Enhanced Core Curriculum Taking Shape

Central to this endeavor are structural changes to the academic calendar designed to meet the evolving and future needs of students and companies while preserving the core’s renowned rigor.

These changes include an expanded orientation program to ensure students have an even richer and more vibrant start to their Tuck MBA experience; adjusted term lengths and new courses for Fall A and Fall B*; a restructured winter term to allow for concentrated recruiting; a refined leadership framework; a new sequence of data analytics courses in Fall A and Fall B; and increased optionality with elective courses. Combined, these changes ensure that Tuck students continue to receive a truly exceptional first-year experience that academically is unquestionably up-to-date in both rigor and relevance.

Now that the general shape of the new curriculum is coming into focus, the school is shifting to the planning and implementation phases of the process to make these changes a reality. Four faculty subcommittees are working on the areas of leadership, point of view and data skills, content, and teaching excellence. The Master Plan is scheduled to be submitted to the Curriculum Committee by July 1. Then begins the ongoing, multi-year implementation plan, which will start with the incoming Class of 2021.

“The first-year core curriculum is a hallmark of the Tuck academic experience and essential to our mission of educating wise leaders to better the world of business,” says Dean Matthew Slaughter. “To create the best curriculum for our students to be successful, we must continually look outward, listen to our many stakeholders, and learn from their feedback to adapt to a dynamic world.”

*As of academic year 2021 – 2022, “Fall A” is now termed Summer Term and “Fall B” is termed Fall Term.