Artificial Intelligence, FinTech & The 5 Hottest Topics On The MBA Curriculum In 2019

From CEO Activism to cutting-edge tech, business schools are updating their MBA curricula to meet demand from employers and prospective students

The MBA may have been created over a century ago, but the curriculum is always changing.

Beyond the bread and butter of business—accounting, finance, marketing—an MBA will include a wide range of optional courses on everything from entrepreneurship to big data, luxury strategy, interpersonal dynamics, and social media.

The demands of corporate recruiters and students are driving the changes. There is a need for more niche skills like data analytics, which can help students secure jobs on graduation. They know this, and are asking for new content, on blockchain, risk management, design thinking, social enterprise, and more.

Business schools have responded. Cass Business School in London, for example, offers seven concentrations as part of its MBA program, letting students gear their education towards a certain area of management, like real estate.

London Business School, meanwhile, has rolled out 22 new MBA electives in the past five years. The portfolio of courses never stands still, says Gareth Howells, executive director of MBAs at LBS: “The MBA is constantly evolving.”

Here are the five hottest topics on the MBA curriculum in 2019:

1. Artificial Intelligence