CUSTOM MBA
Personalize your MBA
Create your own MBA program with a customized focus. The Custom MBA is ideal if you want to combine core Master of Business Administration coursework with electives tailored to the precise skill set you need to advance in your career.
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Connections across the city
Study in the heart of Chicago—we’re located in the Loop, in the city’s business district. Chicago is home to 400 major corporate headquarters, including approximately 35 Fortune 500 companies, many of which are in walking distance of campus.
Application Deadlines
| Enrollment Quarter | Domestic Student Deadline | International Student Deadline |
| Fall | August 15 | August 15 |
| Winter | December 1 | October 1 |
| Spring | March 1 | February 1 |
| Summer | June 1 | April 1 |
Admission Requirements
Submit an online application, essay, résumé and official transcripts.
Required Courses
You’ll take 11 MBA core courses and five electives.
97%
of MBA graduates were employed, continuing their education or pursuing other goals within six months of graduation.
$85k
The median reported salary for MBA graduates was $85,000.
Learn from distinguished faculty
Learn from experts like Professor Neal Outland whose teaching philosophy revolves around posing the right questions rather than providing a multitude of answers. He is the winner of the 2017 Illinois Space Grant Fellowship and has worked on two NASA-funded projects with DePaul faculty to understand the individual qualities necessary of future astronauts.
“DePaul’s Custom MBA program equipped me with the ability to select courses of my interest, to understand interconnections between different business functions, and gave me a holistic picture of business.”
Pallavi (MBA ’17)
Manager, Mu Sigma Inc.
Alumni Network
Interact with accomplished peers and join a strong network of nearly 70,000 DePaul business alumni. In addition, you’ll be connected to the more than 195,500 DePaul University alumni across colleges, of which 122,500 are right here in the Chicago area.
Flexible formats to work with any lifestyle
Full-time Day MBA for early-career professionals or career changers. Classes offered during the day.
Evening MBA for established professionals in need of flexibility. Classes are in the evenings.
Scholarships
Graduate school is an investment in your future. Kellstadt awarded more than $3 million to incoming students last year. Learn more about scholarship opportunities available to you.
Custom MBA Admission Requirements
- Application & fee
- Essay
- Letters of recommendation (required for Full-time, Weekend and Evening)
- Resume
- Test optional – GMAT/GRE Scores (submission is optional)
- Interview (Full-time MBA only)
- International student admission requirements: Click here.
Submit your online application and the $60 application fee
An essay explaining your interest in the program and your professional goals is required.
The Kellstadt Graduate School of Business requires official transcripts from all degree-granting institutions. The admission committee reserves the right to request official transcripts from universities where an applicant attended but did not complete a degree. Please note that not submitting all transcripts where courses have been completed could impact course waivers.
Full-time MBA applicants must submit two letters of recommendation from current or previous employers. Letters may be submitted through the online application or kgsb@depaul.edu. Be sure to include the name of the recommender and applicant's name on each letter.
All MBA applicants must also submit a professional resume that summarizes their work experience and educational background.
Interviews are required only for applicants to the Full-time MBA program. The admission committee may require applicants to other programs to schedule an interview if necessary.
Deadlines
Full-time MBA: The admission committee meets in February, April and July to make decisions on applicants. Full-time Cohort MBA applicants who wish to be considered for scholarships or graduate assistant positions should apply by April.
The Evening MBA starts in the fall, but students may submit their applications any time of the year. The admission committee meets in February, April and July to make decisions on applicants.
Students may apply to enroll in any quarter. To ensure that you will be able to enroll in the quarter of your choice, we recommend that you apply by these dates:
| Enrollment Quarter | Domestic Student Deadline | International Student Deadline |
| Fall | August 1 | July 1 |
| Winter | November 1 | October 1 |
| Spring | March 1 | February 1 |
| Summer | May 1 | April 1 |
Learn more about Graduate Admission.
Concentration Requirements
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The Custom MBA concentration provides you with the flexibility to create your own MBA focus based on your unique career goals. This degree is ideal if you want to combine a set of electives that are tailored to the precise skill set you need to advance in your career, or if you have multiple interests that you would like to combine. If you do not declare a specific concentration at the beginning of the program, you will be assigned the Custom MBA concentration.
In this concentration:
- You have the freedom to choose any five Kellstadt elective courses to earn the Custom MBA concentration after completing your core MBA courses.
- Electives are available in a wide range of subjects and disciplines, from accountancy, finance, economics and real estate, to management, marketing and hospitality leadership.
- Academic advisors are available to help you design your course of study to meet your career goals.??
?Students complete the concentration in Custom MBA by completing any five elective courses offered by the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.?
With this option, the student is free to choose elective courses from among the different areas of study within the graduate school of business without concern for whether these courses satisfy the requirements of a specific concentration.
If a student does not declare a specific concentration, the student will be assigned the Custom MBA concentration at the beginning of the program.
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