First-Year Curriculum
You have big ideas and goals. We give you the most versatile toolkit to achieve those dreams.
Where do you see yourself five years from now? What about 10? 20? Will you be a corporate leader, founder, CFO, nonprofit leader, philanthropist—or all of the above? Our core curriculum is designed to make sure you're ready for anything and everything: to build your analytical foundation and intuitive skills to succeed in whatever comes next.
Coursework in the first year includes your core requirements. You'll dive into complex managerial issues, gain insight into the perspective of senior leaders, and develop your decision-making and communication skills in a global context. And because you and your classmates have different educational and professional backgrounds, some courses offer different levels and options in each required discipline—calibrated to your skills and experience. We'll work with you to find the right path.
Core Requirements
Core requirements are designed to give you insight into the perspective of a senior manager and leader. Core requirements are separated into:
Analytical Foundations
Leadership Foundations
Management Foundations
Analytical Foundations
Data and Decisions
General managers require a sophisticated understanding of what one can—and cannot—infer from data and how to use those inferences to make good decisions. Our courses in data analysis provide the analytical tools and techniques for using data to make appropriate inferences and strong decisions.
Base & Accelerated
Probability, sampling, hypothesis testing, t-tests, linear regression, introductory machine learning / prediction
Advanced
Real-world cases where large-scale data analysis creates significant competitive advantage
Finance
Finance covers the foundations of finance with an emphasis on applications vital for corporate managers. You'll learn the concepts and tools to assess the value of a business or investment opportunity.
Base & Accelerated
Investment decision criteria, valuation of assets and liabilities, risk/return relationships, capital structure choices
Advanced
Deeper work in global financial topics and more sophisticated analytical tools
Financial Accounting
Business leaders must read, understand, and use corporate financial statements. This course develops your understanding of how economic activity maps into financial statements and strengthens your ability to evaluate a firm's performance, condition, and strategic position.
All levels: Focus on users (not preparers) of financial statements
Base & Accelerated
Broad overview of how accounting information is produced and used
Advanced
Skips introductory material; includes international standards and global reporting issues
Best for students with a stronger accounting background.
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is a foundational tool for analyzing market and non-market interactions.
Base & Accelerated
Economics of relationships, pricing decisions, competition and the "invisible hand," risk aversion/sharing, moral hazard, adverse selection
Advanced Applications
Auctions, price discrimination, business strategy
Optimization and Simulation Modeling
Using examples across business settings (online advertising, health care, finance, supply chains, revenue/yield optimization), Optimization and Simulation Modeling (OSM) introduces an analytical approach to business decision-making.
You'll develop/advance your analytical skills and explore how prescriptive analytics and AI support managerial decisions. The course is taught experientially, with short modeling exercises followed by classroom discussion.
Leadership Foundations
Leadership Laboratory
A central question: "Why would someone follow you?" You'll examine what kind of leader you want to be, what kind of leader you are, and how to align behavior with goals.
You'll lead a squad, receive feedback, and practice leadership tools in small-group sessions (five to six students). Topics include managing conflict and assessing team progress. The quarter culminates with the Executive Challenge, featuring alumni judges in role-plays that test your ability to lead effectively.
Leading with Values
With leadership comes responsibility. This course explores ethical issues faced by managers and organizations, using analytical frameworks and research on human behavior to inform ethical decisions.
Through case studies, discussion, exercises, and reflection, you'll clarify your ethical stance, work through dilemmas, and learn to articulate recommendations compellingly—while understanding diverse viewpoints and avoiding common social and cognitive pitfalls.
Managing Groups and Teams
This course introduces the key determinants of group performance and common pitfalls in teamwork. Topics include:
- •Team composition and diversity
- •Creativity and decision-making
- •Leadership and influence
- •Intra- and inter-team conflict
- •Coordination
You'll participate in exercises to practice diagnosing team issues and improving performance.
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior is a practical guide to managing workplace behavior—yours and others'. Drawing from social science research, the course addresses leadership challenges such as motivating employees, decision-making, and navigating conflict through case studies, discussion, experiential exercises, and real-world examples.
The goal is not prescriptive solutions, but skills and understanding to address leadership challenges independently and confidently.
Management Foundations
Management Foundations requirements expose you to additional business functions and advanced management topics. You must complete a set number of units with at least one course from three of the five categories.
Marketing
Marketing courses introduce the substantive and procedural aspects of marketing management, including understanding customer needs and delivering goods and services profitably.
Operations
Operations provides a holistic view of the evolving world of operations, technology, and innovation—covering core concepts and tools, plus how business models, processes, and innovation connect in practice.
Strategy
Strategy courses examine general management and leadership within organizations. You'll learn how to:
- •Set strategic direction
- •Align structure to implement strategy
- •Lead individuals and teams
You'll use frameworks to assess industries and competitive environments, study structure/networks/culture, and develop leadership capabilities—alongside a clearer understanding of your own leadership preferences, strengths, and weaknesses.
Strategy Beyond Markets
Leaders increasingly engage outside traditional markets—working with politicians, regulators, and institutions that shape the rules of competition. Many CEOs report spending substantial time on these issues, even though most managers encounter them late.
This area prepares you to strategically interact with these stakeholders and institutions beyond markets.
Foundations+
These courses broaden and deepen essential business topics, with offerings across Accounting, Finance, HR Management, Managerial Economics, Organizational Behavior, and Political Economics.
Ready to Explore Second Year?
After building your foundation in the first year, you'll move into elective-driven learning and applied experiences that let you specialize, experiment, and grow.
Explore Second-Year Curriculum