Core Finance Courses in the Top MBA Programs in 2001

Abstract

Finance is a core discipline of business studies. This analysis and its accompanying spreadsheets attempt to document the state of required finance coursework in 19 of the top 20 MBA programs according to the Business Week poll taken in 2000 and in 3 other international programs. Core requirements in general (usually taken in the first year of the traditional 2-year MBA program) are in a state of flux. At least two schools have abandoned "required" finance courses in favor of distributional requirements or alternatively using first-year courses as prerequisites for more advanced electives in the program. Other programs have rationalized or reduced core requirements, while at least one school has added a second required course in the first year. This analysis will focus on the commonalities and differences in the core MBA requirements. The key issues to be examined in this document include time on task (the number of hours required by the top programs), the topics that are common among most programs, the textbooks that are used, and finally, the ordering of the topics within the course.