Structured Problem Solving like Consultants Session 1: Course Overview and Strategy at Scale

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

This session of Structured Problem Solving like Consultants is a part of the 2026 GradFUTURES Forum, an annual professional development conference, that is open to the entire Princeton graduate community (including Ph.D. and master’s students and alumni) as well as to graduate students and staff from graduate institutions across the country and around the world. Offering a full week of engaging keynote speakers, skill-building workshops, alumni panels, and networking sessions, the GradFUTURES Forum features dozens of online and in-person sessions with real-time relevance to success in graduate school and a glimpse into a world of possibilities beyond. As we celebrate The Graduate School's 125th anniversary, this year's GradFUTURES Forum theme is "Preparing Graduate Students for Transformational Impact.

* Hosting of panelists and speakers does not constitute institutional endorsement of external speakers or views presented.

This is an in person event.

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

Session 3:
This session will start with a lesson on communicating like a consultant using a technique known as the Pyramid Principle. We will link some of the core concepts from the pyramid principle to case method and demonstrate the importance of designing MECE (Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive) structures.

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.

Session 2:
This session will introduce structured problem-solving through consulting case discussion using the FOCUS1 analytical problem-solving framework leveraging interactive videos to model case interviewing best practices: 

Framing the Problem
Organizing an Analysis
Collecting Data
Understanding the Data
Synthesizing a Recommendation
Guest Instructor: Brendan Boler, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy

Series Overview:
Built on the series over the past two years, GradFUTURES is pleased to launch Structured Problem Solving like Consultants interdisciplinary learning cohort. This learning cohort provides- exposure to the field of management consulting, skills and frameworks of problem-solving used in consulting and experiential learning through capstone projects. Led by graduate students, this learning cohort brings together graduate alums, campus partners and external speakers through partnerships with the Graduate Consulting Club, Center of Career Development and University of Virginia. The mentored capstone projects are developed in partnership with our campus partners.