Dallas, TX (SMU), Aug. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When incoming MBA students begin classes at the Cox School of Business in mid-August, they will be the first to experience the school’s new NextGen Cox Curriculum. “The faculty has worked hard in identifying skills and content areas that will set our graduates apart,” said Cox School Senior Associate Dean Bill Dillon. “Expanded and enriched, the NextGen Cox Curriculum is designed to ensure that Cox MBA graduates are both ‘job ready’ when they enter the job market, and ‘future-prepared’ as 21st century leaders for jobs to come later in an ever-changing world.”
“If months of dealing with the uncertainty of COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that strong, flexible, visionary leadership is critical,” said Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Executive Education Shane Goodwin. “The Cox curriculum restructuring process actually began two years ago, long before COVID-19, prompted by our corporate partners. They expressed a need for future leaders who embrace innovation, adaptability and critical thinking, as well as moral character, vision and tenacity. Cox graduates typically possess these qualities, but to maximize knowledge and strength, we’ve grounded the NextGen Cox Curriculum in three foundational pillars: leadership, analytics and experiential learning.”
A committee of senior Cox School faculty and administrators worked to bolster the pillars:
- Leadership: increased number of leadership courses provided by the Cox Business Leadership Center and curriculum changes to include required leadership courses to address the changing business environment. Cox MBAs will be able to lead diverse, globalized teams with integrity, authenticity and vision.
- Analytics: an MBA curriculum that amplifies data and analytical rigor in Cox courses and increases the required credit hours of analytics in foundation courses. MBAs will learn how best to harness data, technology and analytical frameworks and tools to draw accurate conclusions from that data to inform better decision-making.
- Experiential learning: students are thrust into an environment (consultative experiences, simulations or real-life business cases) wherein the challenges they face are ambiguous and unstructured, with outcomes based on real circumstances. Experiential learning activities are integrated into several of the core courses, as well as in our Global Leadership Program.
The NextGen Cox Curriculum integrates these three foundational pillars so that Cox School MBAs complete their degrees anchored in analytical rigor, refined leadership skills to support complex problem solving and knowledge with practical application gained through hands-on experiential learning. The enriched NextGen Cox Curriculum will produce “future-prepared” business leaders who are innovative, entrepreneurial, analytically skilled and proficient at leveraging technology in a global setting to solve complex business issues.
For Cox graduate admissions information, applicants may contact the SMU Cox program office at mbainfo@smu.edu or call 214-768-1214.
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About SMU Cox
In 2020, the SMU Cox School of Business celebrates 100 years of business education. The Cox School of Business is committed to influencing the way the world conducts business via prolific research that provokes innovation, change and global thought leadership. SMU Cox offers a full-range of business education programs including BBA, Full-Time MBA, Professional MBA (part-time), Executive MBA, Online MBA, MBA Direct and Master’s degree programs, as well as Executive Education. Consistently ranked among the world’s leading business schools, SMU Cox maintains an active global alumni network. SMU Cox is accredited by the AACSB.