All The New MBA Courses At The Top U.S. B-Schools

Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business

New Course: The Sustainable Business

Instructor: Nicholas Muller, Lester and Judith Lave Professor of Economics, Engineering, and Public Policy

The modern business operates in an environment in which customers, investors, competitors, and policymakers evaluate firm performance beyond conventional metrics. Many firms must now consider, model, and measure the implications of their operations for various dimensions of sustainability. The objective of the class is for students to emerge well acquainted with a broad range of topics at the intersection of sustainability and business, with deeper expertise in particular topics relevant to their careers. The Sustainable Business will begin with an introduction to the concepts and working definitions of sustainability. Within this framework we consider the role of business in society. The course then covers both traditional and cutting-edge policies relevant to sustainability. A module on measurement and valuation presents students with both the motivation and tools for valuing firms’ impacts on sustainability. The course concludes with modules on corporate sustainability strategy and emergent issues in sustainability finance.

Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

New Course: ESG Investing

Instructor: Reena Aggarwal, Robert E. McDonough professor of finance and director of the Georgetown Center for Financial Markets and Policy

In this course, students will examine issues related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, including the following topics:

• ESG Performance: What has been the historical risk and return of incorporating ESG factors? Are there costs to ESG investing?
• ESG Ratings: Who are the different raters? How are ratings estimated? What do the ratings measure? What are the similarities and differences between the ratings?
• Investors: Why have investors become interested in ESG? How do institutional investors consider the tradeoff between fiduciary responsibility, performance, and other factors?
• ESG Factors: How are ESG factors incorporated in investment and portfolio decisions? How do they impact performance? What is the role of active managers versus passive indexing?
• Companies: How are companies responding and incorporating ESG?
• Do investors vote with their feet (portfolio composition) and/or vote with their voice (proxy voting and engagement)?
• Policy and Regulatory Issues: Is ESG disclosure by companies needed? If yes, what form should it take?

New Course: The Business of Sustainable Energy and Technology

Instructor: Safak Yucel, assistant professor of operations management

Companies are actively seeking out innovative ways to generate economic value from sustainable energy sources and technologies. Several startups and established companies are adopting innovative business models to elevate their profits while also increasing the adoption of new technologies, such as rooftop solar panels and electric vehicles. Motivated by the ambitious goal of meeting their energy need entirely from renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, large corporations are sourcing unprecedented levels of renewable energy. With a vision to increase reliable energy access in the developing world, several startups are implementing innovative solutions, including smart grids. This course analyzes these exciting developments in sustainable energy and technology. The primary objective of the course is to equip students with the tools and frameworks to assess economic and environmental viability of innovative business models for sustainable energy and technology. The course focuses on the current challenges and opportunities associated with the transformation to a sustainable energy future.

University of Washington Foster School of Business

New Course: Climate Change and the Capital Markets

Instructor: Charlie Donovan

Climate change is one of the biggest macro trends facing investors this century. If you aspire to lead a major organization or manage other people’s money during your career, this is an issue you are going to have to deal with. This class is your chance to get ahead of the curve.

New Course: Race, Culture, and Business Immersion


Instructor: Ed deHaan

This course explores race in America and will challenge your understanding of the roles of business in both perpetuating inequity and effecting change. Through pre-trip sessions and an immersive eight-day exploration of the American South that connects back to race, culture and business practices in the Pacific Northwest and nationally, this program will provide students with a lens through which to evaluate business in the broader U.S. social structure.

University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business

New Course: Influence of Marketing in Society

Instructor: Rowena Crabbe

Brands are increasingly involved in socio-political debates. It is important for consumers and marketers to critically engage with and understand the role of brands as agentic and influential social actors who can reflect, perpetuate, and challenge societal values and norms. Leveraging real-world case studies and classroom discussion, students will have the opportunity to examine how marketers’ decisions about segmenting, targeting, positioning, product design, pricing, distribution, and communication may challenge or perpetuate social hierarchies. The course will also cover topics such as how companies navigate profit and social responsibility, varying types of activism, consumer reactions and responses to brand activism, and the role of identities (e.g., race/gender) in marketing. The course will end with a final group project focused on understanding and then reimagining a company’s brand activism and corporate social responsibility strategy.

Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business

New Course: History of Business

Instructor: Moramay Lopez-Alonso

What is a business? For that matter, what is capitalism, the economic system in which business in the United States operates? And how have these concepts taken shape over American history, laying an indelible imprint on this country‘s social, political, and economic fortunes and struggles? This course examines the history of American business and American capitalism from the 18th century until the present. We will examine how business firms have been organized, what types of economic activities (trade, industrial production, transportation, communication, and finance) businesses have engaged in, and how workers, employers, politicians, activists, and consumers have struggled to determine exactly what business should do and for whom. Although the course does not stress math-intensive economic or management theory, students will be exposed to basic business and macro-economic concepts and, most importantly, will learn to assess those ideas in historical context.