The Millennials Invade the B-Schools

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At No. 1 Chicago, multitasking Millen­nials are making their presence felt at the B-school Michael L. Abramson

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At Wharton, students have the option of majoring in sustainability Jennifer S. Altman

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Not Just Greed

Then there are the jobs themselves. Sure, MBAs are still attracted to investment banks and accounting firms, but students from the Millennial Generation are increasingly interested in jobs where they feel they can make a positive difference—whether that's building solar panels, running a food bank, or making microfinance loans in Africa. Last summer, Neil C. Hawkins, vice-president for sustainability at Dow Chemical, put two Berkeley interns to work exploring the possibility of developing affordable housing for India's growing working-class population. One month was spent at the company's Midland (Mich.) headquarters while another was spent on the ground in India. Hawkins calls it a win-win. "Students are getting experience, and we get to see them in action," he says. At Chicago, career services started a program specifically to help about two dozen students like Hochman undertaking a search for jobs in green business and renewable energy. "There are a lot of the same companies coming to campus every year," Hochman explains. "And none of them are what I'm looking for."

If career services is ground zero for the coming change in B-school priorities, it's not the only aspect of the MBA experience to feel the tremors. Electives in such areas as sustainability and renewable energy are appearing in more course catalogs. And at Harvard, the Social Enterprise Club has replaced the finance and management clubs as most popular on campus. Carl Kester, finance professor and deputy dean of academic affairs, says that while idealism wasn't altogether absent in the past, it has picked up steam. "It's become very prominent since the Millennial Generation arrived at our doorstep," he says.

In the classroom, Millennials and their desire for more intimate interaction have some schools shrinking class sizes. At Dartmouth, where students already rave about the teaching quality and highly accessible faculty, Dean Danos is not resting on his laurels. In fact, in the past year, he has added faculty but not students, an interesting move for a school that, with 12 students for every full-time faculty member, already boasts one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the MBA world. "We want to push toward a ratio of 1 to 1," he says. "We know that isn't possible, but we think 10 to 1 is." In Danos' opinion, "dealing face-to-face with the expert" appeals to the Millennial sensibility. "It's the ideal model for what a professional school should be doing with these students," he says.

Gen Y's Techno Turf

Elsewhere, schools are turning to adjunct professors and business professionals to team-teach courses with tenured faculty—and give Millennials the real-world knowhow and authenticity they crave. Case studies, the bread and butter of MBA programs since their invention in the 1920s, are also getting a makeover. Cases that focus on more contemporary companies and issues are taking the place of old standards. "Students are telling us that they want up-to-date, real-world cases that took place in the last three or four years," says Lynn Perry Wooten, an associate professor of strategy and management and organizations at Michigan's Ross School of Business (No. 5). Last year, Harvard produced a case focused on the virtual world Second Life and its creator, Linden Lab. The first-year class discussed the case with the company's CEO in the virtual world. Kester, the deputy dean, says some faculty are even experimenting with holding office hours in Second Life. "We want to be on the cutting edge of whatever we're doing," he says. "Maybe the Millennials are coaching us a bit, but that's not a bad thing."