University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Commerce and Business
Urbana, Illinois
An Overview
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in applied and theoretical research in engineering, agriculture, supercomputing, life sciences, and business. The College of Commerce and Business Administration at the University has long been ranked as one of the best schools in the world for its programs in accounting, finance, and marketing; but, with a major new curriculum designed by faculty members and students in place, the Illinois M.B.A. program is quickly becoming its flagship program.
The Community
Located on the Illinois prairie within 2- to 3-hour drives of Indianapolis, Chicago, and St. Louis, the University of Illinois and the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign form a thriving community rich in social, cultural, and recreational opportunities. This ideal location offers students easy access to the best of metropolitan life while providing the comfort and security of living in the heart of the Midwest.
Some of the major corporations recruiting graduates of the Illinois M.B.A. program are Accenture, Citibank, Deloitte Consulting, Dow Chemical, Dynegy, General Electric, and Ford Motor Company. Increasingly, Illinois M.B.A. graduates are forming their own companies, many based on cutting-edge technologies developed by the engineering and supercomputing programs at the University.
Programs of Study
For the first year of the Illinois M.B.A. program, students work in teams within four 7-week core course modules that guide them step-by-step through the process of establishing or managing a business. Faculty members also work in teams and present business problems from their own functional perspectives such as finance, accounting, and marketing. The faculty teams coordinate their assignments and case studies so that student teams can integrate the different perspectives and provide comprehensive solutions. The faculty and student teams remain in constant contact using First Class networking software.
In addition to the course modules, students participate in a weeklong Applied Business Perspectives seminar once every semester. Applied Business Perspectives seminars are in-depth computer simulations or actual consulting projects that require students to analyze and apply their functional knowledge, exercise leadership and motivational skills, and formulate effective solutions under tight time constraints. They must then present their results to a panel of faculty members and outside judges.
During the second year each student focuses on a professional track that teaches skills specific to a student's chosen career. Students can select from subtracks, finance and MIS to entrepreneurship/new venture creation, and intellectual property management and commercialization. Alternately, they can enroll in a Joint Degree Program with any of several other programs at the University, including engineering, architecture, law, or medicine, to name a few. The Study Abroad Program also offers options. A capstone course during the second year pulls together all the lessons students have learned and provides them with an overview of contemporary business.
Facilities and Resources
Long heralded for its accomplishments in graduate education and research, the University of Illinois is home to national research centers for many disciplines, including supercomputing, engineering, education, and genetics. The Illinois M.B.A. program has formed strategic partnerships with these powerhouse programs through the Office for Strategic Business Initiatives (OSBI). These partnerships mean Illinois M.B.A. students have opportunities to work on technology transfer projects with researchers from the Beckman Institute, which brings together the biological and physical sciences to develop a better understanding of human and artificial intelligence. They can also get involved in managing start-up companies based on technologies straight out of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, which established the University of Illinois as a world leader in supercomputing and changed the face of personal computing forever with the development of the NCSA Mosaic browser for the World Wide Web. These research facilities are all backed by the nation's third-largest academic library, housing more than 15 million items.
Expenses and Aid
Costs: Tuition and fees for Illinois residents are $17,500 for the academic year. Nonresident tuition and fees were $27,400. Books for the academic year cost about $1600, on average.
Financial Aid: The Illinois M.B.A. offers a Student Management Leadership Award program. The grants are based on merit, not financial need, and the application for admittance to the Illinois M.B.A. program is used in choosing recipients. Several other merit-based scholarships are available for first-year students, and the Federal Direct Student Loan Program provides need-based financial aid for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
Housing/Living Expenses: Students can expect to pay approximately $8000 for room and board and $2000 for personal expenses during the academic year. Students can choose single or double rooms in a graduate student dormitory, or rent furnished or unfurnished apartments. Married students can obtain affordable housing through the Family Housing Office.
How to Apply
Recommended application deadlines are December 15, February 1, and April 1 under rolling admissions. Admission is based on undergraduate GPA over the last 60 credit hours, GMAT results, communication skills demonstrated in essays and interviews, TOEFL for nonnative speakers of English, demonstrated leadership qualities, professional work experience, analytical ability, and letters of recommendation. Applicants should hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, or the equivalent from another country. A grade of B or higher in at least one semester of calculus would help students' chances of admission.
Who to Contact
Illinois M.B.A.
410 David Kinley Hall
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1407 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, Illinois 61801
800-MBA-UIUC
E-mail: mba@uiuc.edu
http://www.mba.uiuc.edu
The Faculty And Their Research
Department of Accountancy
• Thomas Finnegan, Lecturer; Ph.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1993. Financial and managerial accounting.
• Robert M. Halperin, Visiting Professor; Ph.D., Pennsylvania, 1977. Tax issues.
• Frederick L. Neumann, Professor; Ph.D., Chicago, 1967. Auditing, education, ethics.
• Theodore Sougiannis, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1990. Financial accounting, stock market valuations.
• Eugene Willis, Professor and Head of the Department; Ph.D., Cincinnati, 1975. Taxpayer compliance, federal taxation.
• David Ziebart, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan State, 1983. Not-for-profit, financial, and principles of accounting.
• Richard E. Ziegler, Associate Professor; Ph.D., North Carolina, 1973. Auditing, financial accounting.
Department of Business Administration
• Joe Broschak, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas at Austin, 1999. Organizational theory, interorganizational relationships, organizational demography and employee mobility, the determinants and consequences of using contingent worker, outsourcing.
• Joseph Cheng, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1977. Organizational studies, international management.
• Dilip Chhajed, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 1989. Operations management.
• Abbie Griffin, Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1989. Measurement and improvement of new product development processes.
• James D. Hess, Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1975. Pricing and sales promotion, distribution channels.
• John W. Kindt, Professor; S.J.D., Virginia, 1981. Business law and legal environment of business.
• Ruth C. King, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas, 1987. Strategic management of information systems.
• Don N. Kleinmuntz, Professor; Ph.D. Chicago, 1982. Decision-making processes and models.
• Matthew S. Kraatz, Associate Professor; Ph.d., Northwestern, 1994. Antecedents and consequences of organizational adaptation and change.
• Jeffrey Krug, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Indiana, 1993. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions, top management teams, turnover effects.
• Paul Lansing, Professor; J.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1971; Graduate Diploma in International Legal Studies, Stockholm, 1973. International business and international law.
• Huseyin Leblebici, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1975. Organizational behavior and interorganizational relations.
• Joseph T. Mahoney, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Pennsylvania, 1989. Strategic management, business policy.
• Steven C. Michael, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Harvard, 1993. Interface of entrepreneurship, strategy, and economics.
• Kent B. Monroe, Professor and Head of Department; D.B.A., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1968. Marketing and pricing.
• Gregory B. Northcraft, Professor; Ph.D., Stanford, 1981. Management and organizational behavior, behavioral aspects of decision-making.
• Greg R. Oldham, Professor; Ph.D., Yale, 1974. Organizational science, the effects of work and work environments on employee reactions.
• Nicholas Petruzzi, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 1995. Pricing models in operations management, distribution, logistics.
• Michael G. Pratt, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1994. Organizational culture and symbolism, management and consequences of conflicting ideologies and identities.
• Zvi Ritz, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern, 1981. Operations research.
• Donald M. Roberts, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Stanford, 1959. Application of statistical principles to decision processes.
• Mark E. Roszkowski, Professor; J.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1975. Business law.
• Anju Seth, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1988. Strategic management, value creation, acquisitions, restructuring, corporate governance, joint ventures, international strategy, corporate finance.
• Michael J. Shaw, Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 1984. Artificial intelligence.
• Riyaz T. Sikora, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Illinois, 1994. Intelligent manufacturing, AI/expert systems.
• Devanathan Sudharshan, Professor; Ph.D., Pittsburgh, 1982. Marketing research.
• Brian Wansink, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Stanford, 1990. Revitalization, management, and leveraging of mature brands.
• Russell Wright, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Southern California, 1992. Entrepreneurship, technology management, strategy.
• Rachel Yang, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1996. Global supply chain management, design of production and distribution systems.
• Department of Economics
• Richard J. Arnould, Professor and Head of Department; Ph.D., Iowa State, 1968. Industrial organization, economics of regulation.
• John Conley, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rochester, 1990. Public finance, game theory.
• Lawrence DeBrock, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Cornell, 1980. Industrial organization, microeconomics.
• Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1984. Developing economies.
• Salim Rashid, Professor; Ph.D., Yale, 1976. Money, banking, economic development.
• Department of Finance
• Roger E. Cannaday, Associate Professor; Ph.D., South Carolina, 1980. Real estate.
• Louis Chan, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rochester, 1984. Multinational business and investments.
• Peter F. Colwell, Professor; Ph.D., Wayne State, 1973. Real estate and urban land economics.
• Joseph E. Finnerty, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1974. Investments, corporate finance.
• Virginia France, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Chicago, 1986. Portfolio management and derivatives, financial regulation.
• James A. Gentry, Professor; D.B.A., Indiana, 1966. Corporate financial management.
• Marasimhan Jegadeesh, Professor; Ph.D., Columbia, 1987. Investments, contingent claims pricing.
• Charles M. Kahn, Professor; Ph.D., Harvard, 1981. Financial institutions, informations and uncertainty, game theory.
• Srinivasen Kannan, Ph.D., Illinois, 1986. Corporate finance and investments.
• Josef Lakonishok, Professor; Ph.D., Cornell, 1976. Investments, mergers, acquisitions.
• Charles M. Linke, Professor; D.B.A., Indiana, 1966. Business finance and investments.
• David Lins, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois, 1972. Financial management, investment analysis, agricultural finance.
• Morgan J. Lynge, Professor and Chair of Department; Ph.D., Michigan, 1975. Credit and financial markets, management of financial institutions, and corporate finance.
• Hun Park, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Ohio State, 1982. Speculative markets and investments.
• Neil Pearson, Associate Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1990. Options and futures, financial institutions, financial engineering.
• George G. Pennacchi, Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1984. Financial institutions.
• Salim Rashid, Professor; Ph.D., Yale, 1976. Money, banking, and economic development.
• David T. Whitford, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Georgia State, 1980. Corporate finance and investments.