Classes began on September 16, 1938, in a building, which housed other graduate programs, at 126 Newbury Street in downtown Boston.

In addition to the James J. Byrnes Library, the building housed an industrial management laboratory in the basement that was considered innovative in the era of the "efficiency expert" and time-and-motion studies.

[4] The school was renamed in 1989 in honor of industrialist and alumnus Wallace E. Carroll of Katy Industries, whose $10 million donation was the largest private grant to the university at the time.

The Carroll School's undergraduate program offers a balance of both a liberal arts education and a general management curriculum.

[11][12] Beginning with students of the Class of 2013, the school required its incoming freshmen to enroll in a course called "Portico."

Students may dual-concentrate (but not triple-concentrate) within CSOM, pursue minors in either the Lynch School of Education or in the College of Arts and Sciences, enroll in the pre-med program, or even pursue a full major in the College of Arts and Sciences while enrolled as a student in CSOM.

Carroll School offers three doctor of philosophy programs including Ph.D. in accounting, Ph.D. in finance, and Ph.D. in organization studies.

The center provides knowledge and learning opportunities designed to help executives, managers and employees advance positive corporate citizenship from wherever they sit in the organization.

Among past speakers are Disney's Bob Iger, Nike's Mark Parker, IBM's Virginia Rometty, and home décor entrepreneur Martha Stewart.