Business Administration (Professional Program: On-Campus MBA)

Admission Requirements

  • Baccalaureate Field A business-related undergraduate degree is not required to be admitted to the master’s programs.
  • Grade Point Average Undergraduate GPA of 3.00/4.00 or better (or equivalent). 
  • Tests Required Applicants must submit either the GMAT, GRE, or EA.  A potential waiver of the GMAT or GRE is available for applicants who meet any of the following criteria: three or more years of professional work experience; JD, MD, PhD, or other terminal degree requiring quantitative course work; professional certifications (CPA, CFA, CMA, CIA, or CFP); quantitative-based master's degree; LSAT score of 160 or higher; successful completion of all parts of the CPA exam or PE exam. 
  • Minimum English Competency Test Score
    • TOEFL 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Test); 60, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Writing 21 (revised Paper-Delivered Test), OR,
    • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
    • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
  • Letters of Recommendation Two letters of recommendation are required from professional references who can speak to the applicant's abilities and readiness for a graduate degree program (e.g., a current or former supervisor). Personal references are not acceptable. 
  • Personal Statement Required. Questions and guidelines are provided in the online application. 
  • Work Experience All applicants must upload a CV/resume. MBA applicants are expected to have at least two years of professional work experience after the completion of a four-year bachelor’s degree. Historically, students admitted to the program had more than this level of experience when applying to the UIC Business MBA program. Work experience is not required for the specialized master’s programs and can be waived for highly qualified applicants to the Accelerated MBA.
  • Interview All completed applications are reviewed by the Admissions Committee and qualified candidates will be invited for an interview.

Degree Requirements

  • Minimum Semester Hours Required The MBA program is 42 semester hours, including 26 hours of core courses,12 hours of concentration courses, and 4 hours of electives. 
  • Course Work
MBA Core Curriculum
ACTG 500
Introduction to Financial Accounting
ECON 520
Microeconomics for Business Decisions
FIN 500
Introduction to Corporate Finance
IDS 532
Introduction to Operations Management
MBA 570
Enterprise Strategy
MGMT 541
Organizational Behavior
MKTG 500
Introduction to Marketing
Concentration Courses
Students will take 12 hours of electives from their chosen concentration. See the concentration section below for a list of required courses for each concentration.
Electives
Student take an additional 4 hours of electives to reach the required 42 semester hours.

Concentrations

Accounting

Required Courses
ACTG 502
Financial Accounting I
ACTG 506
Management Accounting
Accounting Electives
Select 4 hours from the following approved Accounting electives:
ACTG 503
Financial Accounting II
ACTG 508
Federal Income Tax - Graduate
ACTG 509
Business Law: Commercial Transactions
ACTG 516
Financial Statement Analysis
ACTG 525
Management Control of Strategic Performance
ACTG 534
Auditing-Graduate
ACTG 535
Advanced Auditing
ACTG 537
Fraud Examination
ACTG 585
Corporate Valuation and Accounting Information
ACTG 593
Accounting Research: Methodology and Communication
ACTG 594
Special Topics in Accounting - Graduate

Business Analytics

The Concentration in Business Analytics is available to all MBA students.

Required Courses
IDS 570
Statistics for Management a
IDS 572
Data Mining for Business
Business Analytics Electives
Select 4 hours from the following approved Business Analytics electives:
IDS 462
Statistical Software for Business Applications
IDS 521
Advanced Database Management
IDS 567
Business Data Visualization
IDS 575
Machine Learning and Statistical Methods for Business Analytics
IDS/MKTG 594
Special Topics in Information and Decision Sciences (Marketing Analytics)
MBA 590
Professional Topics (Managing Enterprise Data and Analytics)
MBA 590
Professional Topics (Web Analytics)
Equivalent graduate-level course approved by the Department of Information and Decision Sciences.
a

Students with knowledge in this topic may replace IDS 570 with an elective approved by their advisor.

Economics

Required Courses
Select 12 semester hours of 500-level Economics electives selected from the following:
ECON 502
Applied Microeconomics II
ECON 503
Applied Macroeconomics
ECON 505
Applied Econometrics
ECON 506
Research Design
ECON 507
Reading, Writing and Speaking Economics
ECON 508
Topics in Applied Microeconometrics
ECON 509
Microeconomic Theory I
ECON 510
Microeconomic Theory II
ECON 512
Macroeconomic Theory II
ECON 513
Special Topics in Macroeconomics and International Economics
ECON 514
International Trade Policy
ECON 515
International Monetary Policy
ECON 516
Development Economics
ECON 531
Labor Economics I
ECON 532
Labor Economics II
ECON 534
Econometrics I
ECON 535
Econometrics II
ECON 537
Time Series Econometrics
ECON 538
Business Research and Forecasting II
ECON 539
Microeconometrics
ECON 551
Economics of Education
ECON 552
Economic Demography
ECON 555
Health Economics I
ECON 556
Health Economics II
ECON 572
Urban Economics
ECON 575
Public Economics I
ECON 576
Economics of Taxation
ECON 594
Special Topics in Economics

Entrepreneurship

The Concentration in Entrepreneurship is available to students in the Flexible MBA  program. Students may select from two track options: TechVentures or General.

Required Courses for TechVentures Track:
ENTR 560
Fundamentals of Technology Entrepreneurship
ENTR 561
Assessing Technologies for Venture Potential
ENTR 565
Business Models for Technology Ventures
ENTR 566
Business Plans for Technology Ventures
ENTR 567
Resource Acquisition for Technology Ventures
ENTR 569
Technology Venture Integration
Required Courses for General Track
ENTR 502
Entrepreneurship
Select 8 hours from the following:
ENTR 559
Entrepreneurial Consulting
ENTR 594
Special Topics in Entrepreneurship (varies by semester)
MGMT 590
Strategic Management

Finance

Required Courses
FIN 510
Investments
FIN 520
Corporate Finance
Finance Electives
Select one of the following 500-level Finance electives:
FIN 512
Portfolio Analysis
FIN 515
Fixed Income Securities
FIN 516
Theory and Structure of Options and Futures Markets
FIN 530
Money and Banking
FIN 531
Capital Markets
FIN 542
International Finance
FIN 571
Empirical Issues in Finance
FIN 573
Risk Management
FIN 594
Special Topics in Finance

Human Resource Management

Required Course
MGMT 553
Human Resource Management
MGMT 555
Talent Management
Human Resource Management Electives
Select one of the following:
MGMT 554
Human Resource Management and the Business Environment
MGMT 564
Negotiations
MGMT 568
Compensation Administration
MGMT 594
Special Topics in Management

International Business

Required Courses
Select 12 hours from the following 500-level electives focusing on International Business:
ECON 514
International Trade Policy
ECON 515
International Monetary Policy
IDS 542
Global Innovation Management
IDS 594
Special Topics in Information and Decision Sciences
MBA 591
Study Abroad-Master of Business Administration Program (Doing Business in Argentina - 2 semester hours)
MBA 591
Study Abroad-Master of Business Administration Program (Doing Business in Brazil - 4 semester hours)
MBA 591
Study Abroad-Master of Business Administration Program (Know Europe - 3 or 6 semester hours)
MGMT 557
International Management
MGMT 594
Special Topics in Management
MKTG 569
Multicultural Marketing
MKTG 571
International Business Operations

Management

The Concentration in Management is available to all MBA students.

Required Course
MGMT 590
Strategic Management
Management Electives
Select two of the following:
MGMT 550
Leading for Impact
MGMT 553
Human Resource Management
MGMT 557
International Management
MGMT 564
Negotiations
MGMT 570
Business and its External Environment
MGMT 582
Global Innovation Management
MGMT 594
Special Topics in Management (offerings vary by semester)

Management Information Systems

Required Courses
IDS 500
Information Systems in Organizations
or IDS 515
 Information Systems Strategy and Policy
Select 8 semester hours from the following 500-hour electives focusing on Management Information Systems:
IDS 506
Health Information Management and Analytics
IDS 507
Advanced Systems Analysis and Design Project
IDS 517
Enterprise Application Development
IDS 518
Electronic Marketing
IDS 520
Enterprise Information Infrastructure Planning & Security
IDS 521
Advanced Database Management
IDS 523
Audit and Control of Information Systems
IDS 540
Marketing Analytics
IDS 542
Global Innovation Management
IDS 552
Supply Chain Management
IDS 561
Analytics for Big Data
IDS 567
Business Data Visualization
IDS 572
Data Mining for Business
IDS 573
Risk Management
IDS 575
Machine Learning and Statistical Methods for Business Analytics
IDS 582
Time Series Econometrics
IDS 583
Business Research and Forecasting II
IDS 594
Special Topics in Information and Decision Sciences

Marketing

Required Courses
MKTG 560
Marketing Management a
Select 8 semester hours from the following 500-level electives approved for the Marketing concentration:
MKTG 518
Electronic Marketing
MKTG 561
Consumer Behavior
MKTG 562
Marketing Analytics
MKTG 563
Marketing Research I
MKTG 564
Marketing Research II
MKTG 565
Advanced Digital Marketing and Advertising
MKTG 567
Digital and Social Media Marketing
MKTG 568
Business Intelligence and Technologies in Marketing
MKTG 569
Multicultural Marketing
MKTG 570
Brand Management
MKTG 571
International Business Operations
MKTG 572
International Marketing
MKTG 574
Product Planning
MKTG 577
Interdisciplinary Research and Development I
MKTG 578
Interdisciplinary Research and Development II
MKTG 594
Special Topics in Marketing

Operations and Supply Chain Management

Required Courses
IDS 552
Supply Chain Management
Select 8 semester hours from the following graduate-level electives approved for the concentration Operations and Supply Chain Management:
IDS 451
Enterprise Operations and Supply Chain Systems
IDS 509
Data and Prescriptive Analytics
IDS 518
Electronic Marketing
IDS 534
Project Management (2 semester hours)
IDS 535
Vendor Management (2 semester hours)
IDS 542
Global Innovation Management
IDS 551
Operations Management in the Service Sector
IDS 553
Supply Chain Analytics and Decision Models
IDS 558
Revenue Management
IDS 571
Statistical Quality Control and Assurance
IDS 594
Special Topics in Information and Decision Sciences

Real Estate

Required Courses
Select three of the following courses:
ECON 475
Urban Economics and Public Policy
ECON 572
Urban Economics
ECON 575
Public Economics I
FIN 472
Real Estate Finance
FIN 494
Special Topics in Finance
FIN 494
Special Topics in Finance
RES 472
Real Estate Finance
MBA 590
Professional Topics (varies by semester)