A Fast, Flexible Path to Business Mastery
Vanderbilt gives you the flexibility to shape your curriculum to meet your needs and career goals. Our MBA runs on a modular system — two seven-week "mods" per semester, each capped with an exam week. This structure moves quickly on purpose, giving you a leg up by exposing you to core and elective courses before interviewing for summer internships. You can further customize your curriculum by adding concentrations, specializations, and emphases, or by taking advantage of our many immersion learning opportunities and independent study courses.
With this design, you get to spend more time in the courses that matter most to you. Here's how our structure supports your goals:
- You'll complete most of your required core courses in your first two mods — faster than most MBA programs.
- By Mod 2, you can start taking courses in your chosen specialty.
- You'll enter summer internship recruiting with real academic depth in your field, not just general business knowledge.
- Your second year is largely yours to customize with electives and immersion experiences that prepare you for the next phase of your career.
The MBA program helped me realize I don’t have to pigeonhole myself into any particular field or function.
Year 1: Master the Core, Start Your Specialty
In your first year, you'll complete 11 required core courses that give you a solid grounding in every major area of business — finance, strategy, marketing, operations, and more. Most of these are front-loaded into Mods 1 and 2, so you can pivot to electives and specialty courses earlier than you might expect.
Year 2: Build Your Specialty
Your second year is designed around flexibility. You'll complete a required Ethics in Business course (offered throughout the year), then fill the rest of your schedule with electives and specialty coursework that aligns with your career goals.
- Every student must complete at least one concentration — 12 credit hours of focused study in a single discipline beyond the core.
- From there, you can go deeper with a specialization, broaden your knowledge with an emphasis, or pursue a dual degree.
Please note: Degree requirements and course information are subject to change; not all courses are offered every year. View the most recent Course Catalog containing academic policies, degree requirements and individual course descriptions for each of our degree programs.
Customize Your Degree
A concentration is at least 12 credit hours of advanced coursework in one discipline — typically the foundation for your chosen career. Every Vanderbilt MBA student completes at least one. Options include:
- Accounting
- Finance
- General Management
- Healthcare
- Human & Organizational Performance (HOP)
- Marketing
- Operations & Analytics
- Strategy
Want to go deeper? A specialization is 20 credit hours of focused coursework — the 12 hours from your related concentration plus eight additional hours. It's the right choice if you want to be recognized as a true expert in your field.
Available Specializations:
- Brand Management
- Corporate Finance
- Investment Management
An emphasis allows you to delve deeper into a particular industry or area of interest with eight hours of courses. Select an emphasis below to view course requirements.
Available Emphases:
- Entrepreneurship
- International Studies
- Sustainability & Social Impact
- Real Estate
There is a significant benefit of time savings in pursuing an MBA as a joint degree. The traditional MBA program requires 62 hours (four full semesters) of course work. However, when pursued as part of a joint degree, the requirement is reduced to 50 credit hours (three semesters), since we will accept 12 hours from the partner school as electives. For the most current information about dual degrees, including our partnerships with Meharry Medical College and Fisk University.
For questions or additional information our about dual degrees programs, please contact Gabriela Luis.
Learn from Faculty Who Are Leaders in Their Fields
Immersion Learning: Real Experience Before You Graduate
At Vanderbilt, learning doesn't stop at the classroom door. Our immersion experiences put you inside real industries, real companies, and real challenges so you graduate with more than a degree. You leave with practical skills, a stronger network, and the confidence that comes from doing the work.
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Career Immersions & Treks
The Career Management Center offers opportunities for students to visit selected cities and meet with executives and alumni to get firsthand industry knowledge and learn about employment opportunities. Examples include our Finance Trek and our Consulting Trek.
International Study & Global Business Experience
Business is global. Your MBA experience should be too. Vanderbilt offers multiple paths to international learning, from globally focused electives to exchange programs with partner schools around the world.
STEM-Designated MBA: 3 Years of U.S. Work Authorization
The Vanderbilt MBA is officially STEM-designated, a significant advantage for international students planning to work in the U.S. after graduation.
This designation extends post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) by 24 months, for a total of 36 months of authorized work experience after you graduate.