Last Updated on March 4, 2023 by MBA Gateway Team
This article is a part-of ‘MBA Careers’ Series
Best MBA programs for a Career in Product Management
Product management is a growing field, and many MBA programs offer courses and opportunities to help students prepare for a career in this area. If you’re interested in becoming a product manager, here are some of the best MBA programs to consider:
- Stanford Graduate School of Business
- Harvard Business School
- Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
- Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley
- Sloan School of Management at MIT
These schools all have strong reputations in business and entrepreneurship, and offer coursework and resources that can be beneficial to aspiring product managers.
Here are some tips to help you prepare for a career in product management:
- Gain experience in product development: Look for internships or entry-level positions where you can gain experience working on a product development team. This will give you an understanding of the product development process and help you develop skills in areas like market research, product design, and project management.
- Develop strong communication skills: Product managers need to be able to communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including engineers, designers, marketers, and executives. Take courses or seek out opportunities that can help you develop your communication skills, such as public speaking or writing classes.
- Build your technical skills: While you don’t need to be a software developer to be a successful product manager, having a basic understanding of technology and the ability to work with engineers is important. Look for courses or workshops that can help you develop your technical skills, such as coding bootcamps or data analysis classes.
- Learn about user experience design: Product managers need to be able to understand user needs and translate those needs into product features and designs. Take courses or seek out opportunities that can help you develop your skills in user experience design, such as user research or interaction design classes.
- Network with product managers: Connect with current or former product managers to learn more about the field and gain insights into what it takes to be successful. Attend industry events or join professional organizations like the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) to meet other product managers and learn about the latest trends and best practices in the field.
Table: Top 30 Business Schools for Product Management
- Stanford Graduate School of Business
- Harvard Business School
- University of Pennsylvania Wharton School
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
- Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management
- University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Columbia Business School
- University of California-Berkeley Haas School of Business
- University of Michigan Ross School of Business
- Duke University Fuqua School of Business
- University of Virginia Darden School of Business
- Yale School of Management
- New York University Stern School of Business
- University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
- University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School
- Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business
- University of California-Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
- University of Southern California Marshall School of Business
- Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
- Emory University Goizueta Business School
- University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business
- Indiana University Kelley School of Business
- University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management
- Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business
- Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management
- University of Maryland Smith School of Business
- Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business
- University of Washington Foster School of Business
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin School of Business
- University of Rochester Simon Business School