The Financial Times reported a couple of weeks ago on the linking of business schools to traditional colleges and universities. Here in the United States most business schools are affiliated to colleges, whether private or public, that offer a wide variety of programs and courses other than business. For example, The Stern School of Business is a part of New York University. However, there are also many business schools that are stand-alone and have no official affiliation- such as the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
The article touches on the pros and cons of such an affiliation on an academic level and what was interesting was the need to mix business with other academic fields, whether it be technology, anthropology or healthcare. But there are many highly ranked stand alone business schools all over the world and perhaps it is through their ability to focus or specialize on one program that has helped them prosper.
Luckily, for those interested in attending business school in the near future, there are plenty of options. There are plenty of business-only schools as well as the affiliated business schools that provide a top-tier education in business and its many concentrations. Besides other factors such as location, tuition, etc one must also consider, depending on their concentration, the need for other academic influences besides business and whether or not your school can provide that need.
