As the culmination of a years-long strategy aimed at best feeding the leadership pipeline of today's established companies and entrepreneurial ventures, UCLA Anderson School of Management has evolved a new core-curriculum design and approach. According to a statement released by the school, "the revised core curriculum, as well as elective courses, were designed with one goal in mind -- to better prepare MBA students for their chosen career tracks."
Based on market information, expert opinion, and insights from recruiters, students and faculty, the new curriculum is built around four key components:
- A customizable core course sequence;
- Tracks that enable students to deepen their knowledge in marketing, finance or consulting, while adding certificate programs in areas of interest;
- Development of leadership and communication skills through specialized courses at the start of the first year;
- Team-based Applied Management Research (AMR) projects conducted over 6 months, in organizations in the US and globally.
The end goal, summarized in the video below is to give Anderson students more of what they need for their summer internships right out of the gate as First Years, allowing them to take essential and applicable courses in advance of their internship interviews.
This video, featuring Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Marketing Andrew Ainslie details the changes:
Anderson Dean Judy Olian said of the new curriculum:
"Employers expect MBA graduates to be ready, from day one, to add value to their organizations. They want to avoid investing time and resources to retrain new MBA hires. With the new curriculum customized around their career needs, UCLA Anderson graduates will be ready to enter the market with deep expertise in their chosen fields when they finish their MBA.
"One size does not fit all. The program is designed to give our students the flexibility they want, and the critical preparation they need."
UPDATE:
The national media is covering the curriculum reform at UCLA Anderson.
BusinessWeek quoted Dean Olian:
"We're in an ever-changing world. If the schools don't change, we're going to be out of touch with how the market is changing globally and around the particular challenges that exist in business."
Finacial Times also spoke to Dean Olian:
“Employers expect MBA graduates to be ready, from day one, to add value to their organisations."
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