Immersion Learning

Johnson's unique immersion program is an intense, hands-on semester of integrated course and field work in a specific industry or career interest.

Pioneered by Johnson in the 1990s, the Strategic Semester in Operations immersion enabled first year MBA students to combine classroom learning with practical experience through factory tours and Kaizen projects. This innovation proved so successful that Johnson soon launched immersions in a variety of different functional areas. Today, Johnson offers its unique immersion model for performance learning in eight areas. 

The immersion experience combines:

  • Cutting-edge course work
  • Outstanding faculty
  • Coaching by leading business practitioners
  • Problem solving under actual business conditions

Immediate benefits of immersion learning are:

  • Concentrated, applied knowledge in a chosen field 
  • Networking with premier companies, faculty, and practitioners 
  • Problem-solving experience in real-life situations 
  • Preferred status with summer recruiters and long-term employers 
Steven Cheng, MBA '18

“Thinking about where I am now relative to when I first started at Johnson, the contrast is striking. Not only have I become more well-informed about all the various functional areas within business, but more importantly, I’ve gained so much more confidence in my own abilities.”

How it works:

  • Students in the two-year MBA program complete the bulk of the Core MBA coursework during their first semester. 
  • In the second semester of their first year, most choose an immersion learning experience, plunging them into electives, site visits, and live cases aimed at getting them up to speed in their area of interest.
  • Students in the One-Year MBA program complete the bulk of the Core MBA coursework in a 10-week summer session and during the fall semester. In the spring semester, they have the option to participate in one of the following immersions: Corporate Finance, Digital Technology, Investment Research and Asset Management, Semester in Strategic Operations, Strategic Marketing, or Sustainable Global Enterprise.

Johnson Immersion Offerings:

If you are interested in participating in the Consulting Program, please note that consulting students are also required to take one Immersion. (Immersion offerings are listed above.) By doing so, students marry their interests in consultancy with other specific, functional career disciplines. This will equip you with both consulting skills as well as deep understanding of a specific industry. View our Consulting Program page to review the details of the Program and the firms recruiting here.