Program Format
Program Format - Accelerated Daytime MBA
Fast. Focused. Future oriented.
The Fuqua difference starts with the structure of our Accelerated Daytime MBA program. Here, you’ll find opportunities to learn and grow by going outside your comfort zone—exploring classes and experiences that help you take initiative, push your limits, and develop the many different skills you’ll need for long-term career success.
Getting started
Your journey begins with an intense month of orientation and immersion in a rigorous, hands-on program of three courses that emphasize leading and managing in an uncertain world. It’s designed to broaden your perspective, challenge the ways you think, and prepare you to maximize your year of study.
The remainder of the academic year is organized into four 6-week terms of MBA classes that each meet twice a week for 2 hours and 15 minutes. The term structure allows you to take a wide variety of electives, which can better prepare you for the next step in your career.
Team up
All Accelerated MBA students are assigned to a team of five to six peers with whom they will complete group projects for various courses. Your team will be hand-picked to allow you to learn from people who look, think, and work differently from you. You’ll learn to draw on each team member’s strengths and move the group toward a common purpose.
Our Faculty
All of our degree programs are taught by Fuqua’s top-ranked faculty, who are recognized for excellence in teaching and industry-shaping research. The courses they teach are academically challenging and relevant to the business world today. Despite world-class credentials, our faculty is highly accessible—they emphasize an open-door policy that encourages both collaboration with students and interdisciplinary thinking. Often, these teachers become your mentors for life.
Our Teaching Methods
Fuqua’s professors use lectures, cases studies, strategic games, simulations, visiting executives, and their own research to create a dynamic learning experience that pushes you to think and work in new and different ways. Net result? You get a deep and broad understanding of current business topics.
Making Theory Real
1. Case Studies
Case studies are real examples of corporate challenges that give you the opportunity to put theory to work. You gain industry knowledge and an appreciation for the management, operations, and leadership challenges that companies face every day.
2. Strategic Games
We've all played games before, but in an MBA classroom they take on a whole new meaning. Fuqua teaches you to recognize patterns and understand the basic nature of games. You’ll learn to identify what is happening around you and that you’re part of, so you can see the big picture, your options, and possible outcomes.
3. Realistic Simulations
The use of sophisticated business simulation teaches you how to run a company in a realistic business environment. You’ll get hands-on experience that goes way beyond what you’d learn in a textbook.
4. Research Centers
Our research centers are vital links between academic inquiry and real-world business. They create insights, dialogue, and curricula that change the course of business and enrich the student experience. Each research center draws on faculty from across Fuqua's academic areas, experienced practitioners, and students to address current business problems.
In ten months, Accelerated Daytime MBA students complete a combination of required and elective courses. Some course titles are subject to change.
- Orientation (3 days)
- Summer (4 weeks)
- Entrepreneurial Action and Mindset (required)
- Technology Driven Transformation of Business (required)
- Business Computer Applications (required)
- CLEAD 1 (required)
- Fall 1 (6 weeks)
- Electives (3-4)
- Fall 2 (6 weeks)
- Electives (3-4)
- Winter
- Optional elective workshop in Managerial Improvisation
- Spring 1 (6 weeks)
- Electives (3)
- Spring 2 (6 weeks)
- Business and Common Purpose in a World of Differences (required)
- Electives (3)
2024-2025 Accelerated Daytime Daytime MBA Academic Calendar
Month | Date | Event |
July 2024 | ||
July 2024 | 8 - 19 | Business, Communications, and Culture Program [optional, unless required by Admissions] |
12 | Software Tools for Analytics course opens, Online Modules [mandatory], first day of classes | |
21 - 26 | Health Sector Management (HSM) Boot Camp [required for HSM Certificate] | |
29 | Duke I&E Innovators' Spark [optional] | |
30 | International Student Welcome Day | |
July - August 2024 | ||
July - August 2024 | 31 - 2 | First Year MBA Student (Class of 2026) Orientation |
August 2025 | ||
August 2025 | 5 | First Day of Classes for First-Year Daytime MBA Students |
5 - 26 | First Year Daytime MBA Student Classes [no classes on weekends] | |
27 - 29 | First Year Daytime Student Exams | |
28 - 29 | Class of 2025 C-Lead Course | |
September 2024 | ||
September 2024 | 3 | Pre-Term Accounting Review [optional] |
3 – 4 | Career Management Center Programming | |
5 | FALL 1 SESSION BEGINS | |
October 2024 | ||
October 2024 | 15 | Fall 1 Session Ends |
17 - 19 | Fall 1 Exams | |
20 - 27 | FALL BREAK | |
28 | FALL 2 SESSION BEGINS | |
November 2024 | ||
November 2024 | 27 - 29 | THANKSGIVING BREAK |
December 2024 | ||
December 2024 | 10 | Fall 2 Session Ends |
12 - 14 | Fall 2 Exams | |
15 | WINTER BREAK BEGINS | |
January 2025 | ||
January 2025 | 6 - 10 | Managerial Improvisation Course (optional Winter Term) |
16 | SPRING 1 SESSION BEGINS | |
20 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday (no classes) | |
21 | M/Th classes held on Tuesday | |
22 | T/Fr classes held on Wednesday | |
February 2025 | ||
February 2025 | 25 | Spring 1 Session Ends |
Feb - March 2025 | ||
Feb - March 2025 | 27 - 1 | Spring 1 Exams |
March 2025 | ||
March 2025 | 2 - 16 | SPRING BREAK |
17 | SPRING 2 SESSION BEGINS | |
April 2025 | ||
April 2025 | 25 | Spring 2 Session Ends |
28 - 30 | Spring 2 Exams | |
May 2025 | ||
May 2025 | 10 | Class of 2025 Daytime MBA Commencement Ceremony |
11 | Class of 2025 Duke-wide Commencement Ceremony |
2025-2026 Accelerated Daytime MBA Academic Calendar
Month | Date | Event |
July 2025 | ||
July 2025 | 7 - 18 | Business, Communications, and Culture Program [optional, unless required by Admissions] |
11 | Software Tools for Analytics course opens, Online Modules [mandatory], first day of classes | |
20 - 25 | Health Sector Management (HSM) Boot Camp [required for HSM Certificate] | |
28 | Duke I&E Innovators' Spark [optional] | |
29 | International Student Welcome Day | |
July - August 2025 | ||
July - August 2025 | 30 - 1 | First Year Accelerated MBA Student (Class of 2026) Orientation |
31 | First Day of Classes (Leading Business in a Complex World) for First-Year Accelerated MBA Students | |
31 - 25 | First Year Accelerated MBA Student Classes [no classes on weekends] | |
August 2025 | ||
August 2025 | 27 - 28 | Class of 2026 C-Lead Course |
26 - 29 | First Year Accelerated MBA Student Exams | |
29 | Pre-Term Accounting Review — 1pm - 5pm [optional] | |
September 2025 | ||
September 2025 | 1 | Labor Day (no classes) |
2 | Pre-Term Accounting Review — 1pm - 5pm [optional] | |
2 - 3 | Career Management Center Programming | |
4 | FALL 1 SESSION BEGINS | |
October 2025 | ||
October 2025 | 14 | Fall 1 Session Ends |
16 - 18 | Fall 1 Exams | |
19 - 26 | FALL BREAK | |
27 | FALL 2 SESSION BEGINS | |
November 2025 | ||
November 2025 | 26 - 28 | THANKSGIVING BREAK |
December 2025 | ||
December 2025 | 9 | Fall 2 Session Ends |
11 - 13 | Fall 2 Exams | |
14 | WINTER BREAK BEGINS | |
January 2026 | ||
January 2026 | 5 - 9 | Managerial Improvisation Course (optional Winter Term) |
15 | SPRING 1 SESSION BEGINS | |
19 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday (no classes) | |
20 | M/Th classes held on Tuesday | |
21 | T/Fr classes held on Wednesday | |
February 2026 | ||
February 2026 | 24 | Spring 1 Session Ends |
26 - 28 | Spring 1 Exams | |
March 2026 | ||
March 2026 | 1 - 15 | SPRING BREAK |
16 | SPRING 2 SESSION BEGINS | |
April 2026 | ||
April 2026 | 24 | Spring 2 Session Ends |
27 - 29 | Spring 2 Exams | |
May 2026 | ||
May 2026 | 9 | Class of 2026 Daytime MBA Commencement Ceremony |
10 | Class of 2026 Duke-wide Commencement Ceremony |
Start Date: August 2024
Duration: 10 months
Location: Durham, NC
Style: Cohort-based
Curriculum: General management, plus 15 concentrations and two certificates
Elective Options: 100+
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Explore This Program
Program Format
Team up in 6-week terms.
Curriculum
Design your own experience from 100+ electives.
Concentrations + Certificates
Enhance your skills in a focus area.
Global Opportunities
Get outside your comfort zone by exploring a new culture.
Experiential Learning
Develop your abilities beyond the classroom.
Career Development
Leverage our resources to power your job search.
Program Location
Enjoy one of the nation’s most exciting—and livable—cities.
Admissions Information
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