Yale School of Management is moving generative AI from elective status into its MBA core, requiring an AI course for all incoming first-year students beginning this fall. The school’s curriculum update is framed around building real prototypes and integrating AI foundations into subsequent core courses. The change is led by Tauhid Zaman, associate professor of operations management and SOM’s special advisor for its AI initiative. A cited example describes how students can use AI tooling to turn an idea into a working prototype quickly—positioning AI literacy as a production skill rather than a study subject. Yale’s shift comes quickly after prior elective work, with faculty approval described as unusually fast for a core redesign, signaling that top management programs are standardizing AI competencies as baseline student preparation.