For the fifth year in a row, the MBA in Sustainability Program at Bard College has been ranked as the #1 Green MBA by The Princeton Review. Bard's program also earned the #1 MBA for Nonprofits ranking for the second consecutive year, beating out top MBA programs like Harvard, Columbia, Yale and Stanford. These national honors follow Bard’s recent global recognition as the #3 Better World MBA worldwide by Corporate Knights.
“At a time when clean energy and climate change action, organizational justice, reducing plastics and toxic pollution, and enhancing the planet’s biodiversity are all under political attack, Bard remains the leading MBA focused on embedding sustainability as simply good business,” said MBA Director Dr. Eban Goodstein.
The rankings are based primarily on surveys of over 20,300 students across 244 U.S. MBA programs, evaluating academics, career outcomes, and campus culture. Only 28% of the MBA programs appeared on one or more of the Review’s 18 ranking lists. In 2024, only Bard and Stanford received two #1 rankings.
The Bard MBA in Sustainability is based in New York City and designed for working professionals across the United States. The hybrid format combines monthly in-person weekend residencies in NYC with online weeknight classes, offering flexibility and rigor. Graduates pursue careers in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, solving today’s most urgent social and environmental challenges.
“The program’s hybrid format—66% in person, 33% on-line—combines the well-known benefits of rigorous in-person education with the flexibility working students need,” added Goodstein.
Stephanie Resnick completed her Bard MBA while working as Textiles and Apparel Manager at Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. She says “I chose Bard because its curriculum and faculty apply a systems approach to transforming business as usual. Through this lens, MBA students learn the skills to shift mindsets and accelerate systems change to ensure a sustainable future for people and planet.” After graduating, Stephanie leveraged her MBA to take on a job as Senior Manager, Circular Economy and Transformation at Philips, one of the global leaders in circular economy innovation.
Martín Lemos, another Bard MBA alum, worked as a sustainability consultant at BSR after graduating, then became Co-Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, and now works in finance, supporting regenerative agriculture. “At Bard, I learned there are various strategies for creating the future we want to see,” Lemos said. “Starting an enterprise, helping companies pivot, and taking on our political economy are all options. The Bard MBA prepared me to understand the levers for change to build an inclusive and climate resilient economy.”
Every MBA course—from strategy and finance to operations and leadership—is designed to prepare students to solve critical social and environmental challenges. The curriculum is grounded in sustainability, social equity, and systems thinking, ensuring that students graduate ready to lead in mission-driven organizations across sectors.
Experiential learning is central to the program. All students participate in a year-long sustainability consulting course, working in teams with major companies on real-world challenges. Recent clients have included McDonald’s, Nasdaq, Target, and JLL. Students also complete an individually mentored capstone project, developing solutions aligned with their career goals and personal mission.
“The Bard MBA’s overall focus on steering mission-driven organizations provides a powerful foundation for aspiring non-profit leaders and managers,” said Unique Brathwaite, who anchors the non-profit concentration at Bard. “Our graduates emerge with a profound understanding of prioritizing mission, while also ensuring the long-term financial viability of their organizations.”
In Brathwaite's course, the focus is on the foundations of non-profit governance. “Our nonprofit course equips students with a comprehensive understanding of nonprofit management practices, ingrains the importance of operationalizing equity, and encourages a systems thinking approach to long-term sustainability,” said Brathwaite. “We are committed to shaping leaders who can navigate the complexities of the nonprofit sector with confidence and foresight.”
Goodstein credits the Bard MBA faculty for combining sustainability vision and leadership training with a mastery of business fundamentals. “Our NYC location has enabled us to assemble a world class faculty who are cutting-edge sustainable business practitioners,” said Goodstein. “They are all inventing sustainable business in their day jobs, and bringing that insight into the classroom.”
At Bard, business education starts with a clear purpose: preparing leaders to drive sustainability, equity, and innovation in every sector. Our MBA challenges conventional thinking, connects you with a community of changemakers, and equips you with the tools to create lasting impact.