DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business is responding to the economic downturn by providing “stimulus package” of its own. 

This spring, the business school will offer two education programs—one for alumni and the other open to all—to help Chicago professionals become more competitive in the workplace and tough job market.

For Kellstadt alumni who want to return to the highly ranked business school to enhance their credentials, Kellstadt is launching an $800-per-course scholarship.  Alumni can use the benefit to add another three-course area of expertise—called a concentration—to their MBA degrees, or to complete a second specialized business master’s degree.  For example, an alumnus with an MBA degree in finance could use the program to add a second concentration in entrepreneurship or earn another master’s degree in economics and policy analysis. Twenty-six MBA concentrations and nine specialized master’s degrees are available.  The business school has approximately 14,500 living alumni in the Chicago area.

“During a recession, business professionals often seek to broaden their skills to make themselves more marketable and versatile,” said Ray Whittington, dean of the DePaul’s business school.  “Our goal is to make additional education more accessible for our alumni so that they can reach their long-term career goals or find new professional opportunities.”  For DePaul, the program encourages alumni engagement and supports the university’s mission to promote lifelong learning, he
added. 

Application fees and entrance exam requirements are waived for Kellstadt alumni who return to study at their alma mater.  With the scholarship, the fee for alumni is reduced to $2,500 per class this academic year.  Alumni can start as early as this spring quarter, which begins in late March.  The part-time program’s flexibility allows students to combine work and school, with classes offered during the day, evening, and weekends on multiple campuses.

“In this economy, you need to find ways to stand out,” said Lori Chavez, 37, of Chicago, who earned a DePaul MBA in marketing management and research analysis in 2008. Chavez, who was laid off in November from a Chicago-based global real estate firm, will use Kellstadt’s alumni scholarship to pursue a second master’s degree in finance beginning in the spring quarter. “I hope to sharpen my analytical skills and deepen my understanding of financing and investment decisions. Finance will bolster my background and help me work toward an executive position in marketing or management. It’s definitely a good time for me to take advantage of the program.”

Chavez said she is thankful that “DePaul recognizes the hardship people are going through today and wants to help better people’s lives by offering alumni a scholarship to make continuing education more feasible.  I think this program will create more loyalty and goodwill among DePaul alumni.”

For non-alumni, DePaul will offer 15-week MBA Primer certificate courses on its downtown and Rolling Meadows campuses beginning in May.  “The program allows students to quickly gain broad-based knowledge of current, practical management skills that they can immediately apply to their careers,” explained Gayle Landuyt, director of DePaul’s Management Development Center (MDC), which sponsors the MBA Primer and other high-quality continuing education courses. “And if MBA Primer students later decide to apply and are accepted to DePaul’s MBA program, they have a head start because they can use the certificate course’s credits towards the degree”

Kellstadt alumni interested in returning to study at the business school can access an online application.  For more information, call the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at (312) 362-8810.

Two MBA Primer courses will be offered this spring: May 7 to Aug. 20 on DePaul’s Loop Campus, 1 E. Jackson Blvd.; and May 5 to Aug. 18 on the Rolling Meadows Campus, 2550 Golf Road, Rolling Meadows.  The course fee is $3,995.  For more information about this and other MDC programs, contact Eilish McDonagh-Hermer at emcdonag@depaul.edu or (312) 362-5295 or visit: www.cpe.depaul.edu/primer.