MBS Business and Science in Personal Care Science

2 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Rutgers University Newark

Program Overview

Rutgers University’s Master of Business and Science (MBS) in Personal Care Science is a two-year graduate program designed for students who want to build specialized expertise in cosmetic and personal care science while developing practical business skills for the industry. Students study formulation science, raw materials, bioactives, emulsions, hair and skin biology, fragrances, regulatory affairs, sustainability, and colloid chemistry alongside finance, leadership, intellectual property, communication, and science and technology management.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students establish their scientific and business foundation through courses such as Fundamentals of Personal Care Science, which covers skincare formulation, hair-care science, cosmetic actives, polymers, and regulatory considerations, alongside Principles of Accounting and Finance for Science and Technology and Ethics in Science and Technology Management. The curriculum also introduces Product Development and Formulations for Personal Care Science, connecting personal-care chemistry with the process of developing products from concept toward market launch.

Year 2: Students move toward advanced formulation, regulatory, market, and management applications through courses such as Cosmetic Quality, Safety, and Global Regulation, Fragrance Applications in Personal Care Science, and Advanced Topics in Personal Care Science and Formulations. The Science and Technology Management Capstone provides an opportunity to integrate scientific and business knowledge into a final professional experience.

Focus areas: Formulation science, cosmetic chemistry, raw materials, bioactives, emulsions, hair biology, skin biology, fragrances, regulatory affairs, sustainability, colloid and interface science, product development, business management, intellectual property, finance, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Learning outcomes: Students develop the ability to understand personal-care product chemistry, analyze formulations and ingredients, develop personal-care products, evaluate regulatory and safety considerations, communicate scientific information, and apply business and management principles to science-based industries.

Professional alignment (accreditation): Rutgers University is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE); the university states that this accreditation supports confidence in the quality of a Rutgers education and provides an institutional foundation recognized by employers and other stakeholders. The official Rutgers accreditation listings do not identify a separate specialized professional accreditation specifically for the MBS Personal Care Science concentration.

Reputation (employability rankings): Rutgers reports #46 in the United States and #203 globally in the Times Higher Education Global University Employability Ranking; Rutgers also reports #5 globally for Job Placement in LinkedIn's ranking of business schools for career growth. These are university-level or business-school rankings rather than rankings specifically assigned to the Personal Care Science concentration.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The MBS in Business and Science in Personal Care Science at Rutgers University–Newark combines scientific training with business-focused learning, allowing students to develop practical knowledge relevant to the personal-care and cosmetics industry. Students gain exposure to formulation science, product development, analytical methods, and business concepts through Rutgers’ interdisciplinary environment, with opportunities to connect their studies to the university’s research and industry-oriented resources.

The program’s experiential opportunities are supported by Rutgers facilities and the wider resources of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, School of Graduate Studies, and Rutgers’ Newark campus. Students can build practical and research skills through laboratory-based coursework, scientific instrumentation, collaborative academic work, and access to specialized research environments:

Personal care science focus: The curriculum includes scientific study relevant to personal-care product development, giving students a foundation in areas such as formulation, chemistry, and product-related scientific analysis.
Laboratory experience: Rutgers provides chemistry teaching and research laboratories where students can develop practical laboratory skills and work with modern chemical instrumentation.
Analytical instrumentation: Rutgers Chemistry and Chemical Biology research facilities include advanced analytical capabilities supporting chemical characterization and research, providing exposure to techniques used in scientific and product-development environments.
Research opportunities: Students can benefit from Rutgers’ broader research environment and interdisciplinary work across chemistry, biology, materials science, and related fields, creating opportunities to connect personal-care science with emerging scientific applications.
Business application: The program combines science with business education, allowing students to develop an understanding of how scientific knowledge can be applied to product development, commercialization, management, and the personal-care industry.
Collaborative learning: Rutgers’ graduate-level learning environment incorporates interaction with faculty and other students, supporting collaborative problem-solving and application of scientific concepts to professional contexts.
University research ecosystem: Students can draw on Rutgers’ wider research infrastructure and academic resources in the sciences and business, supporting interdisciplinary learning beyond the core personal-care curriculum.
Library and digital resources: Rutgers University Libraries provide students with access to scholarly databases, electronic journals, books, research guides, and other digital resources that support scientific research and academic projects.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The MBS Business and Science in Personal Care Science at Rutgers University is designed for careers at the intersection of cosmetic science, product development, and business, with alumni working in roles such as Innovation Scientist, Research Chemist, Product Developer, and Scent Design Associate/Manager. Rutgers specifically identifies alumni working with companies including L’Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, Shiseido, Colgate-Palmolive, and Estée Lauder, while the curriculum combines formulation science with business, regulatory, leadership, intellectual-property, and commercialization skills.

Career development and progression:

Career services: Rutgers MBS provides monthly career workshops, career panels, industry events, individual professional coaching, resume building, interview coaching, job-search planning, and social-media branding. Students and alumni also receive access to the MBS Graduway platform, which includes an alumni job board and professional networking opportunities.
Employment and salary figures: Rutgers does not publish a Personal Care Science-specific employment rate or median starting salary on the official program page. Therefore, a program-specific salary figure is not stated rather than substituting a university-wide or unrelated-major statistic. The program does document alumni positions and employers in the personal-care industry.
Industry partnerships: Rutgers MBS offers semester-long industry projects through its experiential-learning network, with Personal Care Science explicitly listed as a specialty area. Official partners include BASF, Bayer, Beauty Edge, Bentley Laboratories, Church & Dwight, and CINA, among others.
Industry exposure: The program emphasizes professional relationships through industry-expert mentorship, workshops, collaborative projects, networking events, and experiential opportunities, helping students connect scientific formulation knowledge with real product-development and commercialization processes.
Accreditation value: Rutgers University is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Rutgers states that this accreditation provides ongoing institutional quality review and supports confidence among students, alumni, and employers; the university is currently preparing for its next reaccreditation cycle.
Graduation outcomes: Rutgers identifies Personal Care Science alumni working as Innovation Scientist – Color and Skincare, Research Chemist – Skin Care, Product Developer – Global Oral Care R&D, and Scent Design Associate/Manager, with alumni employment reported at major personal-care companies including L’Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, Shiseido, Colgate-Palmolive, and Estée Lauder.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the MBS Personal Care Science program, students can continue into advanced graduate study in areas aligned with their interests, such as cosmetic science, chemistry, chemical biology, pharmaceutical sciences, materials science, regulatory science, or related life-science disciplines. Rutgers also structures the MBS as a professional master's degree combining science and business, so graduates can use the qualification either for industry advancement or as preparation for further specialized academic study. The Personal Care Science curriculum includes advanced subjects such as Advanced Topics in Personal Care Science and Formulations, Dermaceutics, Cosmetic Quality, Safety, and Global Regulation, and Fragrance Applications, providing several directions for subsequent specialization.