BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Continuing a legacy of providing the best experience possible for students pursuing a graduate education at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, the school has evolved its traditional two-year MBA program to provide students with new opportunities and choices about how they want to complete their degree.
Students in the program reimagined as the Kelley Full-Time +Flex MBA Program will continue to connect with their cohort and benefit from on-campus resources and experiences in their first year in the program. But in their second year, they will have the choice of continuing their studies on campus or completing their degree online from anywhere they choose.
“We were among the first business schools to introduce a more robust MBA experience when Kelley adopted its current two-year-degree approach 60 years ago, followed by many curricular innovations,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor. “Today, we again are a first mover as we announce a first-of-its-kind flexible option that meets the needs of our students.
“We’re leveraging our reputation as an innovator in business education with what we’ve learned over the last quarter century in delivering Kelley Direct, the No. 1 online MBA program. We think students will appreciate being fully immersed in our in-residence program and its benefits, but also having more choices as they pursue their career goals.”
Kelley’s full-time MBA program consistently has been nationally ranked, including as a top 20 U.S. program, according to U.S. News & World Report and QS Top MBA. Insider Monkey, a financial investment site, reported that Kelley had the second-best return on investment among U.S. MBA programs. Additionally, Kelley was ranked in the top 10 in six categories in Princeton Review’s July 2024 rankings of on-campus MBA programs.
John D. Hill, faculty chair of the Full Time +Flex MBA Program, clinical professor of operations and decision technologies, and a Grant Thornton Scholar, said that key elements of the full-time program aren’t changing.
“For prospective students, the choice of MBA has been between an immersive full-time MBA experience or the convenience of an online program,” Hill said. “This program offers the unique Kelley full-time MBA experience, including our integrated core classes, academies, global experiences and professional development support, while giving students the choice of completing the degree from anywhere.
“This is an ideal program for students who want the benefits of a top 20 full-time in-residence MBA program, but who need flexibility due to geographic preferences for networking, for family obligations or to pursue employment opportunities during the second year. Student needs have evolved in recent years, and this is an opportunity to provide the experience they need with fewer compromises.”
Students will be able to choose at any point during their first year whether they will return to IU Bloomington for their second year. Students who choose the +Flex option could spend as little as 10 months on campus. This option will be offered to students enrolling in the fall of 2025 and may be available to eligible first-year students currently in the program.
This flexibility will allow students to pursue opportunities such as travel, returning to their current employer, networking in a desired location or starting new full-time employment earlier.
While students will have a unique option to customize their academic journey, they will continue to be part of a culture of collaboration that includes a global network of more than 133,000 alumni.
Among the distinguishing features of the Kelley Full-Time +Flex MBA is Me, Inc., a professional development program that helps students refine their personal brand. During Me, Inc., Kelley coaches work with students as they think through and identify the right career fit for their skills, personality and values.
Me, Inc., also starts the process of preparing students for internship recruiting, which begins quickly after beginning their first year in the MBA program.
Another distinctive element of the Kelley Full-Time +Flex MBA is its career foundation academies. Students are required to participate in one of a half dozen of these academies: in business marketing, business operations and innovation, capital markets, consulting, consumer marketing, and strategic finance.
The academies connect students with a variety of employers, informing students about career paths and roles they might wish to pursue. The academies also provide experiential learning opportunities that build students’ skills and prepare them for success in their internships and beyond.
For more information, visit the Kelley Full-Time +Flex MBA site or request information at 800-994-8622, 812-855-8006 or iumba@iu.edu.
