MBA Curriculum & Experience

Define your own true success with a Kelley MBA.

You’re considering an MBA because you want to grow professionally and make an impact. You have talent and drive. You have the capacity to change and achieve success. And you need an MBA program that’s as innovative and invested in helping you make that transition as you are. At the Kelley School of Business, we take learning beyond the classroom to give you the skills to build your future as a business leader.

MBA curriculum components

Your Kelley MBA starts prior to your first semester with Me, Inc., a two-week intensive program in team-building and career development that sets you up for success over the next two years. If you don’t have a business background, you might also want to do Jump Start, a week-long accelerated introduction to core business concepts. And from day one, you can take advantage of Graduate Career Services to help you find the major, career path and companies that are the best fit for you. Review this semester-by-semester breakdown to view your options.

Pre-MBA

Academics

Sharpen your financial and statistical skills in this one-week primer.

Dive into two weeks of activities—including team building exercises—that prepare you for the next two years.

Leadership Development

Explore yourself—your strengths, your weaknesses, what you add to your team and organization—so you can better lead others.

Career Development

Learn about yourself, your interests and your team. Prepare your personal brand story. And start networking.

First Semester

Academics

Master the fundamentals of business in this intense, 15-week program.

Choose one of our industry-focused Academies and start learning about your chosen field.

Leadership Development

Complete class projects—and strengthen your teamwork skills—with classmates from varied backgrounds.

Build the functional skills you need to lead with competence and confidence.

Expand your network and your skills—a great way to develop your foundation as a leader.

Career Development

Get one-on-one guidance on your networking, interviews, your brand story and your career plan.

Discover career options and meet professionals in your chosen industry.

Connect with employers through Academy and Kelley activities, and get ready for internship interviews.

Second Semester

Academics

Work on real-world projects with guidance from your Academy director and learn how to lead in a peer-based team environment.

Choose among seven majors, and deepen your studies with a minor or certificate.

Start taking courses in your major and other classes that fit your interests and goals.

Leadership Development

Enhance your team-based leadership skills—such as navigating group dynamics—and complete real-life projects that help organizations.

Solve problems for entrepreneurs and nonprofits, both in a student-led class and through on-site visits in the U.S. or abroad.

Career Development

Get hands-on experience—through a site visit or consulting project, for example—that sets the stage for your internship.

Interview with recruiters on campus, and then, if needed, launch a network-based search.

Improve your emotional intelligence, get tips for success during your internship and more in these workshops.

Summer

Academics

Leadership Development

Put what you've learned into practice, and draw on your first-year experiences to lead with confidence and impress your managers.

Practice your leadership skills by helping to prepare the next generation of Kelley talent.

Career Development

We provide the tools to help you distinguish yourself—in your internship and beyond.

MBA Summer Internship

Dan Pickering, MBA'16, shares his experience of interning with 3M.

Third Semester

Academics

Select more courses that intrigue you, all taught by expert Kelley faculty.

Select an optional second-year Academy to further develop your entrepreneurial or leadership skills.

Leadership Development

Work with local businesses owned by women and underrepresented minorities, or organizations that empower these groups.

Plan the trip and the curriculum, then test your leadership skills by managing student teams in foreign environments.

Guide a first-year student and get experience nurturing talent and motivating a peer.

Shape students' experience, plan activities, and bolster your leadership skills.

Career Development

Interview on campus with top organizations, and highlight the personal story you've developed at Kelley.

Work with your coach on job-search essentials like refining your resume, practicing for interviews, and negotiating offers.

Fourth Semester

Academics

Take those last eye-opening courses you need before you start your career.

Consider applying to study at a top business school in another country, from Italy to India.

Meet influential Washingtonians and explore the relationship between business and government.

Use all of your MBA skills in a business simulation and attend executive development sessions with industry leaders.

Leadership Development

Mentor the project teams—made up of high-achieving Kelley undergraduate students—and work with a faculty member to plan and execute the course.

Solve problems for entrepreneurs and nonprofits, both in a student-led class and thousands of miles from campus.

Help a first-year student define his or her goals and the key steps needed to be successful.

Lend your expertise to teams of first-years in your Academy’s project class.

Wrap up your responsibilities and prepare to hand off the club to the next class of Kelley leaders.

Career Development

Top-ranked career services and the world's largest business school alumni network form your powerful professional team.

Continue tapping into your coach’s expertise as you launch your post-MBA career.

Graduation

Scenes from the Full-Time MBA Class of 2017 Commencement ceremony.

MBA Curriculum & Experience

Define your own true success with a Kelley MBA.

MBA curriculum components

Pre-MBA

Academics

Jump Start

Orientation

Leadership Development

Me, Inc.

Career Development

Me, Inc.

First Semester

Academics

Integrated Core

First-Year Academy

Leadership Development

Core Teams

First-Year Academy

Student Clubs

Career Development

Career Coaching

First-Year Academy

Networking

Second Semester

Academics

First-Year Academy

Major, Minor and Certificate Choices

Electives

Leadership Development

First-Year Academy

Globase

Career Development

First-Year Academy

Internship Interviewing

Professional Development Sessions

Summer

Academics

Leadership Development

Internship

Facilitate Me, Inc.

Career Development

Internship

MBA Summer Internship

Third Semester

Academics

Electives

Second-Year Academy

Leadership Development

1Kelley

GLOBASE Student Team Leadership

Peer Coaching

Club Leadership

Career Development

Full-Time Career Search

Career Coaching

Fourth Semester

Academics

Electives

Study Abroad

Washington Campus

Capstone Week

Leadership Development

1Kelley

GLOBASE

Peer Coaching

Academy Project Team Coaching

Club Leadership

Career Development

Full-Time Career Search

Career Coaching

Graduation