For the fourth year in a row, the MBA in Sustainability Program at Bard College has been awarded the number one rank for Best Green MBAs by The Princeton Review. This year, Bard's program also ranked #1 in The Review's Best MBA for Nonprofits , surpassing the MBA programs at Harvard, Columbia , Yale and Stanford. The Review's rankings follow on the Bard program's recent #3 worldwide position in the Better World MBA global assessment.
The NYC-based Bard MBA has seen strong growth in demand for its unique educational program. Graduates are pursuing careers in both leading for-profit and non-profit companies, where they are working to solve critical social and environmental challenges.
“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.”
The Review's honors were based primarily on a survey of more than 20,300 students enrolled at 244 US MBA programs during the past several academic years. The student survey asked students more than 90 questions about their school's academics, student body, and campus life, as well as their career plans. Only 28% the 244 On-Campus MBA Programs appeared in one or more of The Review's 18 ranking lists: Bard and Stanford were the only MBAs to receive two #1 rankings in 2024.
Transform Business, Shift Mindsets
Stephanie Connolly 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.” Last year, Stephanie leveraged her MBA to take on a new job as Senior Manager, Circular Economy and Transformation at Philips, one of the global leaders in circular economy innovation.
The mission of Bard’s MBA in Sustainability is to transform business towards a focus on social equity and environmental solutions. Every MBA course—from operations to finance, strategy to leadership—teaches students to build for-profit and nonprofit organizations that are in business to solve critical challenges. Currently, the program is working to embed leadership skills for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion across the curriculum. Learn more about our theory of change here.
Martín Lemos is a Bard MBA alum who worked as a sustainability consultant at BSR after graduating, and then became Co-Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition. “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.”
Hybrid Structure: One Weekend a Month + Online
Based in New York City, the Bard MBA has a hybrid, low-residency structure. Classes meet in person one extended weekend each month, and then online twice each week in the evenings. This allows students to work while in the full-time or part-time programs, and it makes it possible to attend from anywhere in the U.S. Students fly in once a month from Los Angeles, Houston, Denver and Orlando, with carbon emissions offset by a carbon fee.
Concentrations at the MBA include Circular Value Chain Management, Impact Finance, Non-Profit Management, Sustainability Consulting, and Entrepreneurship. As part of an emphasis on experiential education, all Bard students take a year-long course in Sustainability Consulting, working with major companies on sustainability challenges.
The MBA concentrations include hands-on learning through the consulting class and in individually mentored student MBA capstones. 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.”
MBA Director Goodstein credits the MBA faculty for building a program that combines 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.”
Contact Us Today!
We invite you to start your journey towards an MBA in Sustainability. If you have any questions regarding Bard’s MBA in Sustainability, please be sure to reach out to our admissions team.
If you’re still not sure what you should be looking for in a cutting-edge MBA program, check out our MBA of the Future Guide. But if you know Bard’s Sustainability MBA is the one for you, learn more about the application process, and take the first step in your sustainability journey today.
