An MBA concentration in Business, Society, and Sustainability from Chicago Booth shows potential future employers that you’re ready to drive innovation in today’s complex and rapidly evolving world.
The world of business is changing, and the pace of innovation has never been faster.
Market institutions are evolving with the growth of ESG investing, sustainability reporting, and impact investing. The engagement with politics and adoption of political positions by companies present important and challenging leadership problems. Employees, customers, and investors are exercising greater influence over the social impact of companies through exit, entry, and voice.
Nonprofits with revenue-generating business, for-profit companies with social objectives, and employee ownership represent a substantial sector of the economy and all present governance and management challenges.
This concentration provides students a direct way to document that they devoted a substantial portion of the academic program at Booth to studying the relation between business and society.
To complete a concentration in Business, Society, and Sustainability, you’ll choose four courses in the discipline. Courses in the concentration fall into four related categories that span the social sector; corporate citizenship, purpose, and ESG; the role of business in society; and ethics. Here are just a few of the options.
The main purpose of this course is to better understand the non-market environment and discuss firms’ strategies in light of regulatory, legal, political, and social constraints that they face.
This class is based on the assumption that you want to live a “good life” in three senses of the term. First, “good” in the sense of being successful. Second, “good” in the sense of being ethical and honorable. Third, “good” in the sense of feeling good: living a life rich in happiness, meaning, purpose, and well-being. If you wanted to increase your odds of living a good life in all three senses, what would you do? If you wanted to lead an organization that was “good” in all three senses of this term, how would you lead it?
In this class, students study the “impact” of impact investing, how to measure it, and how to incorporate it in decision-making and incentives. One objective of the course is to engage students in thinking through these issues with the tools and frameworks they have learned at Booth.
To see all courses offered at Booth, visit our course catalog.
Our faculty members in this concentration comprise a diverse, interdisciplinary mix of world-renowned scholars across industries and research areas, from finance and behavioral science, to economics and entrepreneurship.
John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow
Nicholas Epley
Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Strategy and Finance; John Edwardson Faculty Director Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation
Robert H. Gertner
Adjunct Associate Professor of Strategy; Executive Director, Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation
Caroline Grossman
Charles F. Pohl Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting and Finance
Christian Leuz
Robert C. McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance
Luigi Zingales
Faculty members at Booth are connected to some of the most important leaders across various industries. Our faculty regularly invite these leading practitioners and influencers to speak to students in the Booth classroom, providing you with greater access to learn, network, and grow.
Learn from Industry ExpertsChicago Booth MBA students have access to several interdisciplinary centers that fund faculty research, host workshops, and conferences, and foster a strong research community.
The Fama-Miller Center was founded to promote and enhance academic research in finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
The Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance
Positioned at the forefront of the rapidly developing field of behavioral science, the RF-CDR is devoted to building a richer understanding of human behavior and experience.
Roman Family Center for Decision Research
Booth’s social impact hub harnesses the power of business to make the world more sustainable and equitable.
The Rustandy Center for Social Sector InnovationDevelop new skills, meet new people, and build a dynamic global network. As a student at Booth, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get involved in student groups, competitions, and other activities.
Test your theories and gain valuable experience in some of the world’s most prestigious competitions on campus and around the globe.
Participate in a Competition
Get involved, develop new skills, and meet new people in a wide array of student-led groups.
Join a Full-Time MBA Group
Pursue your interests and expand your network by joining a student-led group for Part-Time MBA students.
Explore Part-Time MBA Student Groups