STEM Isn't Just for Tech: A Guide to STEM-Designated Business Programs in the U.S.

发布时间：Date: 2023-03-02 返回新鲜资讯Back to News

STEM majors, with their 36-month OPT and strong career prospects, have become a popular choice for international students in the U.S. With the rise of big data, many U.S. universities now include business, media, and education programs under the STEM umbrella, allowing business students to benefit from extended work authorization. CheersYou（清柚教育） reminds students that not all business programs are STEM; it is essential to check whether the curriculum includes sufficient quantitative, statistical, and programming content. This article highlights STEM-certified business specializations and representative schools, focusing on accounting and economics master's programs. Examples include Columbia University, University of Rochester, and UIUC for accounting, and Yale and Duke for economics—all listed as STEM due to their emphasis on data analysis and quantitative methods. We hope this roundup helps students identify suitable programs and plan their application strategies to make the most of U.S. work opportunities.

STEM is a hot topic among international students. Beyond high salaries and excellent job prospects, one major draw is the extended OPT period, which can total up to 36 months. In recent years, more U.S. universities have been designating certain programs in communication, education, business, and psychology as STEM. Today, CheersYou（清柚教育） brings you a roundup of STEM-designated business programs. If you're interested, keep reading!

What Is STEM?

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The surge in STEM popularity stems partly from curricula that align with the big data era and broad support from the U.S. government, which continues to increase investment in STEM education, encouraging students to major in these fields.

Advantages of STEM Programs:

For international students, finding a job after graduation requires applying for OPT (Optional Practical Training), which allows legal internship and work in the U.S. Typically, OPT lasts only one year. However, STEM graduates can apply for a 24-month extension, giving them up to 36 months of work authorization in total.

STEM-Designated Business Programs:

STEM fields traditionally lean toward technical disciplines like engineering, biological sciences, math, and physical sciences. But in the age of big data, more business programs that rely on quantitative and programming skills are gaining STEM designation. Note, however, that not all business programs qualify as STEM.

STEM-Designated Business Specializations and Schools

1. Master of Accounting

Accounting master’s programs focus on collecting, recording, analyzing, and interpreting financial information, as well as preparing and interpreting financial statements for risk assessment and control. Accounting is a popular business major, and a small number of its master’s programs are STEM-designated.

STEM-Designated Programs:

Columbia University: Accounting and Fundamental Analysis
University of Rochester: Accountancy
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Accountancy
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Accounting Science

2. Master of Economics

Some economics master’s programs are STEM-designated, typically those that emphasize quantitative and mathematical methods to solve economic problems.

STEM-Designated Programs:

Yale University: International and Development Economics
Columbia University: Economics
Duke University: Economics
Duke University: Economics and Computation

3. Master of Business Analytics

MSBA programs are almost always STEM-designated, combining business, statistics, and computer science. They are mostly housed in business schools, with a few in engineering schools.

STEM-Designated Programs:

Columbia University: Business Analytics
Columbia University: Applied Analytics
University of Texas at Austin: Business Analytics
University of Southern California: Business Analytics

4. Master of Finance

In recent years, more finance programs with quantitative focus—such as financial mathematics and computational finance—have gained STEM designation.

STEM-Designated Programs:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Finance
Columbia University: Financial Economics
Princeton University: Finance
Johns Hopkins University: Finance

5. Master of Financial Engineering

Financial engineering programs are almost always STEM-designated. They emphasize programming, modeling, math, and finance knowledge, and offer excellent job prospects. For instance, Columbia’s MFE graduates easily earn six-figure salaries.

STEM-Designated Programs:

Columbia University: Financial Engineering
Cornell University: Financial Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University: Financial Engineering

6. Master of Marketing

A few marketing programs are also STEM. Given STEM’s inherent quantitative demands, these programs usually require applicants to have completed probability and statistics courses in undergrad, with programming background preferred.