Illinois State University’s M.B.A. Program will soon begin offering classes in Chicago. The new off-campus program, tentatively set to start in February 2013, will offer a fully accredited MBA curriculum to serve business professionals.

The Chicago M.B.A. Program will feature the same 36-credit hour, 12-course curriculum as the on-campus program located in Normal. The cohort-based program will be targeted toward full-time business professionals with significant work experience. Classes will be held in Illinois State’s Chicago office in the Crain Communications building on North Michigan Avenue and will be taught by full-time faculty members from the College of Business.

“While other universities offer M.B.A. programs in and around Chicago, those programs are often tailored for some specific target audience and offer very condensed curriculum,” said S. J. Chang, College of Business associate dean for M.B.A. and undergraduate programs. “The cost of many executive-type M.B.A. programs is also believed to be prohibitively high for many potential M.B.A. candidates. It is because of these market dynamics Illinois State believes it can be the M.B.A. program of choice in the Greater Chicago area.”

The Chicago M.B.A. Program is based on Illinois State’s accelerated, weekend Corporate M.B.A. that has been offered in Central Illinois since 1994. The Chicago M.B.A. features a fully accredited curriculum which can be completed in less than 20 months. The program’s target participants include mid- to upper-level corporate managers, business entrepreneurs and other institutional leaders with undergraduate business majors or minors.

“We believe that the decision to launch such a program is timely and feasible,” said Scott Johnson, dean of the College of Business. “According to various publications regarding the general trend of MBA education, the demand for M.B.A. degrees remains strong. Chicago is a world-class city and home to many business professionals, including more than 4,000 College of Business alumni in the Greater Chicago area. A large number of prospective students in the city will be drawn to our high-quality program.”

“Illinois State’s College of Business and M.B.A. Program are recognized as being among the best in the country,” said Illinois State Provost Sheri Noren Everts. “That recognition is based on the high quality of the programs offered in the college and the excellent teaching and research by its faculty members. The Chicago M.B.A., modeled on the M.B.A. Program’s highly successful offerings here in Central Illinois, will carry on that tradition of excellence and provide an important educational opportunity in one of our nation’s most important business and financial centers.”

For more information on Illinois State’s M.B.A. Program, visit mba.IllinoisState.edu