The NYU Stern School of Business has shared its Executive MBA application essays for the 2023-2024 application cycle. This year, the school’s application includes two required essays and one optional essay.
If you are interested in the NYU Stern EMBA Program, last year’s cohort included 60 students, of which a little more than a third were women and 40 percent were international.
Take a look at the latest detailed class profile to assess whether the school may be a good fit for you.
Below, please find the upcoming application deadlines and our analysis of the NYU EMBA application essays.
The 2023-2024 NYU Stern EMBA Application Deadlines
For the August entry: March 1, 2024
For the January entry: October 1, 2024
Outside of the deadlines, admissions are rolling.
2023-2024 NYU Stern EMBA Application Essays:
NYU Stern EMBA Essay 1: Describe your short- and long-term career goals and how the NYU Stern Executive MBA program will help you accomplish them. (500 words maximum, double-spaced)
This is a traditional goals essay, intended to show the admissions committee where you are in your career today, where you would like to arrive, and how NYU can help you get there.
Start with a paragraph detailing your professional status: what you do, a bit about your accomplishments, your responsibilities, and your areas of expertise. You want your skills to be evident and to show any specific knowledge that sets you apart.
Then you want two detailed paragraphs of your goals, both short term and long term. We suggest you flesh out your ambitions down to the roles you want to assume and ideas you want to pursue. Show your vision.
Finally, discuss what skills you seek to acquire to fulfill those goals and how a Stern EMBA will help you do that. You should spend the last full paragraph on singular offerings at Stern that will help you develop those skills and prepare to meet the challenges of your goals. Demonstrate that you have studied the Stern EMBA program and planned your time there, showing at the same time what interests you and your awareness of any gaps you need to fill.
NYU Stern EMBA Essay 2: NYU Stern is committed to helping students develop a deeper set of professional skills and a broader perspective of the role of business in the world. (500 words maximum, double-spaced)
- What is a significant contemporary issue on which you, a business leader, would like to have an impact?
- Why is it important to you?
- How could you leverage your skills and resources to address the issue?
In some ways this is an exercise that lays bare not only who you are as a person but also who you are as a business leader and member of society, calling into practice your interests, your existing skills, your values, and your leadership makeup.
Spend the first few sentences explaining the business issue you are interested in. Choose something you really are interested in so you can show genuine care. From the question we can infer that it should call into play the role of business in the world: In other words, as a business leader, you can do something about it. That opens up a full range of things, from environmental issues to racial and economic disparity, labor laws, unequal pay, pricing, and education.
Next, explain why this issue is important to you. This will show your values and concerns and how you measure the responsibility of business in addressing the world’s problems.
Finally, pick apart the issue you choose and offer ways to address it. Use this section as an opportunity to let your leadership, problem-solving, and analytical abilities shine. Come up with a course of action and show how you would implement it using your experience and abilities. Try to consider as many facets of the issue as possible—including those you may not know how to address and how you would deal with that.
NYU Stern Optional EMBA Essay: Please provide any additional information of which you would like the Admissions Committee to be aware. This may include additional details on your quantitative/academic preparedness through educational or professional experience, further explanation of academic history, current or past gaps in employment or any other information relevant to your application. (500 words maximum, double-spaced)
The optional NYU EMBA essay should only be addressed by applicants with extenuating circumstances. Read more about how to answer this optional essay question here.
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