Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to Launch an Online MBA with Coursera

Program to cost around $20,000; applications set to open in June

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has partnered with the online education platform Coursera to launch a new online MBA program.

The program is called the "iMBA" and is the first MBA program to be offered through Coursera. While the curriculum will be freely available to everyone, the cost of officially enrolling in the program (and receiving the MBA degree) will cost around $20,000.

The online MBA is divided into a set of specializations, which can be used as "building blocks" to customize the learning experience. Learners can take individual courses for free, with the option of paying around $3,000 to enroll in a specialization, through which they can demonstrate skills using career-relevant projects, and earn a certificate upon completion.

Those who complete at least six specializations will be eligible to apply for admission to Urbana-Champaign's College of Business and earn the official MBA degree.

Tuition for the two-year, in-class MBA program from Urbana-Champaign's College of Business is currently $21,974 per year for Illinois residents and $32,974 for non-resident and international students. For comparison's sake, the "Distance MBA" program from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, which is currently ranked in the Online MBA Ranking from The Financial Times, costs around $25,000 based on current credit-hour fees.

The following specializations will be offered as part of the new Coursera/Urbana-Champaign online MBA program:

Improving Business Finances and Operations
Strategic Management
Leadership and Management
Business Tools for Successful Execution
Business Environments and Corporate Responsibility
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Digital Marketing

The Digital Marketing specialization is available now. "Improving Business Finances and Operations" will be available on May 27th.

Official applications will open in June. For the iMBA's Spring 2016 intake, students must apply by August 2015. The program is designed for working professionals with 3+ years of work experience.

For more information, please see the iMBA program webpage at Coursera.

Image: "The Business Instructional Facility at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign campus)" by H.al-shawaf / Creative Commons (cropped and rotated)

Comments

mba hipste... | May 11, 2015 13:37

I would be worried that this program doesn't seem to make any mention of in-class residency sessions, which are great for building soft skills like leadership.

That NLU program is a great value at $25k. At least with that one, you'd be able to at least opt to take some classes on campus.

getsmart | Nov 09, 2015 23:12

The NLU program? I hope you are not referring to National Louis University. You can't possibly compare these two schools, even if you don't like UofI. UofI is an institution with an impressive footprint in engineering and all of its programs of instruction. Have you seen the caliber of professors in the graduate school of business? Come'on! National Loser U is joke and a waste of your money since the 1960s. They're a NPO that plays like a for profit. BIGGER BETTER MORE and they FAIL at each attempt. Their website I just saw, apparently still has multiple personality disorder while lost in the woods without medication. Their public intentions or outreach seem genuine, and they have really pulled the wool over latino eyes. Then you dig deeper and find out their instruction is mostly adjunct and elementary in content and challenge, the faculty they do have are not happy, the few ones left after this NPO apparently terminated a whole lot of TENURED faculty and staff, then you have a shady president with various legal missteps and history, and the university itself seems to be riddled with criticism and legal claims against this should-be online school. Steer clear of NLU and any other poser private AND public universities who don't care about the quality of education, instruction, and has questionable leadership. I was referred to the MBA program here and you have to question an MBA program with no true finance or accounting core. I suppose NLU's financing and accounting is as questionable as their leadership and the true value of their degrees. The person who referred me to the NLU MBA, actually attended the program, and also worked at NLU, and today she is unemployed and has been since they fired her from NLU, I guess not all MBA are made the same. If you want your career to go nowhere, go work at NLU and or get a degree from there. Their BA's go for around $70-90K!! I think you can spend yours or financial aid on a more credible university and degree, than NLU. Unless you need something quick and easy and expensive, because your education or experience is below the high school level. If you're going to buy a degree, at least aim higher.

I had to pass that on. I hope you take it and your recommendation into consideration, the nest time you refer anyone to NLU. If it wasn't the same NLU, well now you know about another one to stay away from.

mba hipste... | Nov 10, 2015 09:41

I was actually referring to the online MBA from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is ranked in the FT. I've never heard of the school you're talking about.

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