The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Founded in 1898, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the United States and one of the most distinguished. The school's programs consistently rank highly in surveys, and the school has a strong reputation for innovation in both research and teaching. For example, Chicago Booth faculty have made significant contributions in the areas of finance, the economics of regulation, and decision making. For more than a century, Chicago Booth has been known as an innovator in business education and a creator of ideas.
In autumn 2004 Chicago Booth opened its Hyde Park Center. Named the Charles M. Harper Center in 2007, this facility brought together all of Chicago Booth’s previously existing Hyde Park campus buildings into one 415,000-square-foot space. Located at 5807 South Woodlawn Avenue, Harper Center was designed around how teachers want to teach and how students want to learn. Built in 1994, Gleacher Center, off Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, provides state-of-the-art executive education and conference facilities and is home to the school's part-time MBA programs. In London, One Bartholomew Close is the home of the school's Executive MBA Program Europe. In Hong Kong, the The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong, located in a bustling metropolis with excellent communications and transportation, is the location for the Executive MBA Program Asia. Chicago Booth is the only business school with permanent campuses on three continents.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business offers seven programs of study leading to a degree: four leading to an MBA (the Full-Time MBA Program, the Evening MBA Program, the Weekend MBA Program, and the Executive MBA Program), one leading to an MiM (Master in Management), one leading to an MiF (Master in Finance) and the PhD Program.
Full-time MBA Program
The MBA curriculum is designed to prepare students for significant careers in management. It encompasses both the basic disciplines that underlie management and the operational areas specific to business. The courses are designed to provide understanding of the components of managerial decision making while furnishing perspective on the role of business as an economic, political, and social institution.
The MBA experience is not restricted to the classroom at Chicago Booth. Although Booth is not a case study institution, a substantial percentage of the total course work, depending on the student’s choice of classes, will consist of various kinds of cases and applied analyses as well as several opportunities to participate in experiential courses which provide hands-on learning with actual business challenges. Because of the school's location in one of the world’s major commercial centers, students meet business, economic, labor, and political leaders at the numerous lecture and seminar series held on campus and through alumni and friends in Chicago's business community.
Freedom of choice is a way of life in the MBA program at Chicago Booth. Professors are free to use the teaching method they believe to be most effective; students are free to choose the courses and professors from whom they can best learn. In addition, students are encouraged to make use of the resources of the entire university and take advantage of the critical and intellectual diversity that thrives on the campus. The Chicago Booth MBA is characterized by a willingness to experiment, to judge people by their performances rather than their origins, to judge ideas by their consequences rather than their antecedents.
Chicago Booth’s Leadership Effectiveness and Development Program (LEAD) was founded in 1989 as one of the first experiential leadership programs at a major business schools. Held during orientation and lead by second-year student facilitators, the program provides a common educational experience within a curriculum that has always offered exceptional flexibility. This required, noncredit course for full-time program students is designed to enhance self-awareness and interpersonal effectiveness through a varied and highly interactive curriculum. Through these experiences, students will enhance their mastery of three of the most important aspects of leadership: building relationships, inspiring others, and influencing outcomes. Other activities revolve around the 10 student cohorts assigned during LEAD that help build a sense of community, instill the value of teamwork, and acquaint students with the school.
The school admits persons with a wide variety of backgrounds. The normal prerequisite is a four-year bachelor's degree, or equivalent, from an accredited institution. Students who do not have a bachelor's degree may apply to the school for special eligibility. Those interested in consideration for special eligibility must receive approval before an application is submitted and should, therefore, contact the associate dean of admissions for further information.
Joint Degree Programs
Chicago Booth participates in joint degree programs with several other schools and divisions of the University: the Law School; Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice; Pritzker School of Medicine; Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy; Department of Computer Science; Applied Data Science; Biological Sciences Division; East European/Russian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Latin American area study centers; and Committee on International Relations. These programs allow the student to pursue combined programs of study.
Part-Time MBA Programs
Evening MBA Program
The University of Chicago pioneered the concept of part-time MBA study for professionals employed in management and the professions. Even though the school's Evening MBA Program is more than fifty years old, it is still unique in the field of management education because it is identical in every important way to the full-time program. Entrance requirements and degree requirements are the same for both programs, and courses are taught by the same faculty.
While the academic aspects of the full-time and part-time programs are the same, their logistics are quite different. Evening MBA classes meet on weeknights in the school's convenient downtown location at Gleacher Center, 450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, along the north bank of the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive. Approximately 900 students from a diverse background of job functions and industries are currently engaged in part-time study in the program. Many of the students come from Chicago area banks and financial institutions; heavy industry, consulting, advertising, and the entrepreneurial and nonprofit sectors also are well represented. Job titles of current students range from new management trainees to senior executive officers.
Evening MBA students are required to complete Leadership Exploration and Development. This program is initiated during Launch, an orientation program, and continues throughout the program of study.
Classes are available in all four academic quarters. Students completing two courses per quarter will fulfill the program requirements in two-and-one-half years. All MBA candidates are allowed a maximum of seven years to complete the degree program.
Admissions information is available online.
Weekend MBA Program
Many managers often find it convenient to take their classes on Saturdays due to travel schedules or the location of their offices far from Chicago. To meet the needs of individuals and their companies, Booth provides an additional avenue of continuing education in its Weekend MBA Program. Students take courses on Saturday mornings and Saturday afternoons at the convenient downtown Gleacher Center and thereby can complete the MBA program in as little as two-and-one-half years. Some students fly in from across the country and around the globe, with over 70 percent of weekend students living outside of Illinois. The Weekend MBA Program follows in the Chicago Booth tradition of offering all MBA candidates the same academic program, same faculty, and same degree as the full-time and evening MBA programs.
Weekend MBA students are required to complete Leadership Exploration and Development. This program is initiated during Launch, an orientation program, and continues throughout the program of study.
Classes are available in all four academic quarters. Students completing two courses per quarter will fulfill the program requirements in two-and-one-half years, although the average graduation time is approximately three years. All MBA candidates are allowed a maximum of five years to complete the degree program.
Admissions information is available online.
The Accelerated Scholars Program
The Accelerated Scholars Program allows University of Chicago students to complete nearly a third of the MBA curriculum before they graduate from the College by applying six undergraduate courses toward the MBA. The program is designed exclusively for UChicago undergraduates and recent alumni, and can significantly reduce both the time and cost of a Chicago Booth MBA.
The Accelerated Scholars program follows the same curriculum requirements as the Full-Time, Evening, and Weekend MBA, including Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD). While in the undergraduate degree, students will complete 600 units of business coursework. These courses are taught by the same Booth faculty who teach in our top-ranked MBA programs, and they feature the same rigorous approach to education. Students can transfer those units to the MBA degree, where they will continue their business education. Depending on the program format the student chooses and is eligible for, they could earn the MBA within 15 months of matriculation to Booth.
For additional information about the program and eligibility requirements, please visit the Accelerated Scholars webpage.
Executive MBA Program
The Executive MBA Program is a part-time MBA program designed to prepare experienced executives to be more effective general managers.
Each year, approximately 90 students are admitted to each location of study in this intensive, twenty-month program. The Executive MBA Program curriculum emphasizes the value of learning in groups and sharing experiences. Students will participate primarily at one of our three international locations: downtown Chicago (Gleacher Center); London (One Bartholomew Close); or Hong Kong (The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex); students will have an opportunity to study at each campus over their program of study in international cohorts. These international cohorts are composed of an equal mix of students from all three campuses and convene for week-long sessions in Chicago, London and Hong Kong.
Although the format is different, the Executive MBA Program, like all of Chicago Booth’s MBA programs, is based on the Chicago approach to business education. This approach emphasizes an understanding of the fundamental forces in the economy, in organizations, and in individuals, and also in applying this understanding to analyze and produce creative, imaginative solutions to real world problems.
Executive MBA students are required to complete Leadership Exploration and Development. This program is initiated during Launch, an orientation program, and continues throughout the program of study.
Courses in the Executive MBA program are taught by full-time members of the faculty. Most courses are cohorted but students are offered elective courses in finance, marketing, strategy, and entrepreneurship for students interested in deepening their knowledge in areas of particular relevance to their careers.
Information about the program and application materials for all three locations are available online.
Master in Management (MiM) Program
The Master in Management Program is for high-achieving recent college graduates who are curious about the world of business and search for a master’s degree in management. The program offers a core business curriculum rooted in the fundamentals of business, along with a set of electives that allow students to build specialized skills.
The 10 month MiM Program will consist of five core courses and five electives, with the option for four elective classes in an area of specialization. The electives are drawn from a variety of Booth courses. Master of Management courses in economics, management, data analytics, decision-making, and accounting provide core skills, while electives allow for tailoring in finance, strategic management, analytics, marketing, or entrepreneurship. Students will also participate in BoothCamp, prior to the start of Autumn Quarter, which includes both academic activities and professional development opportunities to prepare both students both for the program and their career post-graduation.
Information about the program and application materials are available online.
Master in Finance (MiF) Program
The Master in Finance Program is for accomplished recent college graduates in quantitative fields of study. The program offers a core business curriculum rooted in the fundamentals of business, along with a set of electives.
The 15 month MiF Program will consist of four core courses and nine elective courses. Five of the electives will be in finance, and the remaining four from a large subset of MBA courses. Students have the option of selecting one of three areas of specialization to help fulfill their elective requirements: Asset Management, Investment Banking, or Fintech. Students will also participate in BoothCamp, prior to the start of Autumn Quarter, which includes both academic activities and professional development opportunities to prepare both students both for the program and their career post-graduation.
Information about the program and application materials are available online.
The PhD Program is an integral part of Chicago Booth. The school began the first PhD program in business in the United States in 1920 and awarded its first PhD degree in 1922. Since then, more than eight hundred degrees have been granted.
The program leading to the degree of doctor of philosophy is designed for students of outstanding ability who desire advanced studies in preparation for careers in university teaching and research. The number of students admitted to the program each year is small and, within the framework of the general requirements described below, programs of study are designed to fit individual interests. Students with a variety of backgrounds are admitted to the program; undergraduates with strong academic backgrounds (e.g., economics, mathematics, psychology, sociology) and strong research interests are encouraged to apply.
Information about the program and application materials are available online.