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A s one of the first students to enroll in the re de - signed MBA program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Business, Eliza beth Knox describes an educational experience that's quite different from that of most MBA students before her. Rather than take required courses in a general core cur- riculum, Knox chose a specialization before she took her first class. Rather than work prima- rily on her own, Knox will work with a team of stu- dents—each with a different specialization—for the duration of the program. And rather than wait until the ula. In the face of some criticism of more generalized MBA educational offerings, many business educators have reached a consensus: The core MBA curriculum, while still very valuable, is no longer enough to suit the needs of today's employers. The degree needs a com- prehensive makeover, they argue, to transform the way business schools teach business. In With the New The wave of recent MBA redesigns may have been inevitable, given mounting external pressures business schools are facing. Few deny that the heart of the MBA Many business schools are taking a new look at the old MBA. Their verdict? The conventional MBA curriculum may need to be reconsidered and revamped to supply 21st-century business with graduates trained to solve its 21st-century problems. BY TRICIA BISOUX end of her program to plan her career, she consults reg- ularly with two industry mentors who will guide her professional development concurrently with her studies. This new approach has "opened countless doors," says Knox. "Students immediately adapted to the chal- lenging coursework and competitive atmosphere, and focused on their specializations from the first day of class." The specializations also encouraged more imme- diate, goal-oriented job searching, she adds. In fact, some students had summer internship offers before the first semester finished. Knox herself had already fielded interviews from nine different companies in her chosen specialization—market research—before December. Welcome to the new and improved MBA—and, its corollary, the new and improved MBA student. Business schools are betting that companies will clamor to hire students like Knox, who are the product of more spe- cialized, integrated, experiential, and sequenced curric- curriculum—with its focus on building skills in finance, marketing, and other core business disciplines—remains vital to teaching business. Even so, recruiters are demanding MBAs who are better communicators, team builders, and creative thinkers. Moreover, a competitive market has compelled business schools to move in com- pletely new directions. The ever-growing importance of technology is also behind the MBA's transformation. Technology has led to globalization, long-distance collaboration, and dilemmas of ethics and security that did not exist before the Internet, e-mail, databases, and virtual workgroups. In an integrated world, say educators, a compartmental- ized MBA program simply no longer does the job. "The MBA market is maturing, competition is increasing, and market demands are changing more often," says Stephen Foerster, director of the MBA pro- gram at the Ivey School of Business at the University of BizEd MAY/JUNE 2005 27