Booth School of Business – The University of Chicago - Executive MBA

 Chicago Booth Executive MBA Program Structure

The University of Chicago Executive MBA at the Booth School of Business has campuses in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong. The program begins in June and runs for 21 months, spanning seven academic quarters.  The program begins annually in August.

During the first quarter, Chicago Booth Executive MBA students begin at their home campus in Chicago, London, or Hong Kong with a joint session for incoming students. Quarters two through five cover the core curriculum at that home campus. Between quarters five and six a two-week elective session for all students takes place in Chicago during which students complete between two and four of their elective courses. Students then return to their home campus for quarters six and seven where they finish the core curriculum. Final convocation for all students takes place in Chicago following quarter seven.

Curriculum

During the 21-month Chicago Booth Executive MBA program students take foundational and fundamental courses as well as electives and complete a capstone experience.  Students also select from four elective courses to complete their individual course of study.

The preset general management curriculum is designed to improve students’ grounding in fundamental business disciplines like the economics of human relations, the financial business case, writing skills, brand strategy, and negotiation techniques. This curriculum, for example, comprises of:

Foundations – Financial Accounting, Microeconomics, and Statistics courses

Functions – Finance, Marketing, and Operations courses

Management – Decisions, People and Strategy courses

Business Environment – Global Strategy and Economics and Macroeconomics courses

In the electives component of the Executive MBA, students have the opportunity to explore personal career interests more thoroughly. The two-week elective block in the second year of the program allows students to complete between two and four intensive courses on advanced topics such as Entrepreneurial Finance, Investments, Marketing Strategy Simulation, New Product Development, and Applied Game Theory. Some of these courses are organized into tracks, which provide an additional framework to orient study by developing clusters of elective courses in a particular field of interest: capital markets, corporate finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy, or leadership and management. Tracks are not required, however, and students are also allowed to take electives from a range of different subject matters.

Students may choose one of two Capstone offerings. For example, the Integrated Strategic Management Capstone Simulation allows student teams to operate in a market environment. Students will make financing, investment, pricing, production, channel and marketing decisions culminating in final presentations to a panel of judges. This panel values each student company based on accumulated cash flow and future profit potential, which are determined through historical data modeling and statistical analysis.

The second option is the Global New Venture Challenge. This is a course in which teams of students develop an innovative business and business plan and pitch it to peers, faculty, and outside experts in a final all-day presentation format.

Executive MBA Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report: 1
• The Economist: 6
• Financial Times: 7

Class Profile

There were 224 students in the most recent Chicago Booth Executive MBA class, 112 of whom have advanced degrees. Females make up about 26% percent of the student body. There are students from 48 different nationalities in the current student body. The average student age is 37 and the average number of years of work experience is 13.  In addition, the average GMAT score is 681 with the average Executive Assessment score being 155.

Careers for Chicago Booth Executive MBA Graduates

Employment reports on previous Booth graduate hiring trends, employers, industries, and functions are available for each of the past five years. An extensive archive of previously successful resumes is available and career newsletters are constantly circulated via email to keep students apprised of up-to-date job postings and career management tactics. The Fisher Career Resources Center (CRC), located in the Gleacher Center, gives students, and alumni an additional researching resource.

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Executive MBA program tuition is as follows:

• North America – $194,000 USD
• Asia – HKD 1,355,000 ($172,812 USD)
• Europe – $167,000 USD

Tuition and fees include the price of all academic sessions, course materials, access to teaching assistants, most meals, daily snacks, and specific student activities. For Chicago students the price also includes lodging for the residential weeks in Chicago (two sessions) and in London and Hong Kong (one session each). Hong Kong and London campus students are also responsible for covering the cost of lodging away from their home campus.

Admissions

Each location handles their own admissions processes so the notification timeframe may differ slightly, but generally speaking, applicants can expect to hear via email or mail somewhere between four and six weeks after applying for one of the four admissions deadlines.

To complete an application for Booth’s Executive MBA program, prospective students must submit a completed online application with personal background information, complete a series of varying essay questions (between one and three 1 to 2-page essays may be necessary), a professional resume, two letters of recommendation, transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions attended, official GMAT or GRE scores (unless granted a waiver*), and a $175 application fee.

*In certain instances, senior-level managers with more than twelve years of management experience or candidates who possess an advanced degree in a quantitative field may be granted an exception from the GMAT/GRE requirements. Candidates who believe they fulfill one of these criteria should speak with an admissions representative about obtaining a testing waiver.

Admissions staff, students, and alumni from the Chicago campus evaluate applications and conduct interviews. The school will additionally  grant interviews on an invitation-only basis.

The program requires a high level of English proficiency. The school will assess each candidate’s English ability during the application and interview process. In certain cases, based on these results, applicants will be asked to take the TOEFL exam.

Students must also provide a letter of company support after admission to certify that their company will allow them to attend all class meetings.  The letter does not, however, need to provide details of financial support.

2022 Chicago Booth Executive MBA Deadlines

STATS

Cost: 

• North America – $194,000 USD
• Asia – HKD 1,355,000 ($172,812 USD)
• Europe – $167,000 USD

Length of Program: 21 Months

COVID Response: “For our Hyde Park and Gleacher campuses, only Illinois residents will be permitted. Only Hong Kong residents are able to access the Yuen Campus. For our London campus at St. Paul’s, only residents of the greater London region are permitted. 

Female Student Body: 26%

Work Experience Average: 13 Years

Graduate Program Offerings: Chicago Booth offers two part-time MBA programs, a full-time MBA program, EMBA as well as prestigious PhD and executive education program options.

Schools and Programs You May Also Like

---