Thoughts on New Curriculum

I wanted to offer my thoughts on Stanford GSB new MBA curriculum starting with the entering class in 2007 (Class of 2009)- well I have to say it is definitely a big departure from the traditional MBA curriculum, having spoke to my other peers here in Seattle from other top business schools, Stanford already had a more customizable curriculum than others- allowing you to exempt or turbo (take a more challenging flavor) of courses. The new curriculum extends the customization- not only making a lot of sense for the extremely diverse academic and work experiences, but putting the student more in charge of developing their management education. The drive to become more global has been extended by requiring students to go on study trips, international internships or going on a student exchange with Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management in China. I do think they need to definitely spend a significant amount of time globalizing the cases. There is also a drive to increase more international applicants by extending the testing requirements to include GRE test takers- this definitely makes a lot of sense in lowering the total cost of admission to would be graduate degree applicants- particularly for those who can’t afford to take more tests. I don’t think the comparing ‘’apples and oranges’’ part is that important- it’s simply a practical step in widening the application pool - yes, the tests are different, but in my mind it’s just a discipline test.
I like the leadership part- effectively emphasizing the importance of personal development and organizational behavior- no surprises, since time and time again alumni have said that courses such as ‘’touchy feely’’ (interposal dynamics) are the best thing they have ever taken at Stanford- its natural that they make that a core part of the curriculum.