MBA Program Stats

Annual Tuition: $28,425

Annual Tuition Non-Resident: $53,533

Acceptance Rate: 27%

Full-Time Enrollment: 221

Average GPA: 3.4

Median GMAT: 680

Median GRE: 324

International: 58%

Minority: 11%

Female: 38%

Male: 62%

Average Age: 30

What You Need To Know

Since 1947, the Kelley School of Business has been bringing MBA students together in a collaborative and welcoming learning environment. Kelley provides an intimate learning experience that emphasizes professional development and building leadership skills, through dedicated faculty and professors that also offer generous office hours, dinner parties and tailgating events.

The IU Kelley MBA accepts around 160 students a year and is designed to be customized to fit personal and professional development goals.

The B-School is in Bloomington, Indiana – a diverse city that offers a combination of academic excellence, vibrant arts and culture, beautiful natural surroundings, and a thriving entrepreneurial spirit, making it an ideal place for MBAs looking to earn their degree in a charming college town setting. Top companies in the area include Cook Medical, Baxter, and BSCI.

“At Kelley, the phrase “a close-knit community” stands true to its word. The Kelley community is a result of small class size, greater faculty interactions, and personalized coaching, which gives numerous opportunities to interact and communicate. I have met ambitious people who are always available to not only have a good time but also help you out when in need. Besides improving my business acumen, I have made some of the best relationships that will stay with me forever. I will always cherish the decision to pursue an MBA at Kelley!” says Priya Garg, Class of ‘24 on Kelley’s website.

Academics And Programs

The program spans 21 months. Faculty Chair Kyle Cattani says, “The Full-Time MBA Program at Kelley is in the sweet spot of size – big enough to offer lots of choices and resources, yet small enough that students, faculty and staff get to know each other very well. The result is an incredibly supportive environment and a culture of helping each other in academics, careers, and life.”

Kelley sustains a culture of collaboration, recognizing that successful leaders are also successful team members. A candidate’s professional and extracurricular experiences should demonstrate an understanding of what it takes to lead, and how to work well with others.

Kelley has fashioned a reputation as a true MBA innovator, from being one of the few programs that give a single grade for the entire core curriculum to having a series of first-year academies that provide experiential learning, consulting projects and coaching to students interested in six core areas that range from capital markets and strategic finance to consulting and supply chain management.

There are many opportunities for students to explore and build their skills beyond required courses. What truly distinguishes the MBA experience at Kelley from others is Me., Inc., a highly innovative initiative to focus early attention on career management, personal brand building, and personal leadership. The program is ongoing, with second-year MBA students serving as coaches to both individual incoming students and their core teams.

Students begin their degree with integrated core courses, intended to provide them with a strong foundation of business fundamentals they can apply to interest areas further down the line in the MBA.

Kelley also used student feedback to build out a global consulting experience called Global Business and Social Enterprise Program (GLOBASE) with three international trips where students work remotely with clients (an important skill to practice in this day and age) then travel to their clients’ home country for week-long on-the-ground engagement.

Why Students Chose

5 REASONS THE MBA CLASS OF 2024 CHOSE INDIANA KELLEY

1) Me, Inc: “Besides Kelley’s outstanding values, core curriculum, academies, and electives, what convinced me to choose Kelley was the Me, Inc. program. Through an immersive process of self-discovery, Me, Inc. enabled me to understand how my personal story, strengths, weaknesses, values, ideal work environment, and leadership style connect with the next steps in my career. Before this program, my personal brand was not a priority. Nevertheless, now I understand its significance, and most importantly, I have a clear vision of how it will guide me through my future professional development, before the start of classes.”
Juan Diego Vasquez (’24)

2) Academies: “I plan to join the Consulting Academy. In my previous professional experience, I enjoyed creating innovative solutions to challenges, utilizing extremely limited resources. What excites me about the consulting academy is the ability to apply what I learn in the classroom through real-world consulting projects, as well as gaining exposure to top-consulting firms of all sizes.”
Alyssa Rapelje (’24)

“I come from a clinical healthcare background. When I was looking at MBA programs, I wanted a program that had resources to support my interest in the business of healthcare. While I was researching Indiana Kelley, I learned the position Indiana, as a state, has in life science careers. Indiana is #2 in U.S. states for life science exportation and the life sciences makes up 28% of the total exports for Indiana. The PLUS Life Sciences Academy is an optional academy that helped tip the scales to choosing Indiana Kelley. I liked that the PLUS Life Sciences Academy has electives to learn formally, and networking events with leaders in the industry. While I was looking at schools, George M. Telthorst, the director of the program, made himself available for a conversation. The availability of him and others at Indiana Kelley was definitely noticeable. I am looking forward to the discussions among peers and healthcare executives that visit for scheduled events.”
Denis Jerome Tuttle (’24)

3) GLOBASE: “The Global Business and Social Enterprise (GLOBASE) program is an activity that excites me the most at Indiana Kelley. It serves as a platform to support various business entities around the globe, equipping them to attain higher level of impact in their communities. The diverse culture, work experience, and expertise that the MBAs bring to bear through this program have the capacity to revolutionize businesses which in most cases have not had such level of professional touch. I find such engagement exciting and fulfilling as it opens a world of opportunities to business owners while offering Kelley an avenue to give back to humanity.”
Chukwuka Stanley Ekeocha (’24)

4) Bloomington: “My wife and I thought moving to Bloomington would be in the middle of nowhere. I’ve lived many years in New York City and Houston — two of the four biggest cities in the U.S. My wife is from the massive metro of Johannesburg. We moved to Bloomington blindly, thinking we’d be in for a very low-key, dare I say boring, two years (besides school). We were wrong. Bloomington is beautiful and happening! Rolling hills, four beautiful seasons (winter is a little long for us though!), and proximity to outdoors activities. We’ve dined at several international restaurants, taken in shows at the top-ranked Jacobs School of Music, and attended games and events. The town is big enough to have lots to do, but small enough to feel like real community. Plus, being in a smaller college town meant connections with my classmates were made that much stronger.”
Adam Cochran (’22)

“The biggest myth is that Bloomington is a college town. It isn’t a myth though, but there’s always something going on so you will be able to find something to do. Bloomington is centrally located. It’s close to bigger cities such as Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Chicago.”
Nakia Lee (’22)

5) Kelley Clap: “At the end of each class, Kelley students clap. The Kelley Clap is iconic and is indicative of the Kelley community. The Kelley Clap comes from a distinguished Kelley professor, Walt Blacconiere, who passed much too early from pancreatic cancer. Professor Blacconiere was known for clapping at the end of each lecture to celebrate and express gratitude for the learning that had taken place. Eventually, students started joining in. This is now a tradition that continues in every single classroom at the end of every single class. I love clapping at the conclusion of class, whether it’s with my two hands or an emoji on Zoom, as it reminds me to be thankful for the learning I get to experience at Kelley.”
Sam Yoder (’24)

Career Stats

During on-campus orientation, you’ll dive into career development and team-building activities, highlighted by our innovative Me, Inc. workshop. You’ll work to understand the careers and functions that best fit your strengths, experiences and goals, meeting one-on-one with career coaches—preparing to launch your internship search, learning how to conduct formal after-action reviews and focusing on networking.

Prepare to impress.
Throughout the MBA program, you’ll find ample opportunities to meet, connect and establish relationships with recruiters from top firms. Your Academy director, career coach and your peers all work together in Kelley’s collaborative culture to connect you to the networks that will help you most. And, with more than 127,000 living Kelley alumni—the largest business school alumni network in the world—you’ll have a powerful network of Kelley professionals willing to guide you on your career path.

Compensation of Kelley MBAs

Reported income of recent MBA graduates over 5 years

Career Statistics	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Median Base Salary	$119,000	$115,000	$107,000	$110,000	$110,000
Median Signing Bonus	$25,000	$20,000	$25,000	$25,000	$22,000

Source: Kelley MBA Employment Reports 2016-2020

Industry Choices of Kelley MBAs

Recent graduates employed by industry sector over recent years

Industry	2020	2019	2018	2016	2015
Consulting Services	30	21	18	17	19
Consumer Packaged Goods		15	16	17	10
Energy		2	2	2
Financial Services	17	11	12	10	13
Healthcare		12	11	10	14
Human Resources	2
Marketing/Sales	29
Manufacturing		10	13	17	22
General Management	14
Media/Entertainment				1	1
Other Services	4	8	12	1	5
Retail		1		5	7
Social Impact					1
Technology		19	15	19	8
Information & Technology	2
Operations/Logistics	2	1

Note: 2017 data unavailable at time of publishing.
Source: Kelley Employment Reports 2015 – 2020

Kelley no longer publishes in its employment report its top employers, preferring to list all of the firms that hired the school’s graduates.

Admissions For IU Kelley

From the Kelley School of Business

Whether you’re looking for a career change, or want to enhance your options in your current career, we understand that the journey to an MBA is a deeply personal, life-improving investment. That’s why everything we do in our full-time MBA program is customized to your unique interests: whether it’s elective courses that allow you to design a curriculum that’s specific to your goals; or individualized attention from both our world-renowned faculty and our award-winning career services (#4 in the world). We believe—and invest heavily—in one-to-one attention and meaningful relationships. That’s why you will partner with a dedicated career coach throughout the program to help you identify the right career path for you, and become the best possible version of yourself. You’ll also learn from an Academy Director—an expert in the specific field that interests you—who will serve as a personal mentor, share industry knowledge with you, and prepare you to land a job and be successful in your chosen field. You’ll gain support, fresh insights and valuable tips from your second-year peer coach. And we’re not just interested in helping you land the job you’re looking for—although the Financial Times does also recognize us as #4 in the world for job placement success. You can connect with our alumni career coach for ongoing resources, support, and career guidance, long after you’ve returned to the working world. Our coach can help as you refine your professional evolution and hone career management skills that last a lifetime. Kelley’s unique combination of top-notch academics, abundant experiential learning, robust and honest professional development, extraordinary relationships with top companies around the world—and 124,000+ alumni at those companies—yields our students top returns on their investment year after year.

These are just some of the reasons why we have developed a proven record of rewarding your investment.

Princeton Review Best Business Schools (2021)

#3 best MBA for marketing
#7 best professors

U.S. News & World Report (2023 Best Graduate Schools):

#7 in Entrepreneurship
#22 best business schools

Financial Times (2022):

#4 in the world for career services

QS MBA Rankings (2021)

#19 in the U.S.

An MBA as Unique as You

When you join our full-time MBA program, you’ll gain a deep understanding of yourself—and your personal leadership style—even before your course work begins. We know that understanding yourself is the first step to becoming a business leader that others want to follow.

To enable this deeper understanding of your true aims and objectives, you’ll take part in Me, Inc.—a personal and professional development initiative that runs the entire two weeks of orientation. This career management model provides an insightful head start on personal leadership, collaboration, and accountability, and works through intense and intimate workshops that provide frank feedback from peers and coaches. This initiative—unique to Kelley—helps you build your personal brand and allows you to focus on—and truly understand—what you want to do with your MBA from the beginning of your Kelley MBA experience.

Following Me, Inc., you’ll spend your entire first semester gaining a comprehensive understanding of business. Over 15-weeks, you’ll undergo an exhaustive and rigorous exploration of every business discipline and how they integrate. This strong foundation in business fundamentals is co-taught by nine dedicated faculty members, allowing you to understand functional integration and succeed as a leader of cross-functional teams.

Once you enter your second semester, you’ll receive specific career-path insights and guidance, allowing you to design your own academic curriculum that will focus on what matters the most to you and your future.

Majors:Choose from one of seven majors, including five STEM-designated majors, or design your own.
Academies:Our unique MBA Academies bridge what you learn in the classroom and help you understand how to apply it in your field during your internship and post-MBA career. Heavily focused on experiential learning, your Academy will give you the career-related experience recruiters look for including: company-based consulting projects, leadership opportunities, nationwide corporate visits, and networking with industry veterans.

Global Experiences and Reach

Our program ensures that you’ll gain international business leadership skills in the classroom and on location:

We offer more than 20 formal exchange programs on five continents as part of our Partnership in International Management (PIM).
You’ll have the opportunity to lead and design our Global Business and Social Enterprise (GLOBASE) program, allowing you to work directly with entrepreneurs in emerging economies to solve real-world problems.

Career Placement

We work hard to prepare our students for the evolving job market—it’s one of the reasons the Financial Times ranks us #4 in the world for career placement. Kelley students graduate ready to work and are prepared to make a difference from day one. That’s why top companies from across the nation come to campus to hire our students—95% of our full-time MBA graduates have job offers within three months of graduation. Our placement is coast to coast and global, with Kelley graduates employed in 105 countries and on five continents.

Life at Kelley

Kelley fosters a tight-knit, supportive community of peers united by mutual respect and the desire to excel. You’ll form professional and personal networks that will last for the rest of your life. As part of the Kelley community, you’ll benefit from our diverse student body and have the opportunity to explore dozens of student clubs and organizations within the Kelley School—two of these clubs were created for students’ families and kids. The gorgeous Indiana University Bloomington campus buzzes with the excitement of Big Ten sports, cultural activities, and student organizations.

Bloomington is a welcoming, eclectic college town that offers an abundance of activities for partners and families of MBA students.

Largest Business School Network in the World

Once you become part of the Kelley family, become part of the world’s largest business school network—more than 124,000 alumni— connecting you with graduates and business leaders working at top companies around the globe.

More MBA Options

In addition to our prestigious Full-Time MBA Program, we also offer:

Online MBA: Through Kelley Direct Programs, our online MBA, the first offered by a top business school, is ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Graduate Business Programs 2022.

Evening MBA: Our flexible part-time Evening MBA Program on our Indianapolis campus combines online and on-campus instruction and is ranked #1 for academic quality among part-time MBA programs by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Physician MBA: Kelley’s Business of Medicine program offers a two-year MBA degree designed exclusively for physicians who want to shape the future of healthcare. The Kelley Business of Medicine MBA combines practical business concepts with specialized, contemporary health care courses.

Essay Questions For IU Kelley

Kelley requires that prospective MBAs answer three essay questions, with an optional fourth.

The first is: Discuss your immediate post-MBA professional goals. How will your professional experience, when combined with a Kelley MBA degree, allow you to achieve these goals? Should the short-term goals you have identified not materialize, what alternate career paths might you consider?

The second is respond to one of the following short essay prompts:

My greatest memory is…
b. I’m most afraid of…
c. My greatest challenge has been…
d. I’m most proud of…

The third asks MBAs to Share a brief fact about yourself that your classmates would find interesting, surprising, or noteworthy.

The optional last question leaves room for prospective MBAs to inform admissions on any other information they might want admissions to know as they evaluate their application.

Student Features For IU Kelley

Meet Indiana Kelley’s MBA Class Of 2024

An inside look at Kelley first-years

Meet Indiana Kelley’s MBA Class Of 2023

A class of career changers seeking the personal touch

Meet Indiana Kelley’s MBA Class Of 2022

Career changers enjoying intensive coaching and deep industry training

Meet the MBA Class of 2025: Rex Rumsey, Indiana University (Kelley)

“I’m a HealthTech enthusiast, dedicated to optimizing digital, organizational, and clinical solutions to enhance healthcare”

2023 Best & Brightest MBA: Brittany Bolden, Indiana University (Kelley)

“Tenacious and scrappy introvert, passionate about gender/race/class equity and learning about different cultures”

2023 Best & Brightest MBA: Ben Krebs, Indiana University (Kelley)

“Hard-working and easy-going problem solver - passionate leader dedicated to making a positive impact”

2022 MBA To Watch: Nakia Lee, Indiana University (Kelley)

“Detailed oriented, dependable, recognizes opportunity and capitalizes on it”

2023 MBA To Watch: Sarah Kiley, Indiana University (Kelley)

“Bostonian, aunt, sports fanatic, relationship builder, and former competitive Irish Step Dancer”

2023 MBA To Watch: Cedrick Agorbia-Atta, Indiana University (Kelley)

"Resourceful, adventurous, reliable, and proactive and funny.”

2022 MBA To Watch: Amisha Mittal, Indiana University (Kelley)

“I am a fun-loving person who loves to try out new things”

School Features

Kelley Direct Day In The Life Journal

The Future Of The MBA Is Happening Right Now At Indiana Kelley

In its sparkling $10 million studio, Kelley Direct at Indiana University is leading a new era of 'hands-on virtual' learning

2022 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Stephanie Lu Wang, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

A leading scholar on international business, Stephanie Lu Wang of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business consistently receives high marks and positive feedback from her students

2022 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Scott J. Shackelford, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

Scott J. Shackelford of Indiana University Kelley School of Business is a world leader in the push for cyber peace

MBA Watch For IU Kelley

MBA Watch is where thousands of MBA applicants not only get to tell their story but have John A. Byrne, MBA admissions coaches and our audience, assess their odds of admission and get help to improve their chances of getting in!

Mr. Clinical Trial Ops

Recent grad pharmacist starting a 2yr Fellowship in "Big Pharma" Clinical Trial Operations.

Mr. Colombian Sales Leader

Young professional originally from Colombia with a proven track of success in sales and product management in the manufacturing and engineering industries.

Mr. Construction Manager

I have managed two multi-family/apartment complex developments in NC (totaling $88 million dollars) and I am currently managing the construction of a major industrial facility ($600+ million) and I am OSHA certified.

Mr. Emporio Armani

A personal tragedy senior year of undergrad derailed my GPA and career plans.

Mr. Community Involvement

I love doing extracurricular activities and took a position with a chapter of AMA to continue my marketing passion.

Mr. Senior Finance Manager

I am a Senior Finance Manager with a fast pace growing fintech start-up in Nigeria.

Ms. Coding Tech Leader

I am a Software Developer with 5+ years of experience.

Mr. Strategy Consulting

Financial Consultant - Valuations.

Ms. Second Chances

In 5 years I moved from an assistant to an HR manager role, leading dept.

Mr. Military 2.0

Transitioning U.

Rankings Data For IU Kelley

The annual Poets&Quants’ MBA ranking takes the five most influential lists from U.S. News, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and The Economist and combines them together using weights based on the soundness of each publication’s methodology. Bringing them together this way diminishes the anomalies that often crop up in a given year and also gives applicants a better sense of an overall school’s reputation and brand value. This year’s 2022-2023 list gives a 35% weight to the U.S. News ranking, a 25% weight to Forbes’ return-on-investment ranking, a 20% weight to the Financial Times, and 10% each to The Economist and to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Kelley MBA Rankings

Rankings	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
Poets&Quants	22	21	23	25	21
US News	23	23	21	27	21
Forbes	19	19	19	25	25
Businessweek	26	25	25	28	27
Financial Times	18	23	22	29	23
Economist	8	27	27	27	17

2020 Ranking uses Businessweek and The Economist’s 2019 rankings due to pandemic disruptions.
Source: MBA Rankings Data 2017 – 2021

MBA Program Consideration Set

If you believe you’re a close match to this school–based on your scores, age and work experience, you could look at these other competitive full-time MBA programs as well. We list them by stretch, match, and more to consider. These options are presented on the basis of brand image and ranking status as a general guideline. These are meant to be a starting point for further exploration.

Stretch Schools

Match Schools

More Schools to Consider

Partners who enable Poets&Quants to provide, free to our readers, information, inspiration, and greater access to graduate education opportunities.

Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business