MBA (Master of Business Administration)

Business Administration, MBA

Offered in: CHICAGO | SCHAUMBURG

The MBA degree prepares students for executive and managerial positions in both the private and public sectors. The degree includes broad preparation in business administration, while allowing for a concentration in a specific business or related area. Emphasis is placed on the development of problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

Requirements

To earn the MBA, students must successfully complete 37 semester hours. Typically, this includes 13 courses: a one-semester-hour orientation course, eight core courses, three courses in an area of concentration, and one elective. Students whose academic preparation or work experience has given them a sufficient degree of expertise in a specific subject may petition to take a more advanced course in lieu of a particular core course. Of the twelve courses required for the degree, at least nine must be courses offered in the College of Business. If the concentration selected is outside the College of Business, then the elective must be a business course.

Three related courses constitute a concentration. Within the Heller College of Business, students may choose from the following areas: accounting, business forensics, finance, human resource management, information systems, international business, leadership, management, marketing, real estate, social entrepreneurship, and strategic management. Students also have the option of choosing a concentration from another graduate program within the university. These options and variations open a variety of career paths to MBA graduates. These concentrations are as follows: economics, hospitality management, industrial/organizational psychology, integrated marketing communications, nonprofit management, public administration/health services administration, and training and development.

Students may also propose an individualized concentration composed of at least three graduate-level courses offered anywhere in the university. These proposals must be described in detail with a solid rationale for the appropriateness of the plan. The college will give serious consideration to any individualized concentration that is challenging, coherent, and supportive of your educational objectives.

Students should plan their programs of study so that all prerequisites are completed before enrollment in Strategic Management (MGMT 489).

BADM 401 Graduate Business Orientation .....1
Core Courses

ACCT 405 Accounting for Executives .....3
ECON 403 Economics for Decision Makers .....3
FIN 408 Finance for Decision Makers .....3
INFS 401 Information Resource Management .....3
MGMT 403 Quantitative Analysis for Decision Makers .....3
MGMT 407 Executive Leadership .....3
MGMT 489 Strategic Management .....3
MKTG 406 Marketing Strategies: Theory and Practice .....3
Concentration

Three courses chosen from a single area .....9
Elective

One graduate-level course approved by the Assistant Dean, Graduate Studies .....3
Concentrations

In addition to the core classes, each MBA student will complete a concentration consisting of three courses.

Within the Walter E. Heller College of Business, you can choose from many concentrations. Each concentration gives students an in-depth treatment of a specific functional area in business. The concentrations are:

Accounting
Accounting Forensics
Finance
Human Resource Management
Information Systems
International Business
Management
Marketing
Real Estate (available at Chicago campus only)
Social Entrepreneurship
Students are able to select a concentration from other graduate programs within the university. These options create new and innovative alternatives not previously available at MBA programs in the Chicago area. They open a variety of career paths not formerly accessible to MBA graduates. The concentrations include:

Economics (available at Chicago campus only)
Hospitality Management (available at Chicago campus only)
Integrated Marketing Communications
I/O Psychology
Managing Nonprofit Organizations (available at Chicago campus only)
Public Administration/Health Services Administration (available at Chicago campus only)
Training and Development
Additionally, students may propose an individualized concentration composed of at least three graduate level courses offered anywhere in the University. These proposals must be described in detail with a solid rationale as to why this focus of study makes sense for the student. The college will give serious consideration to any individualized concentration that is challenging and creative.