University of Michigan - Erb Institute

What University of Michigan - Erb Institute does

The University of Michigan Erb Institute, legally the Frederick A. & Barbara M. Erb Institute, is a non-profit academic institute founded in 1996 by Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb as a partnership between Michigan Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). It operates as a dual-degree program offering a combined MBA (from Ross) and MS (from SEAS) over a 2.5-3 year period, with students paying tuition through both schools independently. The institute also runs the Erb Fellows program, the only business and sustainability undergraduate offering at U-M, and supports a lifelong alumni community via the Hivebrite platform.

The institute has no proprietary technology; its core "product" is the curriculum itself, anchored by the first-year "Erb on the Road" course and supplemented by Partner-Led Impact Projects that pair students with alumni and organizations on real-world sustainability challenges. Scholarships and support funds include the Erb Institute Student Support Fund and the Miguel Andrés Sossa-Mardomingo (MÁS) Scholarship Fund, both administered through U-M's giving infrastructure.

The institute's revenue mechanics flow through the University of Michigan system: tuition is collected via Ross and SEAS, and the institute's own operating budget is funded through donations and scholarship endowments. The Erb Institute is located at 700 East University, Kresge Hall, 3rd Floor West, Suite 3510, Ann Arbor, Michigan, with approximately 60 employees. Its target customer segments are graduate students seeking careers in consulting, impact investing, food and agriculture, energy, consumer packaged goods, and supply chain, plus a smaller cohort of sustainability-curious undergraduates.

Name

University of Michigan - Erb Institute

Legal name

Frederick A. & Barbara M. Erb Institute

Website

https://erb.umich.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Erb Institute is a non-profit academic program at the University of Michigan offering a dual MBA/MS degree in business and sustainability, serving graduate students and undergraduate Erb Fellows through partnerships with Michigan Ross and the School for Environment and Sustainability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Sustainability Business Dual-Degree)

NAICS

Business and Secretarial Schools (611410), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

MBA & Executive MBA Programs (EDAHAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Undergraduate Business Schools (BBA/BSBA Programs) (EDAHAHAA)

Keywords

• Sustainability business education
• Dual degree MBA program
• Graduate business school
• Environmental sustainability studies
• Impact investing education

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: The Erb Institute operates as a dual-degree program within the University of Michigan system. Students pay tuition to both Ross School of Business and SEAS for their respective degree programs. Additional professional development funding, impact project funding, and internship funding are available to admitted students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Erb Institute delivers a 2.5–3 year dual-degree MBA/MS program jointly with Michigan Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), plus an undergraduate Erb Fellows program, Partner-Led Impact Projects, and supporting coursework such as Erb on the Road. Students graduate with both an MBA from Ross and an MS from SEAS, supported by professional development funding, impact project funding, internship funding, and access to a lifelong Hivebrite-based alumni community.

Product overview

The Erb Institute offers a portfolio of educational programs centered on its dual-degree MBA/MS graduate program delivered jointly with Michigan Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). The institute also provides an undergraduate Erb Fellows program, Partner-Led Impact Projects for experiential learning, and manages an alumni community platform. Additional offerings include scholarship funds (Student Support Fund and MÁS Scholarship Fund) and the Erb on the Road required course for first-year graduate students. The institute operates as an academic institute focused on creating a sustainable world through the power of business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Graduate Dual Degree Program (MBA/MS) A 2.5–3 year dual-degree program offered jointly with Michigan Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), preparing graduate students to drive sustainability impact through business. Graduates earn both an MBA and an MS.
• Undergraduate Erb Fellows Program An undergraduate program offering University of Michigan students the opportunity to develop expertise in both business and environmental sustainability, providing early exposure to the intersection of business and sustainability.
• Erb on the Road A required first-year course exclusively for Erb students that introduces a curated set of sustainability issues and management tools and provides a framework for career visioning in sustainability.
• Partner-Led Impact Projects Collaborative projects that pair alumni and partner organizations with student teams to address real-world sustainability challenges, providing hands-on experience for students while advancing organizational sustainability goals.
• Alumni Community Platform A dedicated online community hosted on Hivebrite connecting Erb students and alumni, enabling networking by industry and location, resource sharing, job postings, events, and ongoing engagement with the Erb community.
• Erb Institute Student Support Fund A scholarship and support fund that empowers students to apply business and sustainability education to real-world challenges, providing critical support for action-based learning, career exploration, and professional development.
• Miguel Andrés Sossa-Mardomingo (MÁS) Scholarship Fund A scholarship fund supporting admitted graduate students pursuing dual degrees through the Ross School of Business MBA and the School for Environment and Sustainability MS at the Erb Institute.

Quantifiable outcome

• Dual-degree graduates pursue careers across consulting, impact investing, food and agriculture, energy, consumer packaged goods, supply chain, and more

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb (Founders)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996The Erb Institute was founded by Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb in 1996. They have provided vital support and contributions to the institute over the ensuing years, including establishing scholarships and the institute's ongoing operations. The institute is named after them in recognition of their foundational investment in creating a sustainable world through business education.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Presidio Graduate School: Presidio offers MBA and MPA programs explicitly focused on sustainability and social impact, serving a similar mission-driven niche but at smaller scale and without the dual-degree anchor of a major research university that Erb provides.
• Bard MBA in Sustainability: Bard's MBA in Sustainability is a specialized program targeting the same business-and-sustainability intersection as Erb, though it is a stand-alone MBA rather than a dual-degree and lacks a top-tier business school partner.

Direct peers

• Columbia Business School: Columbia offers an MBA with a Sustainability concentration and collaborates with Columbia's Climate School, providing a competing dual-track pathway for students seeking business and sustainability expertise similar to Erb's structure.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business: Stanford GSB offers an MBA with strong sustainability and ESG electives, and recruits a similar high-caliber, mission-driven applicant pool. It is the most direct competitor to Erb's dual-degree value proposition of combining top-tier business training with sustainability depth.
• Yale School of Management: Yale SOM operates an MBA with significant sustainability and environmental management content through its partnerships with the Yale School of the Environment, directly mirroring Erb's MBA + sustainability MS structure.
• UC Berkeley Haas School of Business: Haas centers its MBA around sustainability and ethical leadership via its Business for Humanity Institute, attracting applicants seeking business education with environmental and social impact focus comparable to Erb's dual-degree audience.
• MIT Sloan School of Management: MIT Sloan offers an MBA with a Sustainability Certificate and the Sustainability Lab at the Martin Trust Center, serving a technically oriented, mission-driven cohort that overlaps with Erb's applicant profile.
• Northwestern Kellogg School of Management: Kellogg offers sustainability-focused MBA majors and pathways and partners with Northwestern's environmental programs, positioning itself as a comparable destination for students wanting business plus sustainability education.

Broad incumbents

• Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: Wharton offers ESG and sustainability content across its MBA program and executive education, competing for the same high-achieving applicant pool as Erb and providing an alternative pathway for those seeking business plus sustainability expertise.
• INSEAD: INSEAD offers an MBA with sustainability and social entrepreneurship concentrations and a global footprint, competing with Erb for internationally minded applicants who want business leadership with sustainability content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erb-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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