Mike Hochleutner, Executive Director, Center for Leadership Development and Research (left), meets with students in preparation for Strategic Leadership.
Learn more about the GSB Executive Challenge, and watch the video.
The Global Experience Requirement takes students out of their comfort zone.
Dean Saloner explains the benefits and advantages of incorporating global awareness into the curriculum.
» Classes at Stanford University
"I spent the year before coming to Stanford working in Hong Kong and would have benefited tremendously from the discussions we were having in class—from tactical ideas of how to gain credibility as a foreigner to broader ideas on building an international expansion strategy. My classmates and I are encouraged to think about the more complex issues associated with globalization, where there are lots of moving parts, missing information, and no clear-cut answers. Discussions often continue outside class."
The Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT) seminar, an innovation in the first-year curriculum, also earned high praise from Karen.
"I love taking a seminar that allows me to interact closely with classmates from diverse backgrounds. Plus I have learned to focus on the need to understand evidence, construct arguments, write effectively, and get my point across quickly. CAT has helped refine my critical perspective."
Although the workload can be challenging—at the beginning of the term she was spending up to 60 hours a week on class preparation and now averages 30-40 hours a week on academics outside class—Karen remains pleased at the ongoing level of collaboration among students.
"Never have I felt unhealthy competition among my classmates. From the size of the school, to the atmosphere, to the friendliness of faculty and students, the overall experience has been overwhelmingly positive."
And, says Karen, she has had the opportunity to partake of the San Francisco Bay Area’s amenities.
"I go to San Francisco a couple of times a month. I have visited Point Reyes and gone surfing at Pismo Beach. And even when we are studying hard, my classmates and I take breaks for impromptu wine tastings and birthday parties. Stanford is a true community."
Karen Hart, MBA 2009
Curriculum Overview
The Stanford MBA Program will empower you to reach your full potential. Yes, you will be challenged by the rigor of the academic program. More important, however, you will learn about yourself and develop personal resources that will sustain you throughout your career. We will help you develop your vision and the substance required for achieving it.
Tailored Curriculum
Here, you will gain strong management fundamentals and the ability to tailor learning.
- First-year Management Foundations courses offer a menu of choices in each required discipline, calibrated to your skills, experience, and future goals.
- Throughout your MBA experience, you also can incorporate courses—even degrees—from other Stanford graduate areas.
- We can help you reach your goals faster.
Diverse Teaching Methods
How we teach is clearly different and an advantage.
- By selecting the most meaningful and effective teaching method for each subject, we maximize your learning and bring concepts to life.
- You will learn through projects, simulations, prototyping, role-playing scenarios, global immersions, and case studies, as well as from your classmates' rich backgrounds.
- Few MBA programs offer the diversity of learning opportunities that you find here.
Small Group Connections
The Stanford MBA Program purposely structures your MBA experience to support active collaboration with classmates and faculty in small, connected groups.
- In your first quarter, you will be part of a 16 student seminar, giving you opportunities to build relationships with faculty and to defend your viewpoints in depth.
- Leadership teams and leadership labs help you augment your skills with personalized leadership coaching. Learn more about the GSB Executive Challenge, and watch the video.
- Close connections with faculty enable you to delve deeply into cutting-edge research and groundbreaking ideas.
Global Experience
Understanding global forces and frameworks is critical to tomorrow's leaders.
- You will enhance your cultural, historical, political, and social knowledge through global coursework. And then you will expand and apply this learning through direct exposure in a country with which you are not familiar.
- We offer a variety of Global Study Trips, Service Learning Trips, immersion internships, and international exchange opportunities.
Advising Team
From the start, we support you with a team of people focused on helping you make the decisions that are right for you.
- Your faculty advisor knows your background and helps you craft an individual study plan.
- Leadership and writing coaches will help you develop critical skills.
- A student life advisor will help you identify and pursue opportunities for putting leadership skills into practice, and career advisors help you identify your next steps.
- Each person on your team is here to help you reach your goals, as quickly as possible and in the manner that best meets your needs.
