Stanford

History

Leland Stanford, leader of the Republican Party and Governor of California established a new University in California in his son’s (Leland Stanford Jr.) name, who died of typhoid fever at the age of 15. After six years of planning, Stanford University opened its doors in 1891. The university struggled after the death of Leland Stanford in 1893, but his wife Jane Stanford insisted that the university continue its operation. She took charge of the financial, administrative and development matters from then on until her death in 1905. In 1925, a group of business leaders saw the need of establishing a graduate business school in the West Coast to prevent the students to go to the East Coast for a degree. This led to the foundation of the Graduate School of Business. Willard Hotchkiss became the first dean of Stanford GSB in 1926.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to create ideas that deepen and advance our understanding of management and with those ideas to develop innovative, principled, and insightful leaders who change the world.

Core Strengths of the School

The Stanford GSB graduates are insightful and passionate individuals who challenge the status quo and come up with innovative ideas to lead change. The entire curriculum encourages the students to take risks and grab the opportunities that come their way by employing their knowledge and skills to create change. The small class size fosters an intimate learning environment and the team projects further help the students strengthen their bond with their peers. The innovative interactive teaching methods like timed simulations, rapid prototyping and other academic methods help the students learn more effectively. The renowned and experienced GSB faculty members adopt the teaching method that is best suited for a subject. Hence, students get to learn in a variety of ways such as group projects, hands-on labs, problem-solving sessions and lectures. Building trustworthy relationships with their investors, inspiring their employees and sharing their vision with others would require business leaders to possess excellent communication skills. Hence, GSB attempts to build these relevant skills in its students through Communication Coaching that focuses on business writing, class participation and impromptu speaking. Communication Workshops and Studio on Demand further help the students on various aspects of communication such as managing anxiety, public speaking, meeting presence and presentation skills.

Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

GSB’s Initiative for Leadership and Development I-LEAD is designed to meet the leadership challenges of today by developing the capabilities of the students through rigorous application of personal experiential testing, analysis and reflection. Leadership Labs, an experiential component of the first-year curriculum, exposes the students to various aspects of leadership such as strategic decision-making and critical analytical thinking through a range of simulation exercises and case studies. Students form small teams or squads and take part in these simulations, which are a replica of the real-world business situations marked by uncertainty and ambiguity. Students rise up to these challenges and analyze their behaviors at the end of each simulation to develop greater self-awareness. The Executive Challenge is another experiential leadership opportunity for the students hosted by I-LEAD. Stanford first-year students learn important aspects of leadership like influencing others, motivating others and building leadership during the entire year. They demonstrate these skills in multiple stimulated business situations at the Executive Challenge event, where they are judged by distinguished alumni who provide invaluable feedback and suggestions to the students. The Arbuckle Leadership Fellows program trains the second-year Stanford students on mentoring, coaching and facilitation skills for two quarters. In the autumn quarter, each Fellow is assigned to a squad comprising of six first-year students and coaches the squad for 15 weeks. This is an exact replica of a real workplace environment where a senior member in the team is supposed to help future employees attain the relevant knowledge and skills, enhance their capabilities and achieve professional growth. Interpersonal Dynamics is the most chosen elective course at GSB as the students are inclined to develop productive, long-lasting relationships at the workplace. The students are divided into groups called ‘T-group’ comprising of 12 students and learn about the fine nuances of interpersonal dynamics through experiential activities. Students learn to resolve their differences by reflecting on their own behavior and improve their abilities to effectively engage, communicate and influence others.

The Global Speaker Series brings distinguished business leaders and entrepreneurs to the campus where they share their knowledge and experiences of management issues in a global context. The Series connects the students with leaders from all sectors and have broad-reaching conversations about the challenges faced by multi-national organizations in an increasingly interconnected world.

CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

LOCATION ADVANTAGES

The School, being one of the seven schools of the Stanford University, calls Palo Alto city as its home. Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, students make valuable professional connections with the leading executives of technology giants like Google, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. The Silicon Valley and the adjoining Bay Area attracts world’s leading innovators, venture capitalists, technologists and entrepreneurs. The university also enjoys nature’s beauty with the Santa Cruz Mountains and Pacific Ocean occupying its west and the San Francisco Bay on its east. Adventure lovers can indulge in outdoor recreational activities like hiking, swimming, biking, and boating etc.

CAREER SUPPORT

The Stanford GSB Career Management Center CMC guides the students in charting their career paths. The CMC career advisors help develop the professional and behavior skills required to make a successful career. The career advisors provide one-to-one coaching to understand the aspirations of each student. The self-assessment exercise enables the students to identify and leverage upon their strengths and work on their weak areas. The Industry Insider Advising program connects the students with the experts from technology, entrepreneurship, private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. Students can get access to the latest information on the specific industry, market forecasts and other job-related data. The Fewer than 300 FT300 networking event provides various valuable connections with medium-sized companies.