Sy Syms School of Business

Sy Syms School of Business

Motto	Developing Torah-grounded professionals who excel in the workplace and in the community
Type	Private business school
Established	1987 (1987)
Parent institution	Yeshiva University
Dean	Michael Strauss
Location	New York City , US
Website	www.yu.edu/syms/

Sy Syms School of Business is the business school of Yeshiva University. It offers undergraduate business programs at the Wilf Campus in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood, (500 West 185th Street), and graduate business programs at the Beren Campus in New York's Murray Hill neighborhood.

The school offers a complete business curriculum, affording preparation with a base in liberal arts studies.^[1]

Background

The school was established in 1987 through a $22 million endowment from businessman and philanthropist Sy Syms and other business leaders.

The founding dean was Dr. Michael Schiff, formerly head of the accounting department at NYU's Stern School of Business, alongside founding associate dean Ira Jaskoll [2].

The graduate programs are secular and religious study is not required. Graduate students come from all walks of life and backgrounds.

The undergraduate curriculum combines business alongside a Jewish studies component. Jewish tradition provides the framework for consideration of ethical issues in classes. All undergraduate Sy Syms students are required to attend one of the four schools of Jewish studies.

Sy Syms School of Business is accredited as a business school by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.^[2]

Campus and facilities

The main building on Wilf Campus is the 235-foot tall Belfer Hall that was originally built in 1968 for the use of Wurzweiler School of Social Work & Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, but is now shared by the three schools and university administrative offices. Belfer Hall, named for philanthropists Diane and Arthur Belfer, is one of the tallest educational structures in the world. The school's students live in the surrounding residence halls of Yeshiva University. Students can also workout at the Syms Fitness Center located in Rubin Hall.

The graduate programs take place in the university's midtown Beren Campus located in Murray Hill.^[3] Three of the programs are now offered online.^[4]

Academics

Undergraduate students take business courses through the Sy Syms School of Business and complete their liberal arts requirements at Yeshiva College or Stern College for Women. Women undertake their Jewish studies at Stern, while men attend one of four Jewish studies options:

• James Striar School of General Jewish Studies/Mechinah Program
• Yeshiva Program/Mazer School of Talmudic Studies
• Isaac Breuer College of Hebrew Studies
• Irving I. Stone Beit Midrash Program

Sy Syms School of Business offers undergraduate programs leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, business analytics, finance, marketing, and strategy and entrepreneurship. Students may also pursue minors and elective coursework through Yeshiva University's undergraduate schools, subject to academic requirements. The curriculum combines business education with liberal arts studies and includes coursework addressing ethics, leadership, and professional responsibility.

The school offers honors courses and academic enrichment opportunities for qualified students. A general business minor is offered to students majoring in Yeshiva University's liberal arts college, Yeshiva College. Additionally, Syms students may pursue a minor in a subject area within Yeshiva College, or opt for Undergraduate Dual Majors.

The school offers the Business Honors and Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, directed by Dr. Sharon Poczter, which provides advanced coursework and leadership development

Graduate programs

The Sy Syms School of Business offers graduate degree programs including the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Finance, and Master of Science in Management. MBA instruction is available in both on-campus and online formats.The school also offers an MBA Pathways program, which provides early assurance and deferred admission for high-achieving Yeshiva University undergraduates [19].

MBA programs: The on-campus MBA (“MBA NYC Campus”) is a STEM-designated, 36-credit graduate program for professionals seeking to make data-driven, ethically grounded strategic decisions, with fall or spring start dates. The MBA Online program is also a 36-credit program with fall, spring, or summer start dates, allowing students to customize their course of study.[5][6]

M.S. in Finance: A 10-course program offered on Yeshiva University's New York City campuses, available full-time or part-time, designed to prepare students for careers in finance.[5]

M.S. in Management: An online program with approximately $19,000 total tuition, offered full-time or part-time, designed for early-career professionals seeking foundations in management, leadership, and business strategy.[5]

The school also offers joint-degree programs in partnership with other divisions of Yeshiva University, including a JD/MBA program with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (open to current Cardozo students) and a Joint Semikha/MBA program through the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), aimed at rabbinic and community leaders. Graduate business programs are administered through Yeshiva University's graduate campuses in New York City.

Entrepreneurship

The Sy Syms School of Business maintains a strong focus on entrepreneurship. The school's entrepreneurship program's offerings are organized through,^[5] an undergraduate program funded by an initial grant from Mr. and Mrs. Ira Rennert, for whom it is named.[9] REI combines classroom instruction with seminars, workshops, coaching, mentoring, internships, and consulting engagements.[9]

REI offers a twelve-course, 3-credit-per-course management concentration in entrepreneurship, consisting of Principles of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Managing a Growth Business, New Venture Management, Business and Marketing Strategy (capstone course), Turnaround Business Strategy, Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital, Franchising, Licensing and Distributorships, Family Business Management, the Ira Kukin Contemporary Business Issues Seminar, an MBA-level Foundations of Entrepreneurship course, and an Entrepreneurship and Innovation seminar.[9] Entrepreneurship courses may also be taken as electives outside the concentration.[9]

REI works with the Sy Syms Center for Executive and Professional Education (CEPE) to offer continuing-education seminars on entrepreneurship skills and strategies, growing and harvesting entrepreneurial ventures, managing the family business life cycle, success strategies for family businesses, and social entrepreneurship for not-for-profit organizations.[9]

Other REI-affiliated programs include the annual Dr. William Schwartz Student Business Plan Competition, the YU Fast-Pitch Competition, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, the SSB Entrepreneurship Society, the Syms Leaders in Management Club, the Avraham Naymark Scholarship Program, an internship program with the Israel Economic Mission (IEMNA), and partnerships with the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and Israel & Co.[9] The school also runs the Doris and Dr. Ira Kukin Entrepreneurial Lecture Series, in which students hear from business executives.[7]

References

[1] “Sy Syms School of Business.” Yeshiva University. https://www.yu.edu/syms. Accessed June 2026. [2] Existing citation (founding dean / Sy Syms endowment) — retained from prior article version; verify and update with current source if available. [3] “Yeshiva University Appoints Dr. Elad Granot as Dean of Undergraduate Sy Syms School of Business.” Yeshiva University, March 2026. Also: “Dean Noam Wasserman to Leave Sy Syms; Join Ramaz as Head of School.” The Commentator, January 2025. Also: “Syms Undergraduate Programs.” Yeshiva University. https://www.yu.edu/syms/undergraduate. Accessed June 2026. [4] “Schools Accredited in Business – ordered by name.” Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). [5] “Sy Syms School of Business – Graduate Programs.” Yeshiva University. https://www.yu.edu/syms/gradprograms. Accessed June 2026. [6] “Masters of Business Administration.” Yeshiva University. https://www.yu.edu/syms/mba. Accessed June 2026. [7] “Business Honors and Entrepreneurial Leadership.” Yeshiva University. https://www.yu.edu/syms/honors. [8] “Dual undergraduate and graduate programs – MBA Pathways.” Yeshiva University. https://go.yu.edu/pathways. [9] “The Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Entrepreneurial Institute.” Yeshiva University. https://www.yu.edu/syms/rei. Accessed June 2026. }}

External links

• Sy Syms School of Business
• Sy Syms School of Business Executive MBA Program

40°51′05″N 73°55′50″W / 40.85126°N 73.93064°W / 40.85126; -73.93064