The Stanford MBA experience begins and ends with seminar classes that bring students and faculty together in small groups to delve deeply or debate more broadly.

Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT)

The CAT course, required for first years, puts students in groups of 14 - 16 working closely with a faculty member to delve into complex managerial issues that transcend any single management function.

Other Seminars

Second-year MBAs delve more deeply into the cutting-edge research and ground-breaking ideas of GSB faculty members through a set of seminar offerings.

Bass Seminars allow students to bring their experiences, skills, and interests to bear in courses they help to develop, working closely with a faculty member. Recent topics have included:

• ACCT 354. Analysis and Valuation for Event-Driven Investing
• OB 383. Lives of Consequence: How Individuals Discover Paths to Meaningful Engagement
• OIT 333. Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability
• OIT 581. Biodesign Innovation

September Seminars allow returning students to choose from a variety of topics to be explored deeply. Some recent topics are:

• Poverty, Entrepreneurship, and Development
• Sustainability as Market Strategy
• From Business Concept to Business Plan
• Creativity, Problem Solving, and Innovation
• How to Tell a Story
• Intellectual Property: Financial and Strategic Management
• Small Business Strategy
• New Venture Workshop
• Crafting Effective Interpersonal Communication

The Synthesis Seminar complements the Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT) seminar from the first year. This capstone seminar, held in the spring quarter of the second year, provides students an opportunity to reflect on what they achieved during their two year experience and examine what they hope to achieve in the future.