Chicago Booth — MBA Program & Application Overview

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is a top business school for risk-takers, people who challenge the status quo, and people who dream big and do big things.

Whether in class, in co-curricular activities, or in your community, the Booth MBA experience opens countless doors and opportunities. It empowers you to turn your bold thinking into action that impacts the real world, and you will have the knowledge to lead with confidence and put your ideas into action.

Class Profile (MBA Class of 2025)

• Location: Chicago, IL
• Class Size: 637
• Number of Applicants: 4,184
• Acceptance Rate: 15%
• Average Work Experience: 5 years
• Average GMAT: 728
• Average GRE: 162 Verbal, 163 Quant
• Average GPA: 3.60
• Women: 42%
• International: 49%
• First Generation: 12%

2024-2025 Application Overview

Booth MBA Deadlines

The deadlines for the 2024-2025 application cycle were recently released. See more info on the new dates here: Chicago Booth MBA Application Deadlines (2024-2025).

GMAT/GRE

You will need to submit GMAT or GRE test scores as part of your application to Booth’s MBA program. The University of Chicago Booth also accepts the GMAT Focus Edition and the shortened GRE.

If you are applying as an international student whose native language is not English, you must also submit a TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE test score. However, this requirement can be waived if you are a citizen or permanent resident in a country with English as an official language or if you earned an undergraduate or postgraduate degree from an institution with English as the language of instruction.

Booth Essays

The Booth School of Business requires two essays. When writing your application essays, be sure to consider your personal and professional journey and demonstrate how you will contribute to the incoming MBA class.

• 1st Prompt: How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (minimum 250 words, no maximum)
• 2nd Prompt: An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (minimum 250 words, no maximum)
• Optional: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (maximum 300 words)
• Re-applicants: Upon reflection, how has your perspective regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (maximum 300 words)

Recommendations

You will need to submit two letters of recommendation from two individuals who know you well. The best candidates for your letters of recommendation are those individuals who can speak clearly about your performance and contribution to your organization, with highly specific and detailed examples.

• Do not choose your recommender based solely on title and status. The Booth admissions committee is most concerned with the content and substance of your recommendation, not necessarily with the reputation of your recommender
• Your first letter of recommendation must come from a supervisor. Booth is looking for informed objectivity in their recommendation letters, and wants to hear from individuals who are intimately familiar with your work product, who can speak knowledgeably about your strengths, weaknesses, and potential as a future leader
• Your second letter can be from anyone, such as a professional contact or from someone who has worked with you in an organization, club, or on a volunteer project. This letter should offer a different perspective on your skillset than the one offered by your first recommender, to maximize the amount and variety of the information sent about you the admissions committee

Click here for our free Leland Recommender Prep Template.

Booth Interviews

Interviews at Booth are by invitation only and required for admission. The admissions committee will evaluate your submitted application, after which they’ll contact you by the decision date with instructions on how to schedule your interview.

Interviews are held on campus, at a location convenient to you, or via teleconference (Zoom). They are conducted either by a current student, an alumnus, or an admissions staff member, and all interviews are weighted equally in the evaluation process.

Read: How I Got Into Chicago Booth Scholars (Deferred MBA) – An Interview With Bruce Erickson

Other Application Items

Application Fee

• You’ll pay a $250 application fee when you submit your application to Booth’s traditional MBA program
• If you’re applying to the Chicago Booth Scholars Program, the deferred MBA program, there is no application fee
• Check the Booth admissions FAQ to see if you qualify for a fee waiver

Resume

• The resume you submit should highlight your professional and volunteer experience, and indicate why you’d be a suitable candidate for Booth’s MBA program

Academic Transcripts

• You’ll need to submit transcripts from all postsecondary educational institutions that you have attended
• You will only be asked to submit unofficial scans of your transcripts.
• Once admitted, you will be asked to submit official versions of your transcripts
• All records must include the dates of enrollment, courses taken and their credit units, your grades, and if available, your rank in the total class or group
• Records you submit should also include the institutional grading scale or other standards of evaluation, including the minimum passing and failing marks and the definition of grades between them
• If your academic records and diplomas are not written in English, you must submit both the official record and an authorized English translation

For more admissions information, check out the official Booth admissions page.

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University of Chicago Booth MBA Program Overview

Booth believes that rigorous inquiry and questioning inspires insight. This is what they call The Chicago Approach. You’ll learn how to turn any business challenge into an opportunity, think for yourself, challenge the status quo, and make groundbreaking discoveries using data.

The MBA degree curriculum at Booth is rooted in the fundamental fields of business: accounting, economics, psychology, sociology, and statistics.

LEAD

You will start your MBA journey with LEAD, a hands-on, experiential program that builds skills in negotiation, team building, interpersonal communication, and other key general management areas. This is the only required course in the flexible curriculum, but the format of this course varies depending on your chosen program.

Full-Time MBA

• Booth begins the LEAD program with Orientation+ (O+), a two-week orientation organized by second-year student facilitators. LEAD will continue through the first quarter of classes
• The end goal of LEAD is for you to learn who you are as a leader, what you stand for, and how others perceive you and to develop an individualized plan to guide your leadership journey through business school

Evening/Weekend MBA

• For evening and weekend MBA programs, LEAD provides foundational leadership concepts and frameworks to help you succeed, grow and continue developing as a leader during your MBA experience

Executive MBA (EMBA)

• For students in the Executive MBA program, the LEAD course begins during the Kick-Off week in June, in Chicago, and ends during the first International Week of the Summer Quarter, in London
• LEAD for the Executive MBA program focuses on increasing self-awareness and key leadership skills
• Beyond the LEAD course, EMBA students are encouraged to join one-on-one and small group executive coaching sessions, as well as participate in assessments of leadership, professional development workshops, and other events

Required Courses

Students will choose one course each from three foundation areas:

• Financial Accounting
• Microeconomics
• Statistics

Students will then take seven courses in functions, leadership & management, and the business environment, choosing one course in seven of eight categories:

Functions

• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations
• Strategy

Leadership and Management

• Decisions
• People

Business Environment

• Economy
• Society

Electives

The full-time MBA program offers maximum flexibility in the ten electives students take. While not required, most Booth students use their electives to work towards three to four concentrations. You may also take up to six electives at other schools at UChicago to round out your management education.

Concentrations

• Accounting
• Analytic Finance
• Behavioral Science
• Business Analytics
• Econometrics and Statistics
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• General Management
• Healthcare
• International Business
• Marketing Management
• Operations Management
• Strategic Management

Qualified Work Experience

• Full-Time MBA students are required to complete a hands-on, professional experience, usually in the form of a summer internship between their first and second years, to put the skills they’ve learned into action in a work setting
• Booth offers campus recruiting and networking events, alumni connections, job postings, and resume referrals to help students find internships

Campus

• Chicago Booth’s campus is officially in the Hyde Park neighborhood, with the Charles M. Harper Center serving as the home of the full-time MBA program and other graduate programs.
• However, the school considers the entire city of Chicago as its campus. The Gleacher Center, where the part-time programs, executive MBA program, and executive education courses are based, is located in downtown Chicago.
• Chicago Booth is the only US business school to have permanent campuses on three continents: North America, Europe, and Asia

MBA Programs

Full-Time MBA

Chicago Booth’s Full-Time MBA program lets you work in a collaborative environment of faculty, alumni, and peers that will open doors in your career. Your classes will primarily take place in the Harper Center.

• Typical time to complete: 21 months
• Average years of work experience: 3 to 7

Part-Time MBAs

Evening MBA

The Evening MBA program, located in the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago, is ideal for professionals in Chicago and the surrounding region. Most classes are held once a week from 6 to 9 PM, with virtual and daytime options.

• Typical time to complete: 2.5 to 3 years
• Average years of work experience: 3 to 11 years

Weekend MBA

With a flexible curriculum and a weekend-based schedule, the Weekend MBA program (also part-time) is ideal for curious, high-potential professionals from all corners of the country. 77% of weekend students travel to the downtown campus each weekend from outside of Illinois. Commuters can look forward to free shuttle service to and from Midway and O’Hare Airports on Saturdays, discounted rates at nearby downtown Chicago hotels, and Saturday access to student events, faculty, the administrative office, academic advisors, and Career Services.

• Typical time to complete: 2.5 to 3 years
• Average years of work experience: 3 to 11 years

Executive MBA

Executive MBA students can choose from campuses in Chicago, London, or Hong Kong while continuing to work full-time. The EMBA program includes three international week sessions: three in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong. Unlike the other MBA programs, the Executive MBA program has 18 core courses.

• Typical time to complete: 22 months
• Average years of work experience: 14 years

Chicago Booth Scholars Program

Through the Chicago Booth Scholars Program, Booth's deferred MBA program, you can apply for the full-time MBA program in your final year of undergraduate studies. You can defer admission for two to five years, during which you can enter the workforce and gain professional experience that will enrich your business school experience.

During the deferment period, admitted students have full access to Booth’s resources and events, as well as specialized deferred scholar programming and a vast network of business professionals. All Booth Scholars need to pay a series of nonrefundable deposits that go towards their tuition during their first, second, third, and fourth year of deferral.

Find more information about deferred MBA programs here:

Joint Degree Programs

JD/MBA

Offered by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Law School, this joint degree combines a business education with legal expertise. Students complete 1400 units of business school coursework and 105 credit hours of law school coursework and two to three summer internships, depending on if they are enrolled in the four-year program or the accelerated three-year program.

MBA/MD

This dual degree program is aimed at students interested in working in physician practices, hospitals, insurance, or pharmaceuticals. Students are encouraged to apply after completing their first two years of medical school.

MBA/Masters Program in Computer Science (MPCS)

This joint program tailored towards entrepreneurship, fintech, and technology management requires applicants to complete an MBA/MPCS program supplement in their application.

MBA/MS In Applied Data Science

This joint program prepares students for leadership in data-centric business environments, with in-person business classes and virtual data science classes and takes the same amount of time to complete as a traditional full-time MBA degree.

MBA/MS in Biomedical Sciences

For students interested in combining leadership and management with research and clinical knowledge, this joint degree program prepares graduates for promising careers in biotechnology, policy, government, and pharmaceuticals.

MBA/Master of Public Policy (MPP)

Geared towards students passionate about making change in business, civil society, or government, this program offered in partnership with the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago equips students with analytical frameworks grounded in an interdisciplinary education.

MBA/Master of Arts in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration from Crown Family School

This three-year degree prepares students to take on leadership roles in business, clinical social work, policy, and social administration practice.

MBA/Master of Arts in International Relations

Offered in partnership with the Committee on International Relations (CIR), this program includes a master’s thesis component and an internship requirement.

MBA/Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies

Another program offered with the CIR is the MBA/Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies program, which also requires a master’s thesis and the completion of an internship.

Certificate Programs

University of Chicago Obama Foundation Scholars

Students in their last year of study at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Crown Family School, and/or the Harris School of Public Policy are encouraged to participate in this one-year program, which equips students to address complex social issues facing their communities.

MBA/Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP)

Students in this program can choose to complete either a Certificate in Health Administration and Policy or a Certificate in Health Administration and Policy with a Concentration in Global Health.

Student Life at Booth

Booth’s Classroom Experience

Meet Booth Admits & Applicants in Leland’s Free Slack Community

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For more about applying to business school, check out these resources:

• Chicago Booth MBA Cost: Tuition & Fees Breakdown
• Financial Aid Options for Pursuing an MBA Program
• The Complete MBA Application Guide
• The 10 Best MBA Admissions Consultants
• 10 Essential Tips for a Successful MBA Application
• 5 Common Red Flags in MBA Applications (& How to Overcome Them)
• 6 Expert Tips for Nailing Your Virtual MBA Interview

Booth FAQs

Is Chicago Booth good for an MBA?

• Yes, Chicago Booth is consistently ranked among the top 5 MBA programs globally, known for its strength in finance, data-driven curriculum, and academic flexibility.

Is the Chicago Booth MBA hard to get into?

• Yes, it's highly selective with an acceptance rate around 20%, and competitive applicants typically have high GMAT/GRE scores, strong leadership experience, and clear career goals.

How much does a Chicago Booth MBA cost?

• The total cost for one year is about $120,000, including tuition, fees, and living expenses, bringing the full two-year program close to $240,000, before financial aid.

What is the average salary for a Booth MBA in Chicago?

• Graduates report an average base salary of around $165,000, with many receiving bonuses and signing incentives, especially in finance, consulting, and tech.

How do I change the name or information I submitted about my recommender?

• Email admissions@chicagobooth.edu, and a coordinator will assist you with the change