The Most Popular MBA Courses

“My favorite course during my MBA was Leadership in the Global Economy with Dean Matthew Slaughter. It pushed me to think in ways that were uncomfortable but ultimately incredibly valuable. The course challenged us to take perspectives different from our own and to engage with viewpoints we might not naturally gravitate toward. Rather than simply learning concepts, the class was about practicing how to listen, question assumptions, and understand the experiences of others.

Much of the class was structured around simulated congressional hearings where we delivered testimony as leaders of global companies responding to policymakers on major issues. I participated as the CEO of Eli Lilly, sharing perspectives on trade wars and their impact on the pharmaceutical industry. These simulations required us to take clear positions on complex topics like trade, immigration policy, climate change, and reparations, back them up with evidence, and engage in constructive disagreement when others pushed back.

What made the course especially impactful was the environment Dean Slaughter created. He fostered a space where people felt comfortable speaking openly, even when conversations were difficult or when we were not sure we had the right answer. He pushed us to examine our thinking, consider perspectives we might initially disagree with, and reflect on how our own experiences shape the way we see the world. Those moments of tension and discomfort were often where the most learning happened. LGE helped me grow not just as a student but as a leader, and the ability to engage thoughtfully with different perspectives, with curiosity, humility, and openness, is something I will carry long after the MBA.”
Jack Noble, Dartmouth College (Tuck)

“Jim Feuille’s VC Practicum was my favorite course. It is an iconic course at Tuck where Jim defies all odds of time management, working as a partner at Crosslink while teaching this practicum in the fall and winter terms. Through this course, we listen to and diligence 16 startups from entrepreneurs currently raising capital, write four investment memos, and pitch them to 24 VCs across the term. As someone who wants to be an entrepreneur, it was helpful to see how the founders craft their stories around their products, approach fundraising, and think about their go-to-market strategies.

In a short period of time, I gained exposure to different types of business models (SaaS, AI, tech, CPG, and health care), giving a crash course on understanding their revenue models and what sets different startups apart. This class is demanding and fast-paced, but the intensity forced me to quickly synthesize large amounts of information, create and defend a perspective, and sharpen my instincts as a future founder.”
Kayla Hergott Heiny, Dartmouth College (Tuck)

“My favorite course was Negotiations, taught by Grainne Fitzsimons. The class was entirely experiential – each session centered on live simulations that required us to negotiate in real time, followed by structured reflection and feedback. Learning by doing made the lessons immediate and memorable. Grainne is an exceptional facilitator who pushed us to examine not only our tactics, but our instincts. Through repeated exercises, I began to see patterns in my approach – be it when I defaulted to problem-solving, when I needed to pause and listen more deliberately, and how my background shaped the way I framed tradeoffs.

One of the course’s most powerful insights was that there is no single “correct” way to negotiate. Effectiveness comes from understanding your own style and engaging authentically with the other party. The final multi-round negotiation simulation brought together everything we had practiced – preparation, creativity, adaptability, and composure under pressure. The course deepened my appreciation for negotiation, not as persuasion but as collaborative problem-solving. That mindset will shape how I approach client engagements, team dynamics, and strategic decisions throughout my career.”
Dan Crair, Duke University (Fuqua)

“My favorite course was Data Analysis with Professor Michelle Sisto. I often say that I love math, but it doesn’t love me back. I never considered myself naturally strong with numbers. That’s precisely why this course became so important for me.

Professor Sisto has a remarkable ability to break down complex analytical concepts into clear, structured building blocks. She made statistics and data tools practical rather than intimidating. I had to invest significant effort to build my data muscle, but that effort paid off tenfold, changing my relationship with numbers in ways I couldn’t have imagined. By the end of the course, I wasn’t just following formulas, I was interpreting data and deriving insights. This is exactly what I needed to understand how to translate raw information into strategic decisions.”
Polina Sarafanova, EDHEC Business School

“Strategic Branding was my favorite course because it reshaped how I understand value creation. Before the class, I thought of brands primarily as positioning and visual identity. The course revealed the deeper architecture behind them, from consumer psychology to cultural relevance to long-term strategic coherence.

What fascinated me most was realizing how many invisible decisions shape what customers ultimately experience. A brand is not just a logo or campaign; it is a system of choices, signals, and promises that must align across every touchpoint.

As a product leader, this perspective has enriched my way of thinking. Building meaningful products requires more than functionality; it requires understanding perception, trust, and emotional resonance. Strategic Branding taught me that great products win not only because they work, but because they mean something.”
Vicente Aguirre Pischedda, Fordham University (Gabelli)

“Applied International Economics with Professor Pedro Videla. The class was intensely quantitative, and Pedro’s approach is to throw you into the deep end and trust you’ll figure it out. Once it clicks, a whole new world opens up: you can start to explain why countries and companies behave the way they do, and back up your convictions with real evidence. The course culminated in a series of debates where each student embodied an economist. I chose Joseph Stiglitz (a fun chance to put my theater degree to good use) and argued that though free trade can create wealth and development, it can also lock developing countries into low labor standards while enabling overproduction with enormous environmental consequences – drawing on my circularity work at ON. Pedro loves nothing more than a good debate and challenged us every step of the way, which is what makes his classes such a rewarding experience.”
Timothy Hoffmann, IESE Business School

“My favorite course was Communications with Professor Trent Deckard. It challenged me to become more confident and intentional in how I communicate, particularly in high-stakes presentations.

Professor Deckard created an environment where students could push themselves outside their comfort zones. One memorable exercise required us to take an abstract concept, like the color “fire,” and immediately create a persuasive pitch selling it to the class. Exercises like this made public speaking engaging and helped us think quickly and communicate clearly.

The lessons from this course had immediate impact. When presenting my final project at Medtronic, I applied techniques from the class that elevated my delivery. The positive feedback I received on that presentation was a pivotal factor in securing my full-time offer. Communication is a skill I will rely on throughout my career, and this course equipped me with tools that will continue to drive my success.”
Rayna Strasser-King, Indiana University (Kelley)

“Organizational Behaviour 1 with Professor Marwan Sinaceur. Professor Sinaceur made the invisible visible: the unspoken power dynamics, the mechanics of influence, the way a leader’s behavior shapes a team’s culture whether they intend it or not. These are skills that people often underestimate until they are in the room where they actually matter. I have always been drawn to this side of management, so the course felt like a natural fit. What I didn’t expect was how much I would enjoy the way Professor Sinaceur ran it: experiential, dynamic, and genuinely engaging in a way that few classes are.

What stayed with me most was a quieter realization: looking back at situations I had navigated at Nubank and JPM through the frameworks we studied, I found that many of my instincts had been pointing in the right direction. That was reassuring. But more importantly, the course gave me the language and structure to do it more deliberately going forward, and a lot more confidence when facing difficult situations.” Amanda Chermont, INSEAD

“AI and the Business of Health was my favorite course because it reframed how I think about healthcare innovation.

Rather than treating AI as a technical solution, the course emphasized incentives, governance, and adoption, which is why some technologies scale and others fail. I learned to ask not only “Can this work?” but “Who owns the decision, who bears the risk, and who benefits?”
Erika Ito, Johns Hopkins (Carey)

“I was a big fan of the Paths to Power elective course. This is a straight-talking class that starts from two statements: (1) life isn’t fair and (2) work is political. With that in mind, this class teaches students to consider the smart choices we’ll have to make to become the powerful future business leaders we aspire to be. Building smarter networks, practicing resilience, handling our public image intelligently – these are more than just key skills, but life lessons that Professor Jose Maria de Areilza teaches with keen enthusiasm.”
Max Taylor, London Business School

“My favorite MBA course was Entrepreneurship with Professor Zahir Dossa, the founder and former CEO of Function of Beauty. What made this class stand out was that it functioned as a real startup incubator. From the first session, we were not just discussing startup concepts in theory. We were actively building. By the end of the course, we had developed a business idea into a functioning company, including purchasing domains, launching websites, and enabling transactions. The course taught me how to move from ideation to execution. Instead of getting stuck in concept development, I learned how to test an idea, create a minimum viable product, and bring something tangible into the world. That mindset shift made the course especially impactful for me and has caused a very real change in my own life, less ideation more doing. I consider Zahir a great friend and mentor as he has changed my life for the better.”
Ronald Manning, University of Miami (Herbert)

“My favorite course was Health Care Markets and Public Policies. As an MBA student, it is easy to over-index on business aspects and gloss over public policy, but in certain fields like healthcare, these two are inextricably intertwined. Taught by Professor Sarah Miller, the course was a phenomenal deconstruction of the United States healthcare market. Each lecture, important questions that you see every day on the news were dissected and exposed: Why do Americans pay so much for healthcare? Why do outcomes lag behind other developed countries despite so much expenditure? The brilliance of the class was that it didn’t offer neat, off-the-shelf solutions–because in healthcare policy, those rarely exist. Instead, the real value came from the classroom debates these questions sparked. Learning to grapple with that systemic ambiguity, and realizing that asking the right questions is often more important than finding easy answers, is exactly what prepares us to be better healthcare leaders. I will apply this nuanced perspective directly to my consulting work in the healthcare and life sciences space.”
Felipe Sahb Furtado, University of Michigan (Ross)

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