The changing coursework of US B-Schools

Top business schools in the US are either renovating or have already overhauled their MBA curriculum. The list includes B-schools like Harvard Business School (HBS), University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School.

For HBS, this is a second time overhaul after Dean Nitin Nohria took over. In 2011, it had made some changes in its first-year curriculum introducing a three-module course called the Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development, or Field. In a three-year process, HBS will introduce new second-year electives, case studies and so on.

Wharton School executed a significant change in its curriculum by shifting the current structure of required classes to how executive education is delivered. One of the new changes includes offering an executive education course to MBA graduates free of charge once every seven years.

Since 2006, Stanford allows its students to tailor the MBA program according to their prior education, work experience, and career goals. Haas Business School also undertook a revamp early this year, placing fresh emphasis on analytical thinking, flexibility, and creativity in the MBA course work, along with revised courses in leadership.