Academics
The MBA Program offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Accounting Science (MAS), Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MSMIS), and Master of Science in Taxation (MST). The strongest areas of study are finance, marketing, management information systems, and international business. The most popular courses are electives in finance and marketing and strategic management. Regular programs bring distinguished speakers and visiting professors to campus. An Executive-in-Residence program brings corporate leaders into the classroom. An MBA Colloquium Executive Lecture Series is held each semester at the Hoffman Estates, Naperville, and Rockford campuses.
Forty-eight total credits are required to complete the MBA, including 9 elective credits. Required courses include:
- Financial Accounting Concepts
- Fundamentals of Financial Management
- Legal Aspects of Business
- Principles of Management
- Graduate Survey of Marketing
- Survey of Business Economics
- Principles of Operations Management
- Business Information Systems
- Business Statistics
- Managerial Accounting Concepts
- Financial Analysis
- Organizational Behavior
- Strategic Management and Policy
- Marketing Management
- Operations Analysis
- Management of Information Systems Technology
Required courses for the MAS include:
- Phase One:
- Financial Accounting Concepts
- Survey of Business Economics
- Fundamentals of Financial Management
- Principles of Management
- Legal Aspects of Business
- Graduate Survey of Marketing
- Principles of Operations Management
- Business Information Systems
- Business Statistics
- Phase Two:
- Advanced Taxation
- Corporate Taxation
- Financial Statement Auditing
- Accounting Research
- Professional Tax Research
Required courses for the MSMIS include:
- Financial Accounting Concepts
- Fundamentals of Financial Management
- Legal Aspects of Business
- Principles of Management
- Graduate Survey of Marketing
- Survey of Business Economics
- Principels of Operations Management
- Business Information Systems
- Business Statistics
- Business Computing Environments
- Business Systems Analysis and Design
- Business Applications of Database Management Systems
- Business Telecommunications
- Technologies and Applications of Electronic Business
- Information Technology Project Management
- Strategic Information Systems
Students may eliminate or substitute requirements by proficency exam or undergraduate business degree for Phase One requirements.
Business students may take relevant nonbusiness courses in other departments. The minimum time permitted to complete the master’s degree program attending full time is 1 year; maximum, 2 years. For students attending part time, the minimum is 2 years; maximum, 6 consecutive years.
There are 88 total full-time graduate business faculty, of whom 70% hold a doctorate; there are 31 part-time faculty. Faculty salaries are rated well below average for Category I institutions, based on the AAUP rating system. Average number of credit hours faculty teach is 9; average business class size is 25.