Business Management (Certificate)

Stuart School of Business bridges business and technology to offer rigorous, applied graduate programs that develop our students’ industry-focused expertise and tech skills, giving them an edge in the job market and for career advancement.

Stuart’s Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program offers stackable certificate programs specifically designed to help mid-career professionals enhance their knowledge, skills, and credentials to achieve their career goals.

The Certificate in Business Management is designed for business professionals, as well as professionals in non-business careers who want to build their understanding of management fundamentals. The courses cover essential elements of business management, such as:

  • Financial analysis and decision-making
  • The practice and strategy of marketing to serve the values and needs of customers
  • Concepts and skills needed for the design and control of operations in a business or organization

Courses at Stuart are interactive and include case studies and hands-on projects where you apply what you are learning.

Program Overview

Develop your business acumen and applied skills in management—including in the areas of finance, marketing, and operations—with the Certificate in Business Management. This stackable certificate includes four courses in Stuart’s tech-focused M.B.A. program on your way to completing an M.B.A. degree.

Career Opportunities

The Certificate in Business Management provides knowledge and training for positions as general and operations managers in a wide range of businesses and organizations, with titles such as business manager, district manager, general manager, operations director, store manager, and plant superintendent.

Based on United States Department of Labor data, O*Net Online reports median wages for these occupations of $98,100 in 2022 and projects that the growth in employment in these occupations will be above the average growth in all occupations during the next decade.

The Certificate in Business Management includes the following four required courses. Each course is three credit hours. The certificate requires completion of 12 credit hours and is stackable toward the Illinois Tech M.B.A. degree.

Required Courses
MBA 501—Financial Statement Applications
MBA 509—Financial Management
MBA 511—Marketing Strategy
MBA 513—Operations and Technology Management

  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent)
  • Depending on previous academic coursework, an applicant may need to take additional prerequisite courses that may not count toward the certificate

Designed for Busy Professionals

Stuart School of Business Certificates Are:

  • Targeted: Get the specific, career-focused education you need now
  • Convenient: Saturday and evening classes at Illinois Tech’s Conviser Law Center in downtown Chicago, located one block west of Union Station and near Ogilvie Transportation Center
  • High Quality: As a certificate student, you will take our regular graduate courses taught by Stuart’s expert, industry-experienced faculty

Your Certificate Credit Is Stackable

The Certificate in Business Management is stackable, which means that all 12 credit hours automatically apply if you choose to pursue the Illinois Tech M.B.A. degree.

Students in this certificate program who later apply and are admitted to a different master’s degree program at Stuart may apply all approved certificate coursework with a grade of B or higher to that master’s degree. A certificate is typically equivalent to one-fourth to one-third of the credit hours required for a degree. Students have the option of transferring to the master’s program in any semester.

Featured Faculty

Michael Rybak
Clinical Associate Professor of Finance
Yiwei Fang
Associate Professor of Finance
Stuart adjunct faculty member Rob Nelson
Adjunct Faculty
Jeffrey Berk
Adjunct Teacher