Kellogg MBA Curriculum - Analysis

In the second part of the Kellogg MBA Analysis, we cover Kellogg’s core courses, electives, majors, pathways, experiential learning and global learning opportunities. To evaluate Kellogg MBA’s total cost, read the first part of the series – Kellogg MBA Cost breakdown and Funding Tips

Kellogg MBA Course Schedule

The two-year Kellogg Full-Time MBA begins with nine core courses covering areas such as accounting, finance, statistics, strategy, and leadership, which establish essential management skills. Beyond the core, the program offers a wide range of electives, over 200 courses, allowing students to tailor their studies to career goals across fields like Finance, Consulting, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Technology.

In this Kellogg MBA Curriculum Analysis, we cover:

•    Overview
•    Core
•    Electives
•    Majors 
•    Pathways
•    Experiential Learning
•    Global Learning Opportunities

Overview

The Kellogg MBA emphasizes experiential learning, with more than 30 field-based and lab courses, including opportunities like the Global Initiatives in Management, Kellogg Board Fellows, and industry-focused practicums. Students complete the degree in two years, with the flexibility to pursue one or more of the seven majors or pathways that organize electives into career-relevant tracks. This combination of structured core, diverse electives, and applied learning ensures a balance between academic rigor and practical application.

Core Curriculum: Kellogg MBA

Kellogg’s 2-Year MBA begins with a set of core courses that establish the shared foundation of the program. These nine classes span the essential functions of management, accounting, finance, marketing, economics, analytics, operations, and leadership. The goal is not only to ensure fluency across disciplines but also to integrate these perspectives so students can approach business problems with a multifaceted lens.

The core curriculum is structured as follows:

•    Financial Accounting
•    Business Strategy
•    Finance I
•    Marketing Management
•    Leadership and Crisis Management
•    Leadership in Organizations
•    Business Analytics I & II
•    Microeconomic Analysis
•    Operations Management

While these courses are required, the program allows for waivers in several areas based on prior academic or professional preparation. Waivers do not reduce overall graduation requirements but enable students to replace waived courses with electives earlier in the program, creating a degree of flexibility even in the first year.

Electives: Customizing the Kellogg MBA Experience

Kellogg offers students the opportunity to choose from more than 200 electives, providing significant flexibility to shape the MBA experience around individual goals. Electives allow students to either deepen expertise in a particular discipline, such as finance, marketing, or strategy, or to broaden their knowledge by exploring courses across different fields. Many electives are experiential in nature, involving projects with companies, international opportunities, or cross-disciplinary collaboration. 

Students can also use electives to pursue pathways, majors, or certificates, but these are optional and the program is designed to let each student tailor their learning journey according to career aspirations.

Majors

Kellogg’s MBA majors allow students to build focused expertise in specific areas of management, while maintaining flexibility. Students may choose one of eight majors or graduate with a “General Management” designation if they prefer a broad approach. A major typically requires completion of its relevant core course and at least four electives, giving students depth in that discipline.

Majors span the core functional areas of business, including both analytical and organizational fields:

•    Accounting
•    Economics
•    Finance
•    Management Analytics
•    Managing Organizations
•    Marketing
•    Operations
•    Strategy

This structure enables students to align their coursework with career goals, whether that means preparing for finance and consulting roles, focusing on analytics and operations, or strengthening expertise in leadership and organizational dynamics. 

Those who choose the general management option gain a more cross-functional experience, demonstrating breadth rather than specialization.

Pathways

Pathways complement majors by offering cross-functional sequences that organize electives around emerging industries, specialized functions, or applied skill sets. Unlike majors, pathways are not formally recorded on transcripts, but they act as roadmaps for students looking to prepare for specific career directions.

They cover areas where business challenges increasingly cross disciplinary boundaries, such as healthcare, technology, sustainability, and private equity. Students can pursue one or multiple pathways, depending on their interests.

Pathways provide structure without rigidity, connecting courses across finance, marketing, operations, and strategy into applied themes that reflect the realities of modern management.

Here are the Pathways available at Kellogg:    

•    Asset Management    
•    Healthcare at Kellogg (HCAK)
•    AI and Analytics    
•    Real Estate
•    Sustainability: Climate, Environment & Energy
•    Social Impact and Responsible Leadership
•    Entrepreneurship    
•    Technology Management
•    Growth and Scaling    
•    Private Equity and Venture Capital

Academic Departments

Kellogg’s intellectual foundation is built around six academic departments. Each provides disciplinary rigor, while faculty often collaborate across fields to address problems that cut across traditional boundaries. Departments anchor both teaching and research, connecting MBA students to leading scholarship in their respective areas.

Through these departments, Kellogg integrates analytic depth with practical relevance. Students engage with faculty who are both researchers and practitioners, ensuring that the curriculum reflects cutting-edge thinking while staying grounded in application.

The following are the Departments at Kellogg School of Management:

•    Accounting Information & Management
•    Finance
•    Management & Organizations
•    Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences
•    Marketing
•    Strategy

Kellogg MBA: Experiential Learning

Experiential learning at Kellogg is a component of the MBA curriculum that allows students to apply academic knowledge to real-world situations. This framework includes projects, simulations, and collaborations with organizations to provide practical experience. The portfolio contains a range of opportunities, from classroom exercises to consulting engagements with external organizations.

The design of experiential learning is structured into four categories based on the level of immersion.

Simulation and Exercise

This category consists of simulations and exercises that replicate competitive or leadership scenarios. These formats enable students to test decision-making in a controlled setting, providing feedback on their effectiveness. Examples include courses focused on finance, such as Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance, and entrepreneurship, such as Forging and Funding Healthcare Startups. Leadership courses like Leader as Coach and Leading with Empathy use exercises to practice interpersonal skills.

Self-Defined Projects

This category allows students to design their own projects. Students identify problems, define objectives, and apply course concepts to their chosen initiatives. This format supports entrepreneurial ventures and exploratory projects. The curriculum includes sequences like New Venture Discovery, New Venture Development, and New Venture Launch for students developing new businesses. The NUVention: Medical Innovation I & II sequence allows for long-term project development in medical technology. Courses such as Global Initiatives in Management enable students to conduct research projects with organizations in other countries.

Client Projects

In this category, students work directly with organizations to address business challenges. These projects are a part of courses that also include lectures, assignments, and exams. The client engagement serves as an applied component where concepts are tested. Project topics vary, from marketing research in Marketing Research and Analytics to innovation in Commercializing Innovations. Other courses, such as Board Governance for Nonprofit Organizations, focus on strategy in the nonprofit sector.

Lab Courses

Lab courses are the most immersive form of experiential learning. The entire course is structured around a client engagement, where students function as consultants. They meet with external stakeholders and produce deliverables for the organizations. These labs cover a range of industries, including finance with the Asset Management Practicum and Private Equity Lab, healthcare with the Healthcare Strategy Consulting Lab, and real estate with the Real Estate Lab. The Global Lab provides a consulting experience with an international focus.

Advanced Private Equity Experience (APEX)

APEX is a program for students interested in a career in private equity. It combines an academic curriculum with mentorship from alumni. The program is selective and designed for students with prior professional experience in finance.

Private Equity Advisory Council (PEAC)

The PEAC is a council of senior alumni from the private equity industry. They provide mentorship to APEX students, offer curriculum advice, and assist with student recruitment. The council connects Kellogg students with professionals in the private equity community.

Kellogg MBA: Global Learning Opportunities

Global engagement is a key part of the Kellogg MBA, designed to prepare students to work across different cultures and international borders. Students can participate in programs in nearly 70 countries, gaining firsthand experience with international business practices, different economic contexts, and working directly with global organizations. The opportunities vary in format, from structured courses to exchange semesters and pre-orientation trips, but all are designed to expose students to business environments outside the United States.

Global Initiatives in Management (GIM)

GIM combines classroom study with an intensive, in-country immersion trip. The course begins with 18 hours of instruction focusing on the political, economic, and cultural systems of a chosen country. Students then form project teams to develop a deliverable, often an applied research or consulting-style project. The in-country portion is a nine-day trip with faculty, where students meet with business executives and government officials. Students are also responsible for arranging many of their own project interviews.

Full-Time Exchange Programs

For students seeking a deeper immersion, Kellogg has exchange partnerships with 25 business schools across six continents. Approximately 80 students participate each year, studying for a term abroad. Unlike short-term trips, exchanges place students directly into the academic and social life of the partner school, providing exposure to different teaching styles, local business challenges, and new problem-solving approaches.

Global Lab

Global Lab is an intensive experiential course focused on international business. The 10-week course pairs student teams with international companies to solve specific management challenges. Students act as consultants, meeting with clients, conducting research, and presenting findings. Projects have covered various industries and geographies, including work with airlines in Brazil and Turkey, and social enterprise models in Kenya.

Kellogg Worldwide Exploration Student Trips (KWEST)

The KWEST program is a pre-orientation experience for incoming students. It brings groups of 20–24 new students together on trips abroad with second-year leaders before the academic year begins. KWEST is designed for community building and cultural exploration, helping to create early ties among peers. Destinations have included countries like Chile, Ghana, and Türkiye.
 

Kellogg MBA: Experiential Learning by Course Type

Approximately 85 percent of Full-Time MBA students choose at least one international experience, and about 40 percent complete multiple engagements. The following initiatives are a core part of Kellogg’s global portfolio.

Kellogg MBA: Experiential Learning by Industry

The experiential learning at Kellogg MBA is structured around industries and functions with advanced courses and projects designed exclusive for Private Equity candidates while self-defined projects only available for entrepreneurs and technology candidates. Simulation and Exercises are for traditional careers in Finance, and leadership roles while entrepreneurship also finding a focus, hinting at the increased positioning of Kellogg MBA towards PE and entrepreneurial candidates. 

Traditional Client Projects are designed for careers in Marketing, Nonprofit, and Healthcare, with Innovation a super specialization for consulting candidates.