Second-Year Curriculum

Image
mba second year student writing on white board

You’ve set a path toward your goals, established a foundation, and broadened your worldview. This next year, deepen your knowledge and define just what kind of leader you’ll become.

The second half of our program will push you further and expand your mindset beyond what you imagined. You’ll take all electives to round out your general management education, apply core concepts to practical problems, and pursue your interests and passions.

This is your time to test yourself and think boldly. After completing a combination of core and elective courses, you’ll possess the analytical and intuitive skills you need to lead with confidence and truly make a difference.

Electives

We add new electives and revise existing topics every year to reflect changes in the business world, social sector, and faculty’s interests. You’ll explore new subjects and strengthen your areas of expertise, so you’re ready to lead wherever you go.

Featured Courses

Action Learning Program Courses

Learn by doing. Our action learning program courses allow you to face complexities and pressures that happen on the job within a structured, supportive classroom environment. With the guidance of faculty, you’ll get hands-on experience across industries, organizations, and roles, and apply research-based methods to create value for your project sponsor. Featured courses include:

Female an male facing a white board with notes. | Action Learning Program, Stanford GSB

Gain the experience and learn the tools required for success as a product manager.

Image of a finger pointing to a chart on a white board with hearts | Analysis and Measurement of Impact, Stanford GSB

Help impact creators and funders optimize decisions for positive social and environmental impact alongside business performance.

Two females writing on a white board and writing notes.

Use product features, pricing, and communication strategies to change customer behavior and improve key performance indicators.

Courses by Academic Area

Five Lessons in Five Minutes

We teach skills you can take with you long after graduation: skills that make you more innovative, influential, and resilient. Take a look at a few of our courses and what you will learn, from the Frinky Science of the Human Mind to Crafting and Leading Strategy and more.

Explore Classes at Other Stanford Schools

This is about your potential, your goals, your path. We encourage you to take advantage of all Stanford University has to offer. Find areas of study and academic disciplines that will keep you energized towards your future - how you see it.

Go beyond the business school and take courses at any of Stanford’s six other schools, including Education, Engineering, Humanities & Sciences, Law, Medicine, and Sustainability. You may also apply these units toward a joint or dual degree, specific to your desired expertise.

Ivan Rahman
MBA 2019

Interpersonal Dynamics taught me to listen. I know it may sound simple, but it wasn’t for me. I realized that what I had always thought was listening was capturing only part of the story. True listening - being able to discern both the message and emotions underlying someone’s words - strikes me as a superpower. This course helped me cultivate that superpower.

MBA 2022

I took a finance course with a professor who expects so much from you. You’re walking around wondering why you spent more time on that one class than on all your classes combined. Then you get to the end and realize that it may have been your favorite course.

*Based on 2022–2023 course offerings and subject to change