Core Curriculum
Columbia Business School’s core curriculum consists of two full courses and 9 half-term courses. A staple of the Columbia experience, the core curriculum is designed to give students an in-depth mastery of the academic disciplines and applied functional areas necessary to every business leader’s success. Taught by both full-time professors and practitioners, the core leaves students with more than just practical knowledge; case-based lessons and collaborative learning models train students to analyze, decide, and lead — rather than merely know — while creating a common student experience that fosters a deep and tenacious community.
Before each term, exemption exams are offered, allowing students already deeply versed in a particular subject area the opportunity to replace core courses with electives.
First Term Core Courses
| Pre-term | Leadership (1/2 term equivalent)** | ||||
| 1st half | Statistics* | Strategy | Accounting | Finance | Micro Econ* |
| 2nd half | Business Analytics | Marketing 1 | Macro Econ | ||
Second Term Core Courses
| 1st half | Operations Management | Marketing 2 | Elective | Elective | Elective |
| 2nd half | 1/2 Elective | 1/2 Elective |
*Statistics and Microeconomics will each meet for 90 minutes on three additional Fridays at the beginning of the first term.
**Appropriate scheduling of a debrief by the faculty and coaching for all MBA students, based on their 360 Self-Assessment feedback launched by the Leadership faculty during pre-term, will occur during two or three 90 minute sessions the first and second terms of the first year.
