Discover the power of our educational philosophy.
Chicago Booth is the birthplace of The Chicago Approach™, the educational philosophy that sets Booth apart from every other business school in the world.
This approach to business education and scholarship has yielded some of the most groundbreaking business insights and advances in the 20th and 21st centuries. The Chicago Approach provides an enduring, multidisciplinary framework—taught by the world’s best business school faculty—that will empower you to turn business challenges into opportunities, in any industry, anywhere in the world.
Rooted in the fundamental scientific disciplines at the heart of business—economics, accounting, psychology, sociology, and statistics—this approach grounds all Booth students in theoretical frameworks that help them define problems, ask better questions, and develop better solutions.
The Impact of The Chicago Approach
Strong analytical skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to lead confidently in ambiguous circ*mstances are essential to success in today’s constantly changing, data-driven business landscape. The Chicago Approach gives Booth graduates enduring strategic, analytical frameworks that translate into success throughout their careers. Source: 2019 Alumni Survey, figures have been rounded
98%
Alumni who somewhat or strongly agree that they know how to think analytically
98%
92%
Alumni who somewhat or strongly agree that they know how to tackle business problems they have never seen before
92%
95%
Alumni who somewhat or strongly agree that they know how to think strategically
95%
Transform Your Thinking
“With The Chicago Approach, we try to teach people how to think. It’s not the direct knowledge, per se, that we’re conveying. It’s teaching people how to evaluate evidence, how to have a framework where you organize thoughts, how to think about problems in a way that is somewhat universal.”
—John Huizinga, Walter David “Bud” Fackler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics
The Chicago Approach in Practice
Explore how the academic experience and curriculum at Booth can help you reach your career and personal goals.
Discover Academic Life at Booth
Find out how our educational approach will prepare you to think for yourself, challenge the status quo, and ground discoveries in data.
Discover Academic Life at Booth
Master the Fundamentals of Business
Our MBA curriculum gives you the skills to transcend trends and solve any business problem. Here’s how.
Master the Fundamentals of Business
Chicago Booth MBA Masterclass Series
Go inside the Booth classroom by viewing past MBA Masterclass sessions with our world-class faculty, and sign up for future, real-time MBA Masterclass virtual events.
Chicago Booth MBA Masterclass Series
Explore Our Programs
MBA Programs
Put your bold ideas into action. No matter which degree program you choose, learn from world-class faculty and join the same influential network, and the same dynamic community.
MBA Programs
Master in Finance Program
Begin your finance career with this immersive and transformative program designed for recent college graduates with quantitative backgrounds.
Master in Finance Program
Master in Management Program
Discover the power of your potential in our flexible, 10-month masters degree program for recent college graduates.
Master in Management Program
The Stevens Doctoral Program
Explore your research interests and earn a PhD from one of the best business PhD programs in the world.
The Stevens Doctoral Program
Executive Education
Choose from nearly 50 open-enrollment programs worldwide, or create a custom program tailored to meet your organization’s unique challenges.
Executive Education
Building on the Foundation
The Chicago Approach offers more than analytical skills and frameworks. It also instills critical competencies—emotional intelligence, people management, and strong leadership abilities—that are increasingly recognized as essential to success. Courses such as Interpersonal Dynamics and Power and Influence in Organizations combine self-assessment tools and real-world scenarios to build empathy and self-awareness. Beyond the classroom, cocurricular opportunities, including leadership roles, case competitions, and self-leadership retreats, allow you to engage in questions of ethics and identity, while helping you to become a better leader.
Building on the Foundation
Stories from Our Community
Achieving a healthy work-life balance can be difficult. Here’s how some in the Booth community are doing it.
Infusing Ideas with Purpose
The confident leadership through uncertain times of Stephanie Braming, ’99, serves as a source of inspiration.
Infusing Ideas with Purpose
- Finance
Scripting an Arts Business
Zeeshan Farooq, ’13, combines his lifelong love of calligraphy with management skills to produce art and communicate faith.
Scripting an Arts Business
- Media, Entertainment, and Sports
Sailing into the Unknown
Juan Carlos Velasquez, ’15, didn’t know what he was getting into when he agreed to a sailing expedition across the North Atlantic—but the journey proved to be life changing.
Sailing into the Unknown
- Media, Entertainment, and Sports
The History of The Chicago Approach
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, at a time when the world’s business schools were in crisis, The Chicago Approach—developed by pioneering Booth faculty James Lorie, PhD ’47, and W. Allen Wallis—revolutionized business education and sent Chicago Booth on a path to becoming one of the world’s best business schools. As economics, accounting, statistics, sociology, and other key business disciplines evolve, so does The Chicago Approach; it will be as effective tomorrow, and in 2060, as it was when first articulated by Lorie and Wallis. Discover the history of The Chicago Approachand why it is such a powerful tool for ambitious leaders in a data-driven, fast-changing world.
Choose Your Path to Success
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“Booth’s data-driven approach has been the guiding factor in how I solve most of the problems at work. What has surprised me is how Booth’s analytical approach combined with the soft-skills training I received during my MBA has not only helped me to analyze data and deliver recommendations, but empowered me to communicate this information in an effective way.”
—Monisha Shivakumar, ’19
Explore Our Educational Philosophy in Action
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Chicago Booth is for leaders like you. Learn how Booth can help you unlock the full promise of your potential.
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