It’s not every day that that the West Point of Capitalism decides to up and change its curriculum, so it’s news when it does. Last week, with little fanfare, the faculty of Harvard Business School (Harvard Full-Time MBA Profile) voted to make two substantive changes to the way it trains the nation’s business elite. While the changes don’t qualify as a complete overhaul along the lines of those announced recently by Wharton and Haas, they represent a significant change in the MBA experience.
The changes, the first since Nitin Nohria took over as the tenth dean of HBS in July, were made after input from alumni, recruiters, and current students, according to an HBS statement emailed to Bloomberg News. Brian Kenny, an HBS spokesperson, said the changes will take effect next fall, and will serve as a platform for future curriculum innovation. “I would say it’s the beginning,” Kenny said. “It’s a structured way to think about how we can innovate the curriculum. “
According to the statement, the first enhancement to the Harvard curriculum will create a new required first-year course called FIELD, for Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development. “It will focus on developing substantively meaningful small-group learning experiences that are experiential, immersive, and field-based, with
the overall goal of advancing the school’s mission to develop leaders who make
a difference in the world.”
Read the full article: Curriculum Reform at Harvard Business School