Developing AI-Ready Business Leaders at Stern
New coursework for undergrads and MBAs.
Sitting at the intersection of business and technology here in New York City, the largest tech hub on the east coast, NYU Stern is evolving its business curriculum to reflect a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence.
Teaching AI is one important goal with new courses being developed, including many driven by the expertise of the School’s seven computer scientists—a record-high number for a business school. The intention is to educate students to use AI for core business functions from marketing to finance, to strategy, including hands-on classes, so they graduate prepared to be active participants in the global economic transformation underway.
New MBA Specialization in AI
This spark of innovation is perhaps most visible in the School’s newly announced MBA AI specialization. Officially launching in fall 2026, the specialization offers nine interdisciplinary electives and requires students to build both conceptual understanding and practical fluency—including one of the first agentic AI courses at a US business school. As Ilan Lobel, Fauvelais Family Professor of Data-Driven Operations, Academic Director of the Andre Koo Technology and Entrepreneurship MBA, and AI specialization advisor, explains: “At Stern we have developed an AI in business curriculum that aims for both breadth and depth of AI expertise. Our Foundations of AI Agents class, for example, aims to turn our MBA students from being disrupted by AI into being AI disruptors.”
AI Courses Integrated into the UC Curriculum
That same momentum extends to the Undergraduate College, where nine new AI-centric courses were introduced this academic year, spanning industries from finance to marketing and real estate, as well as skill levels. “We will continue to put great care and thought into all aspects of teaching and learning as AI continues to rapidly evolve. AI continues to be infused across multiple courses with each day,” said Rohit Deo, Vice Dean of the Undergraduate College.
Together, these latest efforts reflect a deliberate approach by the School: adapt in real time yet stay grounded in how business is actually practiced. As AI continues to evolve, Stern is focused on preparing students to engage with it critically and with a clear sense of its impact.