iMBA Program Requirements

Preparation is key to your success in this program. For successful completion of this program, all iMBA students are required to:

  • Complete 72 Credit Hours
  • Complete Program Foundations
    Learners beginning Fall 2023 and beyond are required to take MBA 597: Program Foundations concurrently with their first course(s) in the iMBA program.
  • Complete 4 Core Specializations
  • Complete 2 Focus Area Specializations or 1 Focus Area Specialization and 12 credit hours of electives, or an approved Graduate Certificate
    Option A: Complete two focus area specializations. Select from Digital Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Strategic Innovation, Global Challenges, Business Analytics, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Healthcare Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship.  
    Option B: Complete one focus area specialization in addition to 12 hours of elective courses or the Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Graduate Certificate. To complete the elective path, you will select 12 credit hours from any focus area course or iMBA elective course. The elective path has no capstone or certificate associated with completion.
  • Complete 2 Specialization Capstones
    There are eight specialization capstones available. All courses in a specialization must be successfully completed to be eligible for the Specialization Capstone. Experiential learning opportunities, such as immersions, may be completed to fulfill one to two capstones. Applications are required for experiential learning opportunities and additional fees may be associated. Only one experiential learning opportunity may be put towards this requirement. While select experiential learning opportunities may fulfill both Specialization Capstone requirements, only one immersion may be counted towards the requirement. 
  • Complete the Program Capstone
    Students are not eligible for the Program Capstone until they have completed 72 credit hours or are concurrently enrolled in the final courses that will bring them to 72 credit hours after completion. No exceptions will be made.
  • Complete Degree within 5 Years
    While our program is designed to be completed in 2 to 3 years, students can take up to 5 years to complete the degree as long as they are making satisfactory progress. The clock starts in a student’s first term as a degree student (time spent as a non-degree is not counted).
  • Earn a Cumulative GPA of 2.75
    This is the minimum GPA required to maintain good academic standing in each term and to graduate. Students who fall below this standard will be placed on academic probation. You will be dismissed by the Grad College if this happens in two consecutive terms.

 

Course Information

iMBA courses are broken down into core specializations, focus area specializations, and elective courses. Below, you can find a list of courses available to you. Please visit the Advising and Planning section to learn more about degree planning, and visit our Course Offerings page to identify course availability each semester. 
Required Core Specializations
Core 1: Strategic Leadership and Management
Core 2: Managerial Economics and Business Analysis
Core 3: Value Chain Management
Core 4: Financial Management
Focus Area Specializations

Select two focus area specializations, or one focus area in addition to an option listed below. 
Focus Area 1: Digital Marketing

 

Focus Area 2: Entrepreneurship and Strategic Innovation
Focus Area 3: Global Challenges in Business
Focus Area 4: Business Analytics

There is no capstone for the Business Analytics focus area. If you were planning to complete a capstone for Business Analytics, please select either a core capstone or capstone for your second focus area.

Focus Area 5: Mergers and Acquisitions

This specialization focuses on the theory and practice of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). By pursuing these courses, you will learn how to use financial accounting and finance information to express the economic realities of complex organizations. There is no capstone opportunity.

It is strongly recommended to complete Finance of Mergers & Acquisitions before completing Accounting for Mergers & Acquisitions and Other Complex Transactions. It is strongly recommended to complete both courses must be completed before completing Application of Investment Banking Concepts. In order to be successful in this specialization, it is critical to have the appropriate basic knowledge of statistics, corporate finance and financial accounting. Completing FIN 570 and ACCY 500 before beginning this specialization will set you up for the best path to success.

Focus Area 6: Healthcare Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship

This specialization prepares professionals in healthcare and business to tackle complex challenges in the healthcare sector. The specialization emphasizes integrating concepts from new product development, data analytics, design thinking, and entrepreneurship. Learners will gain the skills to identify key healthcare challenges and design innovative solutions with a higher likelihood of success. Through data-driven decision-making and the application of design thinking, participants will be equipped to drive healthcare innovation effectively. 

Additional Course Options

To complete your degree requirements, you must select two focus area specializations, or one focus area specialization (listed above) in addition to one option below:

Electives

Students may take 12 elective credit hours that can be applied to their degree to satisfy one of the two focus area specialization requirements. Elective courses do not have capstones or certificates associated with their completion.  

Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Economics Courses

Students may elect to complete the Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Economics courses, offered through the College of ACES. These courses will provide you an overview of global production and distribution of agricultural commodities and food products. You will examine financial and risk-management decisions associated with agricultural production and analyze modern issues facing the food industry in light of global challenges to sustainably feed a growing world population.  

You must complete a full Gies iMBA focus area if selecting the Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Economics courses. If you are interested in pursuing this option, we encourage you to meet with a Student & Academic Success Specialist to amend your degree plan.  

Capstones

In addition to completing two specialization capstones, you must complete Program Foundations and the Program Capstone. 

Program Foundations
Program Capstone

Embedded Graduate Certificates

iMBA degree-seeking learners have the option to earn up to two graduate certificates during their MBA degree. The addition of a graduate certificate is optional and can be selected from one of the five following focus areas and the Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Economics coursework:  

  • Digital Marketing
  • Entrepreneurship and Strategic Innovation
  • Global Challenges in Business
  • Business Analytics
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Economics

*Specialization Capstones are not required for the graduate certificate.

How to earn an Embedded Graduate Certificate

To earn a graduate certificate as part of your iMBA, you must complete all 12 credit hours of certificate coursework during your current degree program. Only one graduate certificate is allowed on your academic record at a time, meaning that you must confer the first graduate certificate before you are able to add a second certificate, should you choose to earn two during your degree program.

To earn a graduate certificate, you must complete the two-step process of adding the certificate to your record through a Curriculum Change Petition and then applying to graduate through self-service to officially confer your graduate certificate. It is highly recommended that you add your intended certificate to your record early in your degree program and confer once you are either enrolled in or have completed the final course within the graduate certificate.

Please refer to the University Calendar to identify academic deadlines to add to your record and confer a degree each semester. You may add to your record and confer in different semesters.

Fall Deadlines  l   Spring Deadlines   l    Summer Deadlines  

Step 1: Add to your Academic Record

  1. Login to the Graduate Student Portal using your NetID and password  
  2. Under the "Forms and Resources" section, click on the "Graduate Student Petition" link and "Start a new petition"  
  3. Select "Curriculum Change" as your request type and complete all fields on the form  
  4. Are you currently on an upcoming degree list? Select "Yes" or "No" to indicate if you have already applied to graduate from the iMBA. You can verify this by clicking on the “View Graduation Application” in the UIUC Self-Service “Graduation” section 
  5. Enter the effective Term: Enter the term you wish to desire to add this to your academic record 
  6. Select Curriculum Change Category: "Current doctoral or master's student adding a secondary certificate program curriculum"  
  7. Add the certificate you are requesting in the "New Degree Program" option from the drop-down list  
  8. Please provide a detailed explanation of your request.
    "Please add the {list focus area} Graduate Certificate to my academic record effective in {list term}"
  9. Click "continue" when you have completed these steps and to submit your petition.  

It may take up to one week to see this added to your academic record after submitting the petition. The Graduate College will send you an email confirming the certificate has been added to your academic record.

Step 2: Confer your Graduate Certificate

Once your petition has been approved and added to your record, you can continue to the next step of conferring your graduate certificate. You must submit your application to graduate in Student Self-Service by the University deadline for that semester. You must be either enrolled in the final course or have all certificate coursework completed to confer your graduate certificate.

iMBA learners must add and confer the first graduate certificate before being able to add a second one. You cannot not submit an additional petition until your first certificate has been awarded, per the Graduate College policy. We recommend scheduling an appointment with a Student & Academic Success Specialist to discuss your degree plan.

Degree Planning

Your degree plan is an important step that will give you a road map toward graduation. Our dedicated Student & Academic Success Specialists will work with you throughout your iMBA journey to help you plan a degree path that will meet your professional and personal needs. For this reason, it is always a good idea to submit your degree plan to a specialist for review.

iMBA Degree Planning Resources

Gies Online Programs Student Portal
Create a degree plan, view your completed courses and grades, and link out to commonly used platforms and resources. Schedule an appointment with a specialist to review your plan.

Annual iMBA Course Offerings
For your convenience, we provide you with an Annual View of iMBA Course Offerings so you know when courses are offered throughout the year.

Starting in Spring 2026, the Digital Marketing course offering schedule will change. Please refer to the 2025-2026 version of the iMBA Annual Course Offerings if you plan on taking the Digital Marketing focus area in 2026 or beyond.