MBA Elective and Concentration Plan Template

Elective and Concentration Plan: [Your name, programme and class year]

A planning workbook for choosing MBA electives and a major or concentration: career alignment, skill gaps, requirements, sequencing across terms, timing against recruiting, and how to approach course bidding, ranking and registration systems. It is for admitted students before their first registration and for first- and second-year students planning the next term. Source basis: the published research on course allocation at business schools (Sönmez and Ünver 2010; Budish 2011; Budish, Cachon, Kessler and Othman 2017), described in general terms, and the elective structures common to leading international full-time programmes. Rules differ by school and change between years: always check your school's current registrar and programme office instructions. This is a planning aid, not academic, immigration or career advice. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

Document control

Contents

1. Career hypothesis
2. Skill gap inventory
3. Programme requirements
4. Candidate elective long list
5. Weighted scoring matrix
6. Term-by-term map and sequencing
7. Bidding, ranking and registration systems
8. Concentration decision
9. Timeline
10. Quality checklist and common mistakes
11. Self-test, notes, sources, answer key

Why plan electives at all

In most leading full-time programmes the first year (or first two or three terms) is a fixed or partly flexible core, and the second year is mostly electives. Some programmes allow electives from the first term or let you waive core courses after an exam or with prior study. Either way, a student typically chooses somewhere between a third and a half of the degree. That choice affects four things:

1. Recruiting. Recruiters rarely require specific electives, but the right courses help you answer technical questions, talk credibly about an industry and show commitment to a career switch. Timing matters more than the label: a valuation elective after banking interviews helps less than one before them.
2. Capability. Electives are the last structured chance to close a skill gap (accounting depth, modelling, data, negotiation, managing people) before a role where you are expected to have it.
3. Credentials. A major or concentration appears on the transcript at many schools. In the United States, some programmes or majors carry a STEM-designated classification, which can matter for international students' work authorisation (see the dated fact in section 8). It is rarely decisive for employers.
4. Network and experience. Small seminars, labs, field projects and treks build relationships with faculty, practitioners and classmates in your target field.

The plan below works from the goal back to the courses: career hypothesis, gaps, requirements, candidates, scores, then a sequenced map that fits the registration system.

1. Career hypothesis

Example. Priya Raman, a former operations engineer, holds the primary hypothesis "strategy consulting, healthcare and retail, Western Europe" and the backup "corporate development in industrial technology". Both need valuation and structured problem solving; the backup needs more M&A depth.

2. Skill gap inventory

Rate each skill from 1 (no exposure) to 5 (could teach it). "Needed" is the level the target role expects in the first year.

Gaps of 2 or more are priority courses. A gap of 0 or less means a course in that area would be for interest or networking, which is a valid reason, but say so.

3. Programme requirements

Credit check (Example): 60 credits required, 36 core, so 24 elective credits (=60-36); after 6 elective credits in year 1, 18 remain (=24-6).

4. Candidate elective long list

Sources for this list: the official course catalogue, current and past syllabi, published course evaluations where your school shares them, faculty office hours and second-year students. Course evaluations describe a past term and a past instructor; check who teaches this year.

5. Weighted scoring matrix

Score each course from 1 to 5 on each criterion and multiply by the weights. Weights must add up to 1.00.

Scores and weighted totals (Example, computed in calc/mba-elective-concentration-plan.py):

The Excel formulas assume the weights in row 2 (B2:F2) and each course in its own row of the score sheet. For ELC-01: 0.35 x 5 + 0.25 x 4 + 0.15 x 4 + 0.10 x 2 + 0.15 x 3 = 1.75 + 1.00 + 0.60 + 0.20 + 0.45 = 4.00.

Note that ELC-04 scores 5 on skill gap although section 2 shows no gap in supply chain for this student; that is an inconsistency to fix, and it is the kind the matrix makes visible. With a corrected skill-gap score of 1, ELC-04 would drop to 2.70 (=3.70-0.25*4). ELC-03 and the original ELC-04 tie at 3.70; a tie is broken by the sequencing rules in section 6, not by a coin.

6. Term-by-term map and sequencing

Sequencing rules

1. Prerequisites first. A course that unlocks others (corporate valuation before venture capital or private equity) goes as early as the rules allow.
2. Before the interview, not after. If a course helps with interviews, take it in the term before the relevant recruiting season. Recruiting calendars differ by industry, school and country; take the dates from your career centre, not from this template.
3. Balance the load. Do not stack three case-heavy or project-heavy courses in a recruiting term.
4. Half-term courses as buffers. Short courses fit around interview weeks and let you sample a field.
5. Leave the last term lighter if you expect a job search, an exchange, a capstone or a relocation.
6. One stretch course. At least one course outside your comfort zone, where you expect to struggle.

Map

7. Bidding, ranking and registration systems

Popular electives are oversubscribed, so schools ration seats. The mechanisms fall into a few families. The names and details below are general; your school's version will differ, and schools change systems.

What the research says

• Bids do two jobs. Sönmez and Ünver (2010) show that in common bidding systems the bid is used both to infer how much a student wants a course and to decide who gets a seat, and these two roles can conflict. Students who bid "what the course is worth to me" can lose seats to students who bid strategically, and outcomes can be inefficient. They propose a mechanism that asks students for preferences as well as bids.
• Approximate competitive equilibrium. Budish (2011) proposes allocating course bundles through a market with equal budgets of artificial money (approximate competitive equilibrium from equal incomes). The design aims at fairness and efficiency and is approximately strategy-proof in large markets, which means reporting true preferences is close to the best strategy.
• Implementation. Budish, Cachon, Kessler and Othman (2017) describe Course Match, an implementation of that idea at the Wharton School, and report gains in efficiency and in students' perceived fairness after its introduction. Whether your school uses this or another system now must be checked on its current registration pages.

Points auction worksheet

Use this only if your school runs a points auction. Past clearing prices come from the registrar where published, or from student association data; treat them as noisy, because demand changes with the instructor, the time slot and the section size.

Bid plan (Example, budget of 1,000 points for the round, computed in calc/mba-elective-concentration-plan.py):

The logic: bid above the past clearing price where the course matters and competition is high (ELC-01), and bid a small amount on a priority course with no history of excess demand (ELC-06), keeping in mind that new courses can surprise. Check your school's rules on unused points (some carry over between rounds, some expire) before deciding to hold points back.

Preference-reporting worksheet

If your school uses a computed allocation, write down your honest values. A useful method is to give your favourite course 100 and score the others relative to it, then check that the system's input form reflects that order.

8. Concentration decision

Dated fact (United States, as of October 2026, check before you rely on it). F-1 students who earn a degree whose classification (CIP code) appears on the Department of Homeland Security's STEM Designated Degree Program List may be eligible for a 24-month extension of post-completion Optional Practical Training, in addition to the standard 12 months, subject to employer and other conditions. Whether a given MBA or MBA major is STEM-designated is set by the school's CIP classification, and lists and rules can change. Check the official Study in the States pages (studyinthestates.dhs.gov) and your school's international student office. This template does not give immigration advice; see mba/mba-international-applicant-plan.

9. Timeline

10. Quality checklist

• Career hypothesis written and reviewed with someone in the field in the last three months.
• Requirements copied from the official bulletin with the date checked.
• Every course on the map has its prerequisites met by the term it is scheduled.
• Courses that help interviews come before the relevant recruiting season.
• No term stacks three heavy project or case courses during recruiting.
• Bids or rankings follow the actual mechanism your school uses this year.
• Alternates listed for every must-have course.
• Concentration requirements and double-counting rules confirmed in writing.
• International students: work authorisation questions taken to the international student office.
• Graduation audit date in the calendar.

Common mistakes

1. Following the crowd. Choosing a course because it is famous or because friends take it, without a link to the career hypothesis.
2. Bidding the same way under every system. Strategy that works in a points auction is wrong for a preference reporting system, and the reverse.
3. Spending points on courses that clear at zero. Points are scarce; past clearing data show where they are needed.
4. Taking the right course in the wrong term. A valuation course after banking interviews helps the job, not the interviews.
5. Ignoring prerequisites until a key second-year course is closed to you.
6. Overloading a recruiting term. Grades, preparation and interviews all suffer.
7. Relying on a classmate's summary of the requirements. Read the bulletin and confirm in writing.
8. Missing the add/drop deadline and paying for, or failing, a course you meant to drop.
9. Choosing a concentration only for a label recruiters do not ask about, at the cost of electives that close real gaps.
10. Treating old course evaluations as current. Instructors, formats and workloads change.
11. Assuming STEM designation or exchange credit transfers automatically. Both depend on school rules and need confirmation.

Self-test questions

1. Name four reasons electives matter for an MBA student.
2. Why should weights in a scoring matrix be set before scoring the courses?
3. Using the weights in section 5, compute the score of a course rated 4, 4, 4, 4, 4. Show the Excel formula.
4. In a points auction, what is a clearing price, and how should it inform your bid?
5. What two roles do bids play in common bidding systems, according to Sönmez and Ünver (2010)?
6. What does "approximately strategy-proof in large markets" mean for how you fill in a preference-reporting system?
7. Give two sequencing rules from section 6.
8. Who decides whether an MBA major is STEM-designated, and where do you check the official list?
9. What is wrong with scoring ELC-04 at 5 on skill gap in the example?
10. Name three checks to run in a graduation audit.

My notes and next steps

• Courses I got this round: [ ]
• Clearing prices or allocation results observed: [ ]
• What I would change next round: [ ]
• Questions for the programme office: [ ]
• Next review date: YYYY-MM-DD

Sources and further reading

• Sönmez, T., and Ünver, M. U. (2010). Course bidding at business schools. International Economic Review, 51(1), 99-123.
• Budish, E. (2011). The combinatorial assignment problem: approximate competitive equilibrium from equal incomes. Journal of Political Economy, 119(6), 1061-1103.
• Budish, E., Cachon, G. P., Kessler, J. B., and Othman, A. (2017). Course Match: a large-scale implementation of approximate competitive equilibrium from equal incomes for combinatorial allocation. Operations Research, 65(2), 314-336.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Study in the States: STEM OPT Hub and the STEM Designated Degree Program List (studyinthestates.dhs.gov), checked October 2026.
• Your school's course catalogue or bulletin, registrar rules and career centre recruiting calendar (primary sources for every rule in this plan).

Answer key

1. Recruiting (interview knowledge and credibility), capability (closing skill gaps), credentials (major or concentration, sometimes STEM designation) and network (faculty, practitioners, classmates).
2. If you set or change weights after seeing totals, you can make any preferred course win; fixed weights make the matrix a test of your choice rather than a justification.
3. 0.35 x 4 + 0.25 x 4 + 0.15 x 4 + 0.10 x 4 + 0.15 x 4 = 4.00, because the weights add up to 1.00. =SUMPRODUCT($B$2:$F$2,B9:F9).
4. The lowest winning bid for the course in a past round. Bid above it where you need the course and competition is likely to be similar; do not spend points on courses with a clearing price of zero.
5. They signal how much a student values the course and they decide priority for a seat; the two roles conflict, so bids may not reflect true preferences and outcomes can be inefficient.
6. In a large class, misreporting your preferences gains you little or nothing, so you should report your true preferences carefully.
7. Any two of: prerequisites first; take interview-relevant courses before the recruiting season; balance the load; use half-term courses as buffers; keep the last term lighter; take one stretch course.
8. The school classifies its programmes (CIP code); the official list is the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List on Study in the States. Confirm with the school's international student office.
9. Section 2 shows no supply chain gap for this student (current 4, needed 3), so the skill-gap score should be low; the inflated score lifts ELC-04 into a tie it does not deserve.
10. Total credits, core completion or waivers, elective credits, concentration requirements and double-counting, any experiential or global requirement, exchange credits recorded.

Revision history

Standard and licence note

Based on the published research on course allocation at business schools (Sönmez and Ünver 2010; Budish 2011; Budish, Cachon, Kessler and Othman 2017), summarised in original words, and on the elective and concentration structures common to international full-time MBA programmes, described in general terms. The text is original and independent; it is not affiliated with or endorsed by any school, and a school is named only to describe published research about its system. Rules, systems and the STEM OPT list change: check your school's current registrar pages and the official government pages before relying on any statement here. Template licence: MIT.