Bridging Dual Programs Through Information Architecture
NYU Stern Executive MBA Website Redesign
Two Executive MBA programs were meant to be equal, but they were separated by sub-sites and not equally promoted. I led the redesign from research through the Drupal build, creating a single entry point where prospects could compare New York City and Washington, D.C. side by side. After launch, both programs drew near-equal engagement, and the NYU team now maintains one set of pages instead of two.
NYU flag and building, New York City
Project Details
Client
NYU Stern Executive MBA Admissions and Marketing team
Team
Myself; Client Success Teammate, Data Analyst (all working as freelancers through Swarm NYC)
Role
Freelance Product Designer
Methodology
Product Discovery, Information Architecture, UI Design, Drupal Implementation
Timeline
February 2024-April 2025
The Problem
NYU Stern runs two Executive MBA programs, one in New York City and one in Washington, D.C. They were meant to stand on equal footing, but each program had its own sub-site. An internal usability study from the client found that prospects struggled to compare the two programs, find basic details, and get the information they expected up front.
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The Admissions and Marketing team wanted to make the site easier to navigate, give the Washington, D.C. program equal visibility, and lay the groundwork for more applications and event signups. They also needed a site they could update and track on their own within the university's Drupal templates.
Prospects were weighing a major life change and investment, but the site made basic answers hard to find.
Impact
According to a post-launch analysis by Swarm's data analyst, the redesign put the D.C. program on equal footing with New York City.
After launch, both programs drew near-equal engagement from CTAs on the new domestic programs page.
Admissions and Marketing now maintain one set of pages instead of duplicate content for each program.
The navigation, FAQ, and application changes weren't measured because NYU's analytics weren't set up to track them yet. That gap shaped the next phase of work.
What I Did and Why
As a freelance product designer working through Swarm, with a teammate managing the client relationship, I led the website redesign from research through implementation.
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Discovery: I synthesized the NYU lab's research, conducted interviews and surveys with internal stakeholders, and ran an opportunities workshop with the NYU Admissions and Marketing team to set priorities. The team wanted to cut duplicate NYC and D.C. pages wherever possible, so I led a card sort with them to separate shared content from program-specific content, and mapped the prospect journey to see where key questions came up.
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Design: I wireframed a new navigation and updated pages, including a new domestic programs page as the entry point, where prospects could compare NYC and D.C. side by side and see program highlights up front, which the research showed they wanted.
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Implementation: I built the new pages in Drupal using NYU's templates and components, then refined them with Admissions and Marketing and their tech team before launch.
Key Findings and What Changed
INSIGHT:
Each program had its own sub-site, and much of the content was duplicated between them. The client's lab study found prospects struggled to find basic details, and Admissions and Marketing were maintaining two versions of the same pages.
DECISION:
I led a card sort with the Admissions and Marketing team to separate shared content from program-specific content, and mapped the prospect journey to see where key questions came up. I then completely restructured the navigation around shared sections like Tuition, Admissions, and Academics, consolidating duplicate pages wherever possible and moving the differences between programs into sub-pages within each section.
RESULT:
Prospects could find answers in one place instead of on two parallel sites, and the team no longer had to maintain duplicate versions of every major section.
New Navigation Mockup
Redesigned Navigation Map
INSIGHT:
The lab study showed prospects weren't just learning about one program. They were deciding between NYC and D.C. But because each program had its own sub-site, comparing the two meant jumping between them, and D.C. never got the equal footing it was meant to have.
DECISION:
I wireframed and designed a domestic programs page as the shared entry point, with a side-by-side program comparison and key information up front.
RESULT:
After launch, our data analyst reported that both programs drew near-equal engagement from the page's CTAs.
BEFORE Flow: Individual pages for NYC and Washington, D.C. with duplicative pages
AFTER Flow: New Domestic Executive MBA Programs Homepage (Entrypoint)
New Domestic Programs Homepage
What I Learned
I designed the pages before I was familiar with NYU's Drupal templates, and approvals went through Admissions and Marketing without a full technical review. Some approved designs ran into template limits during the build, a course layout designed as a graphic had to become a simple table, and CTA placement followed the template rather than the ideal layout.
Now I bring technical feasibility into the review process early, before designs go up for approval.