M.B.A. Degree Requirements and Academic Policies
The M.B.A. Curriculum
The Yale School of Management offers a two-year program leading to the degree of Master of Business Administration. A Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science or equivalent undergraduate degree is requisite for admission to the M.B.A. program. The program requires two years of full-time study in residence and comprises both course work and non-course activities.
In the first year, students devote the majority of their time to the core courses, and are also required to participate in the orientation curriculum and a formal Leadership Development Program. In the summer following the first year, students continue their management training through internships or other appropriate activity, in fulfillment of the First-Summer Requirement. In the second year, elective courses complete requirements for the degree. See M.B.A. Degree Requirements, below.
The Core Sequence
Traditional functional management disciplines are integrated in an innovative core curriculum designed to reflect the contexts encountered by today’s managers and to better prepare students for what they will find in the workplace. Courses in the first-year curriculum are taught in three segments: Orientation to Management, Organizational Perspectives, and the Integrated Leadership Perspective.
Orientation to Management
The first segment of the core curriculum, Orientation to Management, introduces students to essential concepts and skills. Courses include Managing Groups and Teams, Basics of Accounting, Probability Modeling and Statistics, Basics of Economics, Spreadsheet Modeling, Problem Framing, and Careers.
Organizational Perspectives
The heart of the first-year curriculum is a series of multidisciplinary, team-taught courses called Organizational Perspectives that teach students to draw on a broad range of information, tools, and skills to develop creative solutions and make strategic decisions. These courses include Employee, Innovator, Operations Engine, Sourcing and Managing Funds, Competitor, Customer, Investor, The Global Macroeconomy, and State and Society.
Fundamental frameworks and concepts are often taught through multimedia “raw” cases and group assignments on topics drawn directly from real-world challenges facing business and nonprofit organizations.
A course on Negotiation is completed at the beginning of the Organizational Perspectives segment.
Integrated Leadership Perspective
Taught during the final part of the core curriculum, the Integrated Leadership Perspective presents students with a series of complex case studies of organizations of different scale, from small entrepreneurial start-ups to large multinational corporations, across a variety of sectors. These cases require students to draw on the subject matter learned in the Organizational Perspectives courses, and also rely heavily on real-world data sources such as 10-Ks and research reports, not traditionally part of M.B.A. course work.
Leadership Development Program
All Yale Management students participate in the Leadership Development Program in their first year. The program consists of a series of exercises, workshops, assessments, and group meetings, as well as individual meetings to support and develop each student’s unique leadership potential.
First-year students will meet in groups of approximately twenty, supported by two second-year M.B.A. advisers and a member of the faculty. The materials for these meetings will be closely integrated with materials and learnings from the classroom and with skill development workshops run by the Career Development Office. These same small groups will travel together during the International Experience trips in March of 2010.
The Leadership Development Program is designed to allow students to seek, understand, connect to, and articulate their own individual aspirations, to inspire real inquiry, and to suggest paths for leadership at Yale and beyond.
International Experience
In March, during the spring break, first-year students are required to take part in a ten-day International Experience, in which they travel to countries outside the United States, are rapidly immersed in a new environment, and meet with business, government, and nonprofit organization leaders. The faculty-led trips are tied thematically to the core curriculum, particularly in The Global Macroeconomy and State and Society, and involve intensive study and the completion of a project.
Please see the Policies of the Office of Student and Academic Services, below, for policies governing trip fees for the International Experience.
First-Summer Requirement
Between the first and second years of the program, students are required to further their management education, normally by obtaining management experience through employment or internship. This requirement may be fulfilled by completing relevant course work at Yale or another approved institution of higher learning, or by completing another approved alternate activity.
Elective Courses
Elective courses, chosen from the offerings described in the chapter on M.B.A. Courses for 2009–2010, or from the approved offerings in other Yale schools and departments, complete the course requirement for the M.B.A. degree.
M.B.A. Degree Requirements
Degree requirements are designed and administered to ensure the integrity of the M.B.A. degree program. Any exception to the requirements must be approved by the faculty. The requirements fall into the following areas: Enrollment Requirement, Leadership Development Program Requirement, Number of Course Units, Timing Requirement, Distribution of Courses, and the Quality Standard. To qualify for the M.B.A. degree, students must at all times meet the conditions to continue as a degree candidate, and must meet all requirements as follows:
Enrollment Requirement
The M.B.A. must be completed in four consecutive terms of full-time study, unless a student is permitted to take a leave of absence. A student enrolled in a joint-degree program is required to maintain continuous, full-time enrollment throughout the program and to complete degree requirements within the normal period specified for the program in the appropriate joint-degree agreement, unless granted a leave of absence.
Leadership Development Program Requirement
To satisfy the Leadership Development Program requirement, a student must attend and participate in all group and individual Leadership Development Program meetings.
Number of Course Units
A student must:
- 1. Achieve credit, i.e., a grade of Pass or better, in 72 units of course work, of which 32 are normally earned in first-year core courses. Successful completion of more than 72 units does not offset deficiency in any other degree requirement (in particular, see Distribution of Courses and Quality Standard, below); and
- 2. Enroll in and receive a grade in a minimum of 16 units of course work each term. Further, each student must maintain enrollment in at least four courses during each part of the term and receive grades of at least Pass in at least 2 units. Taking a course overload in any part of a term does not excuse a student from the four-course minimum in any other part of a term.
Timing Requirement
To be permitted to enroll for the second year of the M.B.A. program, a student must meet all of the following requirements:
- 1. Have achieved Proficiency in at least 20 units of core courses;
- 2. Have received credit in at least 28 units of core courses;
- 3. Have received a grade in 32 units of core courses;
- 4. Have satisfied the Leadership Development Program Requirement.
Distribution of Courses
To graduate, a student must:
- 1. Achieve credit in each of the following core courses:
- Basics of Accounting (2 units)
- Basics of Economics (2 units)
- Probability Modeling and Statistics (2 units)
- Spreadsheet Modeling (1 unit)
- Problem Framing (2 units)
- Careers (1 unit)
- Managing Groups and Teams (1 unit)
- Introduction to Negotiation (0.5 unit)
- Competitor (2 units)
- Customer (2 units)
- Investor (2 units)
- Sourcing and Managing Funds (2 units)
- International Experience (0.5 unit)
- The Global Macroeconomy (2 units)
- Employee (2 units)
- Operations Engine (2 units)
- State and Society (2 units)
- Innovator (2 units)
- Integrated Leadership Perspective (2 units)
- 2. Achieve credit in elective courses as necessary to meet the 72-unit course requirement.
Quality Standard
A student falls short of the Quality Standard if he/she:
1. Accumulates nonproficient grades in 21 or more units of course work; or
2. Accumulates nonproficient grades in 13 or more units of core courses; or
3. Accumulates failing grades in 5 or more units of core courses.
Remediation of Failing Grades in Core Courses
A student who is Proficient in at least 20 units and receives credit in at least 28 units of core courses but fails one or more core courses must remediate the failing grade(s) either by retaking the course and achieving a passing grade, by passing a proficiency examination, if offered, or through alternate activity as specified by the instructor and coordinated by the director of student and academic services. In no case will a grade other than Pass be recorded when a failed core course is remediated.
A failing grade in a core course must be remediated in the next term or part of term in which the course is offered. A student who does not remediate the failing grade will automatically be dismissed from the program.
Academic Standards
Review Process
The registrar conducts a review of the academic progress of all M.B.A. students at the midpoint and end of each term. Students who have received nonproficient grades are brought to the attention of the director of student and academic services and the chair of the Academic Standards Committee. Students who are in possible or imminent danger of dismissal and/or are of concern to the committee are referred to the Academic Standards Committee.
The director of student and academic services will notify all students who are referred to the Academic Standards Committee, making every reasonable effort to provide at least twenty-four hours’ notice before the student is to meet with the committee. The student may present to the committee, either orally or in writing, any information that he/she believes is relevant.
The Academic Standards Committee
The Academic Standards Committee is composed of faculty members who hold “track” or “in the practice” appointments. The director of admissions and the director of student and academic services serve as members ex officio. The membership of the committee is a matter of public record.
The committee’s primary purpose is to review cases, to provide counsel to students in academic difficulty, and, if necessary, to dismiss students from the program, according to the policies outlined below. In addition, the committee serves as a faculty committee of review for exceptions to academic rules and for proposed changes to academic rules and/or policies.
Academic Grounds for Dismissal
Any student whose academic performance puts him/her at risk of not fulfilling all requirements for the degree may be reviewed for dismissal. In cases where dismissal is not automatic, the Academic Standards Committee may permit the student to remain in the program if the committee finds that the conditions that caused the deficient performance no longer prevail and judges that the student will be able to satisfy all requirements for the degree.
Dismissal from the M.B.A. program is automatic if and when it becomes impossible for a student to satisfy the degree requirements with respect to the Number of Course Units, the Timing Requirement, the Distribution of Courses, or the Quality Standard. Thus, dismissal becomes automatic if a student:
- 1. Fails to receive credit in 72 units of course work by the end of the normal period of residency (52 units for joint-degree students); or
- 2. Fails to receive a grade in at least 4 courses for each term or part of term; or
- 3. Accumulates nonproficient grades in 13 or more units of core courses; or
- 4. Accumulates failing grades in 5 or more units of core courses; or
- 5. Fails to remediate a grade of Fail in a core course in the term or part of term in which the course is next offered; or
- 6. Accumulates nonproficient grades in 21 or more units of core and/or elective courses (16 or more units for joint-degree students).
Within two business days of his/her meeting with the Academic Standards Committee, the student will be provided by the director of student and academic services with a written summary of his/her academic situation and the committee’s decision and recommendations.
Appeal of Academic Dismissal
A student who has been dismissed by action of the Academic Standards Committee may appeal by written petition to the dean of the School. An appeal must be filed within forty-five days from the date of the letter notifying the student of the dismissal. The dean will refer the appeal to the Faculty Review Board. The Faculty Review Board, chaired by the dean, consists of the dean and two senior faculty members. The Review Board will ordinarily reach a final decision within two months of the receipt of the letter of appeal. However, if the School is not in session during part of this time, or in instances where additional time may be required because of the complexity of the case, the dean may extend either of the time periods specified above. A student who has been dismissed and has exhausted the appeal process cannot be readmitted except through the normal admission process.
Academic Policies
Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend classes regularly, be on time, and be prepared to contribute to class discussion. If religious observance, illness, or a personal emergency will prevent a student from attending a class, the instructor should be informed in advance whenever possible. If the circumstances make advance notice impossible, an e-mail as soon as possible after the missed class is the next best alternative. The student must make arrangements with a classmate to get notes and copies of class handouts.
If a student has to leave town for a personal or family emergency, or will be out of class for an extended period because of illness, he or she must first contact the director of student and academic services.
Using cell phones, browsing the Internet, or reading e-mail during class distracts classmates and interrupts their learning experience as well as the student’s own. Cell phones, pagers, or other electronic devices are to be turned off during class. The use of laptops for academic purposes is at the discretion of the instructor.
Examinations
Students are expected to take all exams at the scheduled time. Exams may be rescheduled only in exceptional circumstances such as a religious observance, incapacitating illness, or serious family emergency. Travel arrangements, mild illness, and the like are not acceptable reasons to change an exam time.
If there is a need to change the date or time of an exam, the student is to contact the director of student and academic services before the scheduled exam begins. In case of illness, the student will be required to provide written confirmation from a healthcare professional at the Yale Health Plan. An alternate exam date will be determined by the director of student and academic services in consultation with the instructor.
Incomplete Course Work
Students are expected to complete all assignments by the deadlines established by the instructor. Marks of Incomplete are rarely approved, and only in cases where incapacitating illness or serious family emergency prevents the student from completing class work on time. A student who anticipates a problem should contact the director of student and academic services before the last day of class. If the director of student and academic services approves an Incomplete, the mark must be converted to a grade no later than sixty days after the date on which grades for the term are due. If no grade has been received by that date, a grade of Fail will automatically be recorded.
Grades
There are four grades at SOM: Distinction, Proficient, Pass, Fail. No more than 10 percent of students in a given course may be awarded Distinction. Once grades are officially recorded, they may not be changed except in cases where a mathematical error has been made in computing the grade or a clerical error has been made in recording it.
If a student takes a course in another school at Yale, the SOM registrar will ask the instructor to submit the grade according to the SOM grade scale.
Laptops
Laptops play an integral role in the Yale M.B.A. curriculum. All first-year Yale SOM students receive a standard-issue laptop computer upon arrival at orientation. This computer, which is the personal property of the student, is preloaded with the necessary software applications and configured to operate on the Yale SOM network.
The use of laptops in SOM courses is at the discretion of the instructor.
Course Policies
Elective Courses
Second-year M.B.A. students register for fall-term SOM elective courses during the summer, and for spring-term SOM elective courses late in the fall term. Students are permitted to rearrange their elective course selections during an add/drop period at the beginning of each term. Students will have one week to add courses and three weeks to drop courses. After the add/drop period, students may not change their course schedule except by completing a Late Course Add or Drop Form, which requires the approval of both the registrar and the the instructor. In addition, a late fee of $25 per transaction will be charged to the student making approved schedule changes after the deadline.
Students may not be enrolled in courses that overlap in time with one another. At the end of the add/drop period, all students with course conflicts will be removed from one of the overlapping courses by the SOM registrar.
If a student is enrolled in a course at the end of the add/drop period, but does not complete the work of the course and does not receive the appropriate permission either to drop the course or to receive an Incomplete (see Incomplete Course Work, above), a grade of Fail will be recorded. No student may take for credit a course that he/she has previously audited.
Students enrolling in six or more courses must obtain approval from the director of students and academic services.
Independent Reading and Research
This course provides an opportunity for students and faculty to work together on projects of mutual interest outside the structure of normal courses. Each independent project must have a sponsor who is a member of the Yale full-time faculty. Students must submit a Petition for Independent Study that includes the project proposal and the faculty sponsor’s signature. The proposal must indicate the means by which the student’s performance is to be judged (e.g., weekly assignments, final paper, etc.), as well as the scope of the project. A project will be assigned a course number of MGT 690 and can be worth 2 or 4 units. No more than 4 units of Independent Reading and Research may be undertaken in a term. The director of student and academic services must also approve the project before the course is entered on the student’s record. Forms are due within the first two weeks of the term in which the project will take place. Late add or drop fees will apply for changes made after this date. Petition forms are available on the Web site and in the Office of Student and Academic Services.
Non-SOM Courses
SOM students who take courses offered by another school at Yale University must comply with any enrollment procedures, restrictions, deadlines, and/or fees imposed by the school offering the course. In addition, the student must file the appropriate forms in the School of Management, as described below.
Students wishing to enroll in a course in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or in one of the other professional schools at Yale must receive permission from the course instructor. Enrollment in a Law School course also requires authorization from the registrar of the Law School. Once the appropriate permissions have been obtained, the student must file an add/drop form at SOM. Once enrolled, the student must file an add/drop form with the SOM registrar if the course is dropped. The SOM registrar will notify the registrar of the appropriate school.
Students may receive credit toward the M.B.A. degree for Yale College courses only if such credit has been authorized by the SOM director of student and academic services. Petition forms for requesting credit are available in the Office of Student and Academic Services. The course will not be posted on the student’s record until credit has been authorized.
In some schools students may be offered the individual option of taking a course on a Pass/Fail or Credit/D/Fail basis. SOM students are not permitted to elect such an option.
Students are not permitted to enroll in courses outside Yale University. Furthermore, no credit will be given by the School for any course taken outside Yale University during the period of the student’s enrollment in the M.B.A. program.
The credit to be awarded for courses offered by Yale College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, or by one of the other professional schools at Yale will be determined by the registrar, in consultation with the director of student and academic services. Normally a course offered by Yale College or the Graduate School will carry 4 units of credit at SOM.
Auditing
Students may, with the permission of the instructor, audit SOM elective courses or courses in another school in Yale University. The normal expectation for auditors is attending at least two-thirds of all class meetings; instructors may set additional conditions. Audited classes will appear on the transcript only if the instructor certifies that the conditions for auditing have been met. Auditing of SOM core courses is not permitted.
Any person who is not a degree candidate at Yale University and who wishes to audit an M.B.A. course must obtain written permission from the SOM faculty member teaching the course and the director of student and academic services. SOM does not issue transcripts for courses audited under this arrangement. The charge for auditing a course is one-ninth of the SOM tuition for the year.
Course Evaluations
At the end of each course, students are asked to evaluate the course and instructor. The course evaluation results are given to the instructor and the dean, and the aggregate results are available for review on the campus Web site after the grades have been submitted.
Joint-Degree Programs
SOM offers joint-degree study with certain master’s programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and with a number of the other professional schools at Yale. At present, these are Architecture, Divinity, Drama, Forestry & Environmental Studies, Law, Medicine, and Public Health. These agreements make it possible for a student to complete two degrees in at least a year less than would be required if the two programs were taken sequentially. SOM also offers opportunities for joint-degree study with doctoral programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Information about these programs, including enrollment and degree requirements, is available in the Office of Student and Academic Services.
Admission decisions for joint-degree programs are made independently by the two schools. Students may apply for concurrent admission to both schools. Alternatively, students may apply for admission to the other school during the first year at SOM. Students already enrolled in one of the other schools with which SOM has joint-degree program agreements may apply to SOM in their first or second year of study, as specified in the appropriate agreement.
The normal pattern for joint-degree candidates in programs totaling three years of study is to spend the entire first year almost exclusively in one school and the entire second year almost exclusively in the other, combining courses from both schools and completing requirements for both degrees during the third year. Candidates in joint-degree programs totaling four years of study (Architecture, Drama, and the four-year Law degree) normally spend two full years almost exclusively in those schools, one full year in SOM, and one year of combined study. Candidates for the three-year joint degree program with Yale Law School will complete two years at the Law School and one year at SOM. Candidates for joint degrees in Medicine normally spend three years exclusively in the School of Medicine, one year almost exclusively in SOM, and one year of combined study.
Students in joint-degree programs are not permitted to enroll in SOM core courses before matriculating at SOM. They must maintain full-time enrollment in both schools at all times. They must satisfy degree requirements in both schools, and must receive both degrees simultaneously.
Students in all joint-degree programs except the three-year J.D./M.B.A. degree are required to complete 52 units at SOM to satisfy the M.B.A. degree requirements. At least 37 units of proficient grades must be listed on the SOM transcript; more than 16 units of nonproficient grades will be grounds for academic dismissal. Joint-degree students completing their core year of study in the M.B.A. program are subject to the same quality standards as all other students (see the Academic Standards section of this bulletin). Students in the three-year J.D./M.B.A. degree should contact the SOM registrar for specific degree requirements.
The School of Management and the other school regularly share information about the status of students enrolled for joint degrees. Shared information may include course registrations and grades, disciplinary actions, or any other information that is normally part of a student’s record. In addition, the academic officers of the two programs may share other information that they believe relevant to understanding a student’s overall performance.
The School of Management and the other school separately apply their rules governing a student’s academic performance. In applying these standards, either school may consider the student’s performance in all of his or her course work. A student whose performance does not meet the requirements and standards of a program may be advised or required to withdraw, or may be dismissed from that program. Such a withdrawal or dismissal does not automatically require dismissal or withdrawal from the other program.
The School of Management and the other school jointly apply their rules governing a student’s conduct. A charge of academic dishonesty in a course shall normally be handled by the school offering that course. If the course is jointly offered by the two schools, the charge will normally be handled by the school granting credit for that course.
A charge of general misconduct, not related to a particular course or to an event in one of the schools, will normally be handled by the school in which the student is currently registered. Jurisdiction over any case may be transferred if the disciplinary officials or committees of both schools agree. The final determination of fact, and any penalty, shall be communicated to the appropriate officials of both schools. A penalty of suspension, expulsion, or loss of course credit will apply to both degree programs.
Silver Scholars Program
The Silver Scholars Program admits a select handful of college seniors to a three-year M.B.A. program at Yale SOM. Silver Scholars are expected to complete the M.B.A. program in three consecutive years. Students will participate in a one-year internship after completing the first year of the core M.B.A. program. Silver Scholars are expected to focus full attention to their employment responsibilities during the internship year. They continue to receive all relevant e-mails and can access all SOM resources during their internship. They then return to campus to complete their M.B.A. courses. Occasionally, students may request to continue their internship for one more year. Although the practice is discouraged, it is permissible; students wishing to extend their internships must petition the director of student and academic services for a leave of absence (see Leaves of Absence, in the chapter on General Information). The request must be submitted no later than the first day of classes in the term they are to return. Students who fail to register for the term following the end of the one-year internship and do not have permission to take a leave of absence will be considered to have withdrawn from the M.B.A. program.
