Let's start with the basics. What makes Tuck distinctive? Why Tuck?
Broadly, there are two reasons that make Tuck a true transformative educational experience and distinctive among top business schools. The first is our community. Tuck is known the world over for its close-knit and supportive community. As a direct result of our personal scale (with a target class of 280, ours is a small program relative to our peers), you will get to know everyone—from peers to professors—and they will get to know you through your study groups, the residential nature of the campus and our location. This support allows you to truly challenge yourself; to speak up in class, engage in discussion, try something new (maybe even fail) and lead and collaborate beyond your comfort zone, all in an environment that is truly invested in you.
The second is the access that our personal scale allows—access to our leading faculty of scholar-educators, access to recruiters from the most prestigious global firms, access to visiting alumni and CEOs. And of course, access to your classmates. It is an intense, 24/7 experience carefully designed to prepare you for a lifetime of responsible leadership. All students live on or near campus. Faculty joins students for informal coffees, meals, golf games and bike rides. When visiting execs come to Hanover, they immerse themselves in campus life, sharing meals, conversations and classrooms with students. All of these components differentiate Tuck from schools in large cities, where everyone scatters at the end of the day.
What sets Tuck apart academically?
During your first year, Tuck’s broad and integrated first-year core curriculum provides every student with a rigorous foundation in all aspects of business, with a special emphasis on teamwork and leadership. We believe a leader in today’s world needs to be someone who can see across functions, borders, and cultures. Someone who has a deep understanding of themselves and others. We also believe the best leaders are also collaborators, and you will further develop your team skills in small, intimate settings with your first-year study group.
During your second year at Tuck, you can chart your own course, choosing from a long list of cutting-edge elective courses that reflect the complexity of business today. This means students get to customize the program to target their particular areas of interest with a wide range of electives, independent study or our innovative research-to-practice seminars.
Throughout everything – your study groups, team projects and travel opportunities, our innovative seminars – you will hone your ability to work with other people. This is one of the hallmarks of a Tuck education and we owe much of it to our community.
Another critical aspect of the Tuck experience is the strength of our faculty. Tuck is committed to having a faculty of “balanced” or “dual” excellence—meaning faculty who are both skilled researchers and dedicated and caring teachers. We have more than 50 full-time faculty members at Tuck and all of them teach in the MBA program. They’re here at Tuck because they love to teach and the size of the school really lets them get to know students individually and interact with them inside and outside the classroom.
Two-part series! Next week on Tuck 360, insight into careers and Tuck's alumni network.