Founded in 1898, the Booth School of Business is the second oldest business school in the United States. Booth is the business school for the University of Chicago, one of the highest ranking and most selective universities in the world. Alumni for the university include billionaires, Nobel Prize winners, and Olympic gold medalists. Booth School of Business is also the alma mater of James O. McKinsey, founder of McKinsey & Company.
In 1898, James Lauren Laughlin established the College of Commerce and Politics. It was originally created as an undergraduate program at the University of Chicago. In 1916, the first masters and doctoral degrees were offered and the school was renamed the School of Commerce and Administration. The undergraduate program was eventually phased out in 1942. In 2008, David G. Booth gifted the school $300 million. It was renamed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in his honor.
Booth School of Business has produced an impressive amount of Nobel Prize winners in the Economic Sciences. The school is associated with 9 Nobel laureates, more than any other business school. It is also the only business school in the country to have permanent campuses on three continents: Asia, Europe, and North America.
In addition to James O. McKinsey, the school’s alumni include many other former and current CEOs for Fortune 500 companies. These companies include: Allstate Insurance, Bain Capital, Chevron, Credit Suisse, Dominos, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Morningstar, and PIMCO.
Booth School of Business Program Overview
Booth School of Business is known for an emphasis on freedom. In the full-time MBA program, there is only one required course, Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD). Booth values giving students the ability to lead their own educational experience. After the LEAD program, students choose which courses they want to take in the fundamental business areas. Students can then further tailor their experience by choosing from 13 concentrations for their elective courses.
| School Rank according to US News | #3 |
| Course Duration | 2 years |
| Average GMAT | 732 |
| GMAT Range | 590 - 790 |
| Approx. Class Size | 630 |
| Avg. Work Experience | 5 years |
| Tuition Cost | $72,000 per year |
| Average Age of Student | 28 |
| Median Salary | $155,000 |
| Median Management Consulting Salary | $165,000 |
| % Employed after 3 months | 96.4% |
| Locations | Chicago, London, Hong Kong |
Degrees Offered
- Accounting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Management
- International Business
- Marketing
- Management Information Systems
- Production/Operations Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Public Policy
- Quantitative Analysis/Statistics and Operations Research
Specialty Programs
- Evening MBA
- Executive MBA
- Weekend MBA
- PhD
What Makes Booth School of Business Unique?
Students at Booth School of Business can choose from over 70 student groups. These include cultural affinity groups like the African American MBA Association. There are also professional clubs like Management Consulting and Investment Banking. Students can also join a club of people who share the same interests e.g., sports, culinary arts, photography, or volunteering.
Clubs at Booth host a variety of events and conferences. The Booth Women Connect conference brings a powerful community of women together to network and discuss relevant issues. SeedCon, a conference for entrepreneurs to share ideas, is hosted by the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group. At the annual Marketing Conference, students learn from current leaders at companies like Wrigley and Proctor & Gamble.
The Booth School of Business has 260 faculty members that teach across 11 academic areas. Booth also has 13 different research centers and initiatives. According to The Economist, professors were given a rating of 4.74 out of 5.
What is the Booth School of Business campus like?
Booth School of Business is located just east of the University of Chicago’s central quadrangles. The Charles M. Harper center is home to the full-time MBA program’s classrooms, study rooms, student lounge, and workstations. Housing is available on or near campus. Many off-campus students live in the Loop, where downtown Chicago’s business district is located.
The Booth campus is located in Chicago’s renowned Hyde Park neighborhood. In addition to modern and historic architecture, the city has parks, lakefront beaches and trails, museums, and restaurants. The Loop in downtown Chicago is one of the largest business districts in North America.
Notable Alumni
Booth School of Business alumni include CEOs from some of the most successful companies in the country. Here is a list of Booth School of Business notable alumni:
- James O. McKinsey, founder of McKinsey & Company
- David G. Booth, co-founder, and CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors
- Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft
- Dhiraj Rajaram, founder, and CEO of Mu-Sigma
- Jon Winkelried, former co-president of Goldman Sachs
- Eric Gleacher, the founder chairman of Gleacher & Co.
- Susan Wagner, co-founder and former COO of Blackrock, board member of Apple Inc.
- Jaithirth Rao, founder and former CEO of the software company MphasiS
- Peter G. Peterson, founder, and chairman of The Blackstone Group
- Eric Kriss, co-founder of Bain Capital
- Eugene Fama, “Father of the efficient-market hypothesis”, Nobel Laureate in Economics.
- Bart Becht, former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser
- Mary Tolan – Co-founder and Co-Managing Partner of Chicago Pacific Founders
- Debra Crew, President, and COO of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
- Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino’s Pizza
- John R. Opel, former chairman and CEO of IBM
- David Wells, former CFO of Netflix
- Farhan Siddiqi, Global Chief Digital Officer of McDonald’s
Booth School of Business Employment Report
According to the Booth School of Business Employment Report, 96% of Booth MBA graduates were employed after three months. The overall median Booth MBA salary is $155,000, while the median salary for consultants jumps up by $10,000.
To find out what the prospects are for you to break into consulting from Booth School of Business, see our breakdown of the Booth Employment Report.