Dartmouth (Tuck)

The First-Year Project course (FYP) is an educational experience in which teams of five Tuck students apply classroom learning to complex, real-world business challenges for clients. Under the guidance of an experienced faculty advisor, student teams learn practical consulting skills while their clients—ranging from early-stage startups to nonprofits to global industry leaders—benefit from the student’s experience and study at the leading edge of business education.

The FYP course has three objectives:

• To learn project management skills
• To apply the academic knowledge acquired in the first year to a real business problem
• To tailor the curriculum to the needs and interest of each student

Tuck's unique Research-to-Practice Seminars were designed by our faculty to advance the critical thinking skills of our graduates. As students in these small seminars discuss a professor's current research, they gain insight into the way top-level researchers go about knowledge creation. The simultaneous result is to teach students to be intellectually skeptical, to test ideas against both theory and data.

The goal of these unique learning experiences is that, throughout their careers, Tuck students will be better trained and more confident thinkers. As they are presented with theories, claims, and proposals—to enter a new market, to deploy human resources, to invest in new technology—they can make better decisions for their organizations and achieve a higher level of success.

In 2009-2010, six Research-to-Practice Seminars were offered:

• Economics of the Credit Crisis
• International Entrepreneurial Finance
• Strategy in Innovation Ecosystems
• Corporate Takeovers
• M&A Strategy and International Expansion
• Management of Multidisciplinary Teams

The Tuck Global Consultancy is a field-study course in which students work with companies and NGOs operating outside the United States. On-site consulting projects are carried out by small teams of students working under the supervision of advisors who have extensive consulting experience. As they learn more about consulting, Tuck students also learn how to operate effectively in new environments and cultures—a prerequisite for success in a globalized economy.

Students define their projects, travel to their assigned countries for on-site research and analysis, then deliver initial presentations of findings to their client's overseas-based senior management. After they return to the U.S., the teams complete full reports and present to U.S.-based management within four to six weeks.

Nearly 150 projects in more than 45 countries for almost 100 clients have helped Tuck students put their management skills and business expertise to the test, with remarkable success for them and their clients.

At Tuck, leadership development is a material part of the curriculum. This is a direct result of our long-standing focus on individuals, interpersonal relationships, and productive collaboration. Tuck's approach is to accelerate a process that most executives eventually experience. While an untrained manager might take 15 years—or a series of difficult situations—to become an effective leader, our students are guided through a process in less than two years. We ask students to learn faster, and we provide them a rich environment in which to do so.

Tuck has developed curricular and other activities that move the leadership-development process forward. All first-year students take the Personal Leadership course, during which they compare how they see themselves with how others see them. This can be a powerful educational experience that serves as the basis for a personal leadership plan. Students use their plans to understand which behaviors they need to develop and what opportunities they will need to do so.

Our view is that leaders must understand their own strengths and deploy them to make organizations better able to achieve strategic results. Which is why self- and team assessment continue throughout the Tuck experience, and leadership labs provide guidance in achieving development objectives. Forums offered by the Center for Leadership and visits by the world's top business leaders provide professional and personal insight of global significance. And opportunities to practice leadership skills are unlimited through academic work, programming outside the classroom, and student clubs and events.

Tuck's goal is to ensure that every Tuck graduate can accept the responsibility of leadership. And do so with confidence.

Besides yourself, the greatest asset in your job search is Tuck’s own alumni network. We're told frequently that it is notably different from other alumni networks. The close bonds that our students make with the school and their classmates become commitments that spread across generations and to our current students.

Because our alumni are in top positions—more than 70 percent have titles such as CEO, CFO, partner, managing director, or owner—their insight into companies and industries is invaluable. You can meet many of them on campus, where they offer information and mentoring, then follow up directly and personally. Once you’re at Tuck, our global alumni database is open to you. Not only will alumni return your calls and emails, but they will coach you through interviews, hand your résumé to decision makers, and seek you out when opportunities cross their desks. You’ll also be able to identify and contact alumni you haven’t met who work in industries and companies that interest you.

Connections among our alumni and with the school are for life. The school continues to be a force in their lives long after they have received their degrees. So helpful connections are not just for the first job, but for advancement and growth throughout your career. Some of the stories of connections across generations are legendary here, and we hope that yours will become one of them.