Invested in your career success
Investment banking is a challenging, rewarding, and lucrative career, and the employment landscape is highly competitive. At the Johnson School, we surround students with a system of resources curated to help them succeed in recruiting and throughout their careers. The investment banking immersion at the Johnson School—part of our full-time Cornell MBA program—delivers the academic and practical expertise and experience you need to become a top banker in the industry.

What is the Investment Banking Immersion (IBI)?

The investment banking immersion—a semester-long deep dive into the industry—builds upon the other strengths of our acclaimed two-year Cornell MBA program. Throughout the semester, you’ll learn from leading faculty members; work on live equity, fixed income, leveraged buy-outs, and mergers and acquisitions; be coached by top investment bankers; and practice pitching and positioning deals to public and private equity investors and corporate CEOs.

Investment banking curriculum

The investment banking immersion consists of a carefully curated package of theory-based classes taught by award-winning academic faculty who are leaders in their research fields. The Investment Banking Immersion Practicum—the signature course within the IBI—serves as the connective tissue between established and cutting-edge academic theory and the real-world investment banking environment.

For instance: Learning how to value a company is important; learning how to apply standard valuation techniques in the context of a live capital raising or preparing for a merger or acquisition deal is a key program differentiator that helps ensure Johnson School MBAs are the most-prepared students.

What Investment Banking Immersion students say

The investment banking immersion prepares students for success during the program and beyond. Explore what students have to say about their experience in the immersion.

“I wanted an MBA that did not just rely on its brand to facilitate its recruiting outcomes but rather an established effective training program for its students and to that end I have been impressed by how tailored and practical the investment banking curriculum has been here at Johnson.”

Ernest Mintah, MBA ’24

“The investment banking immersion (IBI) is one of the most valuable opportunities available to Johnson [School] students, and I believe is what sets the Johnson [School] apart from other “finance” schools, as it allows students to practice the theories and concepts learned in class on real-world transactions being evaluated by the investment banking community.”

Matt Nardini, MBA ’24

“The immersion is helping me develop a point of view on different deals and creating a narrative around if a deal makes sense or not. As a banker, you are a storyteller. With each case that we take on in the immersion, I continuously improve on developing a story around the rationale of a deal. I believe you ultimately develop a point of view by working on these kinds of deals, so the experience the immersion gives us is what really sets Johnson [School] students apart when they show up for their internships.”

Lenna Ohanesian, MBA ’24

Areas of focus

During your second year in the Cornell MBA program, you’ll have the option to choose an area of focus, including investment banking, asset management/investment research, or private equity and venture capital. Through nine elective credits, you’ll continue to build specialized knowledge and set yourself up for career success.

Explore focus areas