This afternoon, I hosted our daily “Q&A with an Admissions Officer” session. Like many other days (most, really), the prospective student visitors had questions about Tuck’s Research Centers and Initiatives—today it happened to be the Revers Center for Energy and the Center for Business, Government, & Society. Generally speaking, Centers and Initiatives connect the classroom to the real world. Here, the website explains it a little better:
[Centers and Initiatives] support faculty research, enrich the curriculum and learning environment for students, and connect the school more directly with practitioners and thought leaders in each field. Each sponsors its own programs and qualified MBA students are invited to serve as fellows, research associates, roundtable members, or participants in independent study projects.
Our current Centers and Initiatives revolve around industries such as technology, government and society, private equity and entrepreneurship, energy, and health care. How involved you get with each is up to you, but this is one of the best, most influential ways to dive deeply into a particular sector outside of the classroom.
As an MBA student, there are opportunities to participate in programing with visiting executives, collaborate with faculty on related research, receive advice and mentorship from staff and alumni, participate in case competitions, and more. Centers and Initiatives also partner closely with each other, with student led clubs, and with the Career Development Office in various ways (for example, on Career Insight Expeditions which allow students to visit relevant companies in various areas of the United States and world). Finally, the directors and faculty affiliated with each Center or Initiative are phenomenal, and have significant experience to draw from and share.
All Centers and Initiatives operate a little bit differently and have somewhat different offerings—please (!) take some time to explore the ones that interest you. Their websites are full of more detail, profiles of current students, and faculty bios. Many offer contact information as well. Utilize these resources!
My hope in the Q&A (and here) is to give you a brief overview, but it’s up to you to dig deeper! The resources are there—take advantage of them. If you do, you’ll inevitably be a stronger candidate, better equipped to decide whether Tuck is right for you, and as a student, ready to jump into everything Tuck has to offer.