Cornell - Johnson Redesigns MBA Program

New curriculum additions focus on leadership and analytical skills

Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management has announced that it has added some new curriculum options to its MBA program.

The curriculum refresh will help participants develop their leadership, critical-thinking, and analytical skills, according to the school.

"Our new curriculum reflects the findings of the curriculum review, as well as industry and research trends in leadership, collaborative teamwork, and data analytics,” says Vishal Gaur, associate dean for MBA programs.

“We’re carrying forward innovation in required courses to elective offerings, as well, exposing students to fresh ideas and creative, team-oriented problem solving approaches.”

An example of the revamped curriculum is the class "Data Analytics and Modeling," which is a required course and covers core topics in big data and data modeling. These concepts are then addressed in other classes, so that students can get a sense of how to apply them across business disciplines.

Additionally, all MBA students will participate in a personalized leadership development program. This begins with a pre-term individual leadership assessment and continues throughout the program with a number of leadership courses, such as "Principled Leadership," which addresses leadership challenges and leverages insights from social science research. Students will also have opportunities to attend leadership development workshops and expeditions.

A few new elective courses will also be offered as part of Johnson's MBA program, including one called "FinTech Trek and Hackathon," where students will go to Cornell Tech in New York City to develop financial products or services that meet a real business need. Other new elective options will cover topics in design thinking and leadership.

The MBA redesign is the result of a two-year process where the school surveyed students, alumni, corporate recruiters, faculty, and staff to identify current business challenges and opportunities. The curriculum updates are currently being rolled-out to the class of 2016.

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