Curriculum

Kelley Direct Online MBA Curriculum

The Kelley Direct Online MBA enables you to balance coursework with your career, family time, and other commitments. You'll obtain the business knowledge you need to succeed and the in-person experiences that set you apart to employers—at a pace that fits your life and your goals.

Begin your degree at the time that’s right for you—fall or spring. Build a foundation of business concepts in your first year, and specialize your degree to align with your career interests and goals. Kelley Direct Online MBA students can take two to four years to complete their degree.

See an example of a two-year plan

Curriculum Overview Webinar

Dig deeper into the curriculum in this recorded session with leaders from the Kelley Direct program.

Watch webinar

Please note: COVID-19 program updates

Due to current travel and safety concerns, in-person Kelley Direct Online MBA experiences are postponed. This includes in-person Kelley On Campus experiences and Global and Domestic Immersion programs, for which virtual options are now available. Kelley Direct Online MBA and MS courses are offered 100% online. In-person experiences will be resumed when it is safe to do so.

For more information regarding IU’s planning and response to COVID-19, please visit covid.iu.edu.

Kelley Direct Online MBA: Curriculum and Courses

Watch the video to discover how the Kelley Direct Online MBA courses work together to create a one-of-a-kind MBA experience.

Make Connections -

3

credits

Experiences are vital to your success as an MBA student. You'll build lifelong connections at Kelley Connect Weeks, work with a career coach to chart your career path, join the Student Leadership Association, and become part of a powerful alumni network.

Inside Kelley Connect Weeks

  • Build confidence as you solve a live business case for a US-based client (first-year Kelley Connect Week).
  • Develop solutions for an international client (second-year Kelley Connect Week).
  • Due to current travel and safety concerns, in-person Kelley Direct Online MBA experiences may be postponed. This includes the option to delay Kelley Connect Week.

Watch the video

Accelerate Your Career

  • Connect with the Kelley family—fellow classmates, faculty, and alumni—your network for life.
  • Access Graduate Career Services to discover the careers that fit your strengths, and work with a dedicated career coach to advance the next step in your career.

Develop Lasting Relationships

  • Join the Student Leadership Association to make connections and demonstrate your leadership abilities to employers.
  • Connect with Kelley Online MBA students and alumni all over the world during Global Connect Nights, held annually each spring and fall.

Build Your Expertise -

24

credits

Gain a comprehensive knowledge base in business fundamentals through a signature integrated core experience.

Signature Integrated Core Experience

Three 6-credit core blocks, each lasting 12 weeks.

Core 1: Foundations
Understand markets and institutions by diving into economics, business law foundations, and organizational behavior.

Core 2: Functions
Deliver value through functional excellence in operations management, marketing management, and financial management.

Core 3: Future
Create and sustain a competitive advantage with courses involving digital technology innovation, developing strategic capabilities, and integrative live case experiences.

Each core block is a strand of three integrated business courses focused on specific business capabilities. With the completion of each core block, you’ll gain competency, confidence, and fluency in business—as well as skills readily applicable to your current work context. Understand the Integrated Core and what its balanced workload will look like for your schedule.

Learn from Kelley School of Business faculty whose commitment to a collaborative approach delivers a well-coordinated curriculum experience.

Analytics and Accounting Fundamentals

In addition to the Integrated Core, you'll take one analytics course and one accounting course (3 credits each) to develop a deeper understanding of these critical functions.

Gain Deep Specialization -

24

credits

Choose a major or dual degree to match your interests and strengths—then gain the expertise to launch your career goals.

Choose from seven majors (12 credits in your selected major):

  • Business Analytics
  • Digital Technology Management
  • Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Strategy and Leadership
  • Supply Chain and Operations

Open elective courses (12 credits)

Alternatively, you can choose to earn a second master’s degree in a specialized area to complement the MBA (an additional 12 credits for an MS degree). 

Explore dual degrees

Broaden Your Horizons -

3

credits

Choose an immersive experience or online course to gain new perspectives about business—and the world. Each experience provides the opportunity to make a lasting impact and make lifelong connections.

Three credits may consist of any of the following online electives or electives that combine online instruction with an in-person experience:

Experiential Learning

Engage in an immersive US-based or global business experience designed to accommodate your schedule. You might assist a small business in another country or work with Fortune 500 executives in a major US market. Domestic courses typically are three days, while global courses are usually seven to ten days.

Previous trip locations include:

Due to current travel and safety concerns, in-person Kelley Direct Online MBA experiences may be postponed. This includes options to delay Global and Domestic Immersion programs. 

Global Perspectives

Take an online course to gain perspectives on international business concepts that will support your success as a business professional in a global economy.

Professional Development

Move your career to the next level with professional development coursework electives, which are an ideal way to bring focus to the career outcome you want as part of your online MBA experience. You'll learn how to move your career forward or how to build your resume with the experiential evidence you need to make a successful career change.