. The School was renamed Leonard N. Stern School of Business. In 1992 Stern's new $68 million state-of-the-art facility, today known as "Kaufman Management Center", was inaugurated.

In 1998, a $10 million gift from Dr. Henry Kaufman (PhD 1958) supported a major expansion and upgrading of Stern's facilities. The new and renovated space is used almost exclusively to improve the quality of student life. Prominent investment banker and Home Depot investor Kenneth Langone (MBA 1960) donated $10 million to Stern in 1999. The part-time MBA program was renamed the Langone Program in his honor. Celebrating its 100th birthday in the year 2000, Stern launched a $100 million Centennial Campaign, the School's most ambitious fundraising effort to date. The campaign doubled Stern's endowment, the number of named professorships, and the level of student financial aid.

Recently Peter Blair Henry was named the next Dean of the Stern School of Business.

In 2010, the 84500 sqft renovation of the three Stern School of Business buildings, known as the Stern Concourse Project, was completed. This project was fully funded by donors, alumni and corporate partners

Academics
As of 2009, 2,305 students are enrolled in Stern's undergraduate program and 2,969 are enrolled in its Master of Business Administration program. There are 202 full-time faculty and 74 adjunct professors. Stern offers a broad spectrum of academic programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The school is located on West 4th Street, occupying Shimkin and Tisch Halls and the Kaufman Management Center, on NYU's Washington Square campus. Stern offers academic majors in Marketing, Finance, Information Systems, Actuarial Science, Economic Policy, Economic Theory, Entertainment Media & Technology, Accounting (CPA and General) and others, as well as co-majors in International Business, Financial Systems, and a certificate program in Entertainment, Media and Technology. Stern also offers an Executive MBA program for experienced professionals and executives, a 21 month long degree program which includes two global study tours as a part of the curriculum. The average age of executive MBA degree candidates is 38, and 45% of the students have at least one advanced degree in other areas.

Students who attend the Stern School of Business are often called "Sternies," a nickname used by both Stern students and others from the NYU community. In the spring break of the undergraduate junior year, all Sternies are invited to travel abroad as part of a core curriculum class, "International Study Program," which engages students to visit a non-U.S. company. Cultural learning experience is an integral part of the program as well. Recent destinations include: Singapore, Sweden, Hungary, Argentina, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Mexico, and Hong Kong.

Stern also offers its own study abroad program IBEX (International Business Exchange Program). This program lasts one semester at many of the top business schools around the world. Stern currently has multiple partner schools for this program in: Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Denmark, England, France, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, Spain and Thailand.


 * Rankings:

Both the undergraduate and graduate programs are consistently ranked among the top schools in the U.S. and worldwide by leading business and education publications.

, Stern's undergraduate program is ranked:
 * #5 by U.S. News and World Report
 * #12 by BusinessWeek

Stern's MBA program is ranked:
 * #3 in business research contribution among 100 business schools worldwide by the School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas
 * #5 in the U.S. and 13th worldwide by The Economist
 * #6 in the U.S. and 10th worldwide by Financial Times
 * #6 in the U.S. and 8th worldwide by the Aspen Institute
 * #8 in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal
 * #9 in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report
 * #12 in North America by the 2010 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report
 * #13 in the U.S. by Business Week Magazine

Stern's part-time MBA program is consistently ranked #1 by U.S. News and World Report.

Stern offers three Global Executive Programs.
 * Global Executive Programs:


 * TRIUM Global Executive MBA Program is a joint program with the London School of Economics and the HEC Paris. The TRIUM program ranked is ranked #2 in the world by the Financial Times 2009 review of EMBA programs.
 * Master of Science in Global Finance is a joint program with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
 * Executive Master of Science in Risk Management is a joint program with the Amsterdam Institute of Finance.

Stern is widely known for its deflating "Stern Curve" applied to all core courses and to some advanced electives. The Stern curve is mandatory for the undergraduate and MBA graduate courses. The curve is enforced by maintaining strong "grading guidelines". Among Stern students and non-Stern students taking Stern courses, about 25% in each class will receive A's, about 40% will receive B's, and the remainder of students will receive C's or lower. The grading system is designed to increase competitiveness among students and encourage the risk-taking experience necessary in the business world.
 * Deflating "Stern Curve":

Admissions
Admission to Stern is highly selective. According to BusinessWeek, 7,281 people applied for admission to the undergraduate program for the 2006-2007 academic year and 28% were admitted. In 2007-2008 the average combined verbal and math SAT score of incoming freshmen at the undergraduate level of Stern was 1445 (30% scored greater than 1500) and the secondary school average GPA was about 3.8. The Stern admissions committee does not consider writing scores.

Over 92% of the Stern population are within the top 10% of their high school graduating class. The internal and external transfer acceptance rate is about 12% and has remained steady through the years. All Stern admissions decisions are holistic in nature.

The MBA program's admission rate is one of the lowest in the country at 13%. The admitted (full-time) MBA students' average Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score was 718 with an undergraduate average GPA of 3.5. Stern School of Business announced it will join the growing list of programs now accepting the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) test scores from MBA candidates applying in 2010. Applicants will have the option to submit either GMAT or GRE scores with their application.

Stern's biggest competitors for cross admits include: Columbia Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Booth School of Business at University of Chicago, and Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.

Student life
Although many "Sternies" participate in All-Square (all university) clubs, Stern has its own Inter-Club Council that administers various clubs geared specifically toward Stern students (though many of these are open to the entire University), as well as its own Student Council. Some of these clubs include: the International Business Association, the Investment Analysis Group, the Stern Tisch Entertainment Business Association, Beta Alpha Psi, The Finance Society, the Entrepreneurial Exchange Group, the Economic Honors Society, and the Stern Business & Law society. Stern students do participate in NYU's MAP core, and close to half their courses are taken in the College of Arts and Science, depending on prior credits achieved, such as certain scores on Advanced Placement ("AP") exams.. In their senior year, high performing students are invited to join the "Senior Legacy Committee," which helps raise funding that will assist in providing scholarships for future students, attract faculty and enhance facilities. 

MBA Students also administer their own clubs, and have an even greater variety than the Undergraduate School, with clubs ranging from professional ethnic associations to specific career-oriented clubs such as the Private Equity Group, and even sports clubs like the popular Stern Soccer Club. The school also has its own governing student body, the Stern Student Corporation. Stern is known for the strength of its community, which can be described as down-to-earth, collaborative and supportive. The community comprises a diverse group of students and faculty that come from a variety of backgrounds, are driven and seek to achieve success yet not at the expense of a fellow student or faculty member.

All Stern undergraduate students are required to study one week overseas through the school's International Studies Program. Stern is the only undergraduate business college to incorporate and fund an overseas trip for all students as part of the business degree curriculum.


 * Notable Student Events and Programs:
 * Every year, as part of Stern's International Studies Program--funded by alum Edward Barr and his wife Nancy--undergraduate junior students take a set of two courses about international economics and business practices. Students choose the second course in the series based on their preferences for which country (chosen from a field of three in South America, Europe, and Asia) they would like to study. During Spring Break, the entire junior class and many faculty members travel these countries to experience the culture and visit a company based there. Locations for Spring 2007 trip included Santiago, Chile, Berlin, Germany, and Seoul, South Korea. Locations for Spring 2008 trip included Buenos Aires, Argentina, Berlin, Germany, and Hong Kong, China. For the Spring 2009 trip, Berlin has been replaced with Budapest, Hungary. Prior locations include Santiago, Chile, Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea. Companies studied include Hyundai, Maersk, Deutsche Bahn, Hutchison Port Holdings, Cathay Pacific, LAN Airlines, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Doosan, Arcor, and the Dainippon Chemical Company. In addition to visiting these companies, students have the opportunity to engage in various cultural activities and have many opportunities to experience the nightlife in their chosen city.


 * In 2005, Stern launched the Student Social Venture Fund Student Social Venture Fund, the first student-run venture philanthropy fund of its kind at a U.S. business school.