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Best MBA Programs in Technology Management & Information Systems

For a country like India that sends the maximum number of technology and IT applicants to MBA programs abroad (mainly USA), it’s also doesn’t come as a surprise that many choose to come back to take up senior management jobs in the technology industry.

An MBA specialisation in technology can be packaged in various flavours – information technology, product management, business analytics, information systems. Selecting one of the following business schools could give your career the escape velocity it needs to get into a new orbit.
 

Top MBA Programs with Technology Specialization

If you see yourself in a senior technology position post-MBA, and you’re not in two minds about your career choice, you may be interested in selecting an MBA program that specialises in the technology area.

Apart from the general management concepts that any top MBA provides, it can train you for a senior management career in technology management.

Equip yourself with the knowledge and acumen required for being able to merge your technology expertise with the required decision-making and managerial skills.

In this post, we discuss the best MBA programs for technology careers, which help you meet this specific career objective.

U.S. News has provided the rankings in the following order for the top business schools for Information Systems.
 

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Sloan School of Management

MIT Sloan has constantly been ranked as the top business school IT (Information Technology) program. The IT Group comprises of top faculty who are also into research and work closely with the industry.

The scope of study of IT is not just restricted to Computer Science but covers related disciplines including organisational behaviour and economics.

In fact, the new building named E62 showcases the use of sophisticated technology by making use of various energy-efficient design features.

 

2. Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper School of Business

As a part of the MBA curriculum, this b school offers MBA Tracks and Capstone courses that help you gain deeper insights in the area or industry of your interest.

The Technology Leadership MBA Track is offered jointly by the Tepper School of Business and Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.

This provides an excellent understanding of how technology and business can be integrated and the how the related issues arising in the process need to be handled. The training thus obtained prepares you to take up leadership positions or launch your own company.

If you intend to choose this MBA Track, you need to have the required undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or MIS or related field or have comparable work experience.
 

3. University of Arizona – Eller College of Management

In the full-time MBA program, you can opt for a concentration in Management Information Systems (MIS). You can thus get valuable experience in both technology as well as business.

You are trained to design, analyse and manage IT strategy to find solutions to various business problems. Thus, you are prepared to take up challenging roles in senior positions.

 

4. University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management

This business school provides you the opportunity to specialise in the area of your interest in the field aligned with your career goals.

The Information Systems specialisation prepares you to choose from a variety of IT related careers including project management, business analytics, ERP consulting or the more popular strategic and technology consulting.

 

5. The University of Texas at Austin – McCombs School of Business

The MBA curriculum allows you to choose from more than 20 areas of concentration. These concentrations allow you to specialise in a particular academic discipline.

Under the IROM concentration, you have choices including the Information Management (IM) concentration or Business Analytics concentration.

The IM concentration is designed to provide you with skills required to leverage your IT knowledge to be able to manage various projects and improve business processes. It also takes a holistic approach towards IT projects, covering the various financial and strategic implications of the same.

Business Analytics concentration trains you in the area of managing huge amounts of complex data to solve social, economic or business problems.

 

6. University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Decision, Operations and Information Technologies (DO&IT) Department comprises of renowned faculty members with an excellent track record. Those pursuing an MBA can choose to focus on Information Systems, Operations Management or Business Analytics.

The full-time MBA program offers a wide range of electives including the ones with an IT–focus. Information Systems, e-Service, Management of Technology, management of Strategy, management consulting, change and organizational management are some among those offered.

 

7. NYU Stern School of Business

The full-time MBA program allows you to choose to specialise in upto three areas from the numerous options on the list.

Following are the technology related areas that you can select from: business Analytics, digital marketing, management of technology and operations as well as entertainment, media and technology.

 

8. University of Pennsylvania – Wharton

At Wharton, the faculty employs various research methods including theoretical models, laboratory studies and empirical analysis of field data.

Their focus is on continuing to improve the quality and output of any setup by training the students to gain a better understanding of operational strategies, information systems, product development and innovation, data analytics, and decision making.

Wharton MBA students can opt for a major in operations, information and decisions.

 

9. Georgia State University – Robinson College of Business

MBA Students can either choose to have a technical focus or a managerial focus within the IT industry. There is a wide range of choice of courses available in both the categories.

Those aiming for a technically oriented career may choose from systems integration, systems development, software quality management, pervasive healthcare technologies among many others.

Managerial oriented courses include among others business process innovation, management of information systems, IT project management.

 

10. Stanford Graduate School of Business

At Stanford GSB, the courses are renewed on a regular basis and updated based on the continuous research and effort on part of the faculty.

There are seven academic areas, one of which is operations, information and technology and their focus is on the management of systems, processes, and networks.

Learn more about:
Technology vs Management Consulting
Technology industry in India and abroad.
Career options in Information Technology
Job Opportunities and average salaries after MIS degrees
Experience of a candidate who competed with top-tier MBA students to make it into Google
Technology jobs and salaries in investment banking after MBA


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Swati
About Swati
After working for over a decade in technical and managerial roles in the corporate world, Swati now works as a freelancer and writes on a variety of topics including education, career guidance and self-improvement.

10 thoughts on “Best MBA Programs in Technology Management & Information Systems”

  1. Hi Sameer,

    I needed a favour from your side to guide me for MBA abroad.
    I am a graduate with 70% in bcom banking & insurance from Mumbai university and had passed out in 2013.
    Currently working with UK based insurance broker company Willis.
    I wish to do MBA in banking & insurance field abroad. The problem where I’m stuck right now is which country will be the best for banking & insurance education and when are the admissions conducted so that I can plan for GMAT accordingly.

    Actually there are lot many things to ask but currently these questions are important to start up with a plan.

    Hope to get a response from you. And apologies for the trouble if any.

    Regards,
    Gautami Kamath.

    Reply
  2. Gautami, the broader area of specialisation that MBA programs have is in Finance.

    Along with Consulting, finance jobs are the most sought after by many international MBA students.

    Some bschools may offer electives in the specific domain of banking and insurance, but these won’t really make you a ‘specialist’ by any standards.

    If you are keen to stick to banking & finance, then you’ll have to build a strong pre-MBA profile in that area before you start the MBA course. That way, recruiters will have something concrete (skills, accomplishments) to evaluate.

    With your exposure to a UK client, I assume you are familiar with the rules and regulations within the UK. Choosing a good university in England could give you access to finance, banking and insurance jobs in London.

    Reply
  3. Hi Sameer,

    Thanks for the blog which is helping lot of people.

    I have 4+years of Exp in IT and now i need to pursue my MBA in partime in any foreign country.

    I need to work and do my MBA. please help me out regarding this. any suggestions will be helpfull

    Thanks in advance

    Re grads,
    Chetan

    Reply
  4. Hi Sameer,

    I am having an overall 6 years of IT exp. I am planning to do 1 yr mba program from USA.
    But i don’t want to move to any other filed after mba, i want to continue my work in IT industry itself. I am planning to do mba so that i can move to some higher management position within IT industry itself. Considering my case, could you please suggest wether i should go for 1 yr MBA or shouldi go for 1 yr MIS program from USA?

    Reply
  5. Hello Sameer,

    Greetings!

    I am Amit- Age 30 – 7 years Software Development Experience – Programmer/Lead
    Co-founded a software development firm & ran it for 2.5 years.
    Also have work-integrated M.S Software Systems degree from BITS Pilani.

    Now looking for full-time study options in India/Abroad – typically1 year MBA. I want to stay in a technology/IT related careers post-MBA.
    Do you know any specific course/streams/schools targeting towards post-mba careers in Technology/IT may be something like Technology
    Management/Technology Commercialization or IT Project Management.

    Thanks,
    Amit

    Reply
  6. Dear Swati,

    I have 7 years of experience with IT major Accenture in Project Management. I am looking for options in Masters in Technology Management. I already have admit from Georgetown University – School of Continuing Studies MPS in Technology Management. Kindly guide me if it worth it as a full time International Student.

    Regards,
    Pranay

    Reply
  7. Hi,

    Any reviews on the MIS programme from University of Arkansas? I understand they are providing full scholarship with stipend (funding from Walmart).

    Would you recommend this school?

    Rgds,

    Harish

    Reply
  8. Hi ,

    I am fairly sure I want to work in sustainability (climate change reversal and terraforming ) after I am done with the MBA.
    Now this does not seem to fall into any regular buckets of technology discussed here.
    I’d ideally like to be involved from technical operations end of it all, but that doesn’t seem to be the ideal approach either for college shortlisting.

    Which schools would you recommend keeping this in perspective. (preferably outside of the US)

    Reply

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