Curriculum & Concentrations
Chicago Booth offers a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of business. Our curriculum ensures that you’ll learn to evaluate problems and opportunities through the fundamentals that underlie business – accounting, economics, psychology, sociology, and statistics. Understanding these will enable you to transcend business trends and thrive in any situation.
Four major components make up the flexible curriculum. You choose what you take and when - based on your experience, education, and goals.
- Foundation courses focus on developing analytical tools and knowledge that supports the rest of the curriculum.
- Functions, Management, and Business Environment courses cover basic business functions (finance, marketing, and operations); management (decisions, people, and strategy); as well as the business environment in which firms operate.
- Electives cover 14 concentrations, offering students the chance to explore a topic more deeply.
- Leadership training is so critical, it's the only required class. All students must take Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD), where they'll work on key management skills such as negotiation, team-building, and giving feedback.
Overview of Program
The Full-Time MBA Program consists of 20 classes plus Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD). Courses are distributed as follows.
Foundation Courses (3 courses)
Choose one course from each category.
| FOUNDATIONS |
| Financial Accounting |
Financial Accounting |
Accounting & Financial Analysis I; Accounting & Financial Analysis II; Financial Statement Analysis |
| Microeconomics |
Microeconomics; Advanced Microeconomic Analysis |
The Employment Relationship; Topics in Microeconomic Theory; Economic Analysis of Major Policy Issues |
| Statistics |
Business Statistics; Applied Regression Analysis |
Analysis of Financial Time Series; Financial Econometrics; Statistical Insight into Marketing, Consulting & Entrepreneurship; Data Mining |
Functions, Management, and Business Environment (6 courses)
Choose six courses from the seven categories
| FUNCTIONS |
| Finance |
Introductory Finance; Investments; Corporation Finance |
Portfolio Management; Advanced Investments; Theory of Financial Decisions I; Theory of Financial Decisions II; Asset Pricing; Financial Instruments; Fixed Income Asset Pricing; Cases in Financial Management; Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity |
| Marketing |
Marketing Strategy |
Consumer Behavior; Quantitative Marketing Research Methods; Data-Driven Marketing; Marketing Research; Developing New Products and Services; Pricing Strategies; Advanced Marketing Strategy |
| Operations |
Operations Management |
Supply Chain Strategy & Practice; Operations Strategy & Performance Analysis; Revenue Management; Managing Service Operations |
| MANAGEMENT |
| Decisions |
Managerial Decision Making; Managerial Accounting; Managerial Decision Modeling |
None |
| People |
Managing in Organizations; Network Structures of Effective Management; Power and Influence in Organizations; Managing the Workplace |
None |
| Strategy |
Competitive Strategy; Strategy and Structure; Markets and Organizations; Business Policy |
None |
| BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT |
Electives (11 courses)
Define what areas of study you would like to pursue, or even take some classes from other University of Chicago departments.
LEAD (1 course)
All students take Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) to initiate their leadership development journey at Booth.
Concentrations
Our 14 concentrations build off these fundamentals and allow you to develop frameworks that enhance or complement your experience and fit your career goals. While concentrations are not required, students typically fulfill one to three from the list below to signal deeper knowledge and assemble the tools and analytic skills relevant to areas of particular interest. At the same time, because they build on the fundamentals, the concentrations are valuable well beyond specific career paths.