The fastest MBA in Denver
Breadcrumb
Credit hours: 45
1-year, Full-time
Daytime & online classes
Cohort, 8-week terms
Fall start only
GMAT/GRE not required with 3.0+ GPA*
*Less than 3.0? Contact Us.
One year is all it takes to launch your career.
You bring hard work and dedication. We’ll provide the relevant coursework and real-world experience. We focus on providing you the skills to make an impact locally and globally. You fit the One Year MBA program, whether early in your career or a career changer.
Accelerated pace
eight-week course structure
Gain experience
consulting projects and optional competitive paid internships
International course abroad
gain global insights during a course abroad
Build your network
be a part of a dynamic and diverse cohort
All majors welcome
no formal business education or experience required, we will meet you where you are
Class Schedule:
Tuesday/Thursday: 9:00-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-3:30 p.m., In-Person
Online Course: no meeting time
The One Year MBA is the fastest way to earn your MBA and gain valuable experience in Denver. The program includes a fast-paced curriculum with flexibility that matches today’s business world. Business consulting projects and optional competitive paid internships add experience to your degree and provide a career launchpad. The majority of classes are held in person, which provides valuable interactions with faculty and classmates. In addition, to provide flexibility, an online, at your own pace, course complements each term.
The program consists of five eight-week terms and a 10-12 night international course abroad. There are breaks between terms. Depending on the term, you should expect approximately 15 hours a week for class, with another 25 hours as an estimate for homework, studying, and group projects outside of class. Please note that these estimates do not include the time needed for consulting projects, which will generally add another 20-25 hours a week to your time commitment. These estimates also do not include possible time spent at an internship, graduate assistantship, or on-campus student employment. These numbers are estimates only and may vary for each student.
The program is designed so your entire core curriculum will be taken with your cohort. This structure allows you to build lasting relationships with your peers through teamwork and group presentations.
- Our downtown Denver location helps foster relationships with business leaders and experiences
- Gain valuable real-world experience to jump-start your career or change career paths
- Career and professional development through our Business Career Center and personalized 1:1 career coaching
Program preparation
The One Year MBA program provides all students with access to MBA Math prior to the start of classes. These self-paced modules provide students with basic lessons in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Statistics, and Excel. These modules provide students with a foundation or refresher in these quantitative subject matters so all students are ready to hit the ground running once classes begin.
Curriculum
The One Year MBA program consists of 45 credit hours. Your credit hours will be made up of core courses, electives, international course abroad, and consulting coursework.
Core courses
Core classes include coverage in the following areas:
- Leading in Organizations
- Data Analysis for Managers
- Legal and Ethical Environment of Business
- Analyzing and Interpreting Accounting Information
- Marketing Management
- Information Systems Management and Strategy
- Applied Economics for Managers
- Management of Operations
- Financial Management
- Strategic Management
Electives
Electives are updated annually. Electives in the past have included:
- Conflict Management
- Advanced Corporate Finance
- Negotiations
- Digital Marketing Analytics
- Investments
- Personal Branding
- Business Model Development & Planning
- Sustainability in Practice
- Consulting in Practice
International course abroad
The course is taught abroad and includes company site visits in a variety of industries, meetings with executives, hearing from various speakers, cultural activities, and where possible, university visits with local MBA students. The course abroad is usually 10-12 nights.
Past trips have included destinations in Asia, Central America, Europe, and South America. The trip typically includes more than one city or country to provide a basis for comparing and contrasting cultures and business practices. Visits have included:
- Panama Canal, Panama
- Colon Free Trade Zone, Panama
- Pfizer, Germany
- BMW, Germany
- Airbus, Germany
- Mercedes, Germany
- Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hong Kong
- IBM, France
- Walmart, China
- Banco Santander, Chile
- DHL, China
- Anheuser-Busch InBev, South Korea
- University Visit: Seoul National University, South Korea
- Start Up Seoul, South Korea
- R/GA, Argentina
- University Visit: Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina
Consulting coursework and competitive paid internships
The One Year MBA program provides experiential learning during your time in the program. All students participate in consulting projects where you gain hands-on experience. Students also have the option of applying for competitive, paid internships to fulfill elective credits in the program.
Past student consulting projects have worked with companies such as:
- Ball Metalpack
- Children's Hospital Colorado
- Holidaily Brewing Company
- JE Dunn
- Well Data Labs
- Whole Foods Market
- UC Health
Students have also participated in competitive internships in a variety of functional areas at companies such as:
- Agility Perella Weinberg Partners
- American Furniture Warehouse
- Appficiency
- Ardent Mills
- Cedar Investments
- DaVita
- Frontier Airlines
- Gates Corporation
- TIAA
- Zayo
Career and professional development
- Our experienced Business Career Center hosts round tables with industry professionals, career fairs, recruiter panels, and other networking opportunities to enhance your career development.
- One Year MBA students have access to individualized 1:1 Career Coaching, included in the program. These coaches will meet you where you are to get you where you want to be.
MBA Program Outcomes
Value 1: Act Strategically
Outcome: Develop strategies that are designed to sustain a competitive advantage and optimize stakeholder value.
Value 2: Analyze Critically
Outcome: Analyze quantitative and qualitative information using the most appropriate methods, tools and/or frameworks to address a given business problem.
Value 3: Behave Ethically
Outcome: Evaluate ethical dilemmas by applying appropriate theories and principles to the assessment of divergent perspectives in the decision-making process.
Value 4: Communicate Effectively
Outcome: Apply effective and professional communication skills in business situations.
Value 5: Lead Collaboratively
Outcome: Collaborate effectively within diverse business teams, leveraging teamwork and leadership skills.
Value 6: Think Globally
Outcome: Evaluate the impact of different socio-cultural, political/institutional, legal, financial, and/or economic contexts on business strategy and operations.
Value 7: Leverage Technology
Outcome: Demonstrate the ability to leverage information technology tools to support business processes and decision making.
These objectives are assessed in relevant courses across the curriculum using projects, presentations, reports, exam questions, and team evaluations.
Tuition
The cost of tuition for the Fall 2024 cohort is $58,000 regardless of state or country of residence. Tuition includes the round-trip airfare and in-country accommodation and transportation for the international course abroad. Student fees and textbooks are not included in the tuition amount.
Domestic students can apply for financial aid to cover the cost of attendance for the program. Financial aid typically covers direct costs (tuition and fees) and indirect costs (books and supplies, personal expenses, and off-campus housing). To learn more, visit the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Other funding opportunities are outlined below.
Scholarships
The One Year MBA program awards various scholarships including the Early Bird Scholarship, One Year MBA upfront scholarships and One Year MBA application based scholarships:
- Leadership Scholarship
- CU Denver Alumni Scholarship
- STEM Scholarship
- Global Citizen Scholarship
These scholarship deadlines are in mid-May, so you must submit your application for the program no later than April in order to apply for additional scholarships.
Business School Graduate Assistantships and On-Campus Employment
The program funds several competitive Graduate Assistantship (GA) positions in the Business School which students in our program can apply for. Graduate Assistantships in the Business School are student hourly positions and competitive and limited in nature. Additionally, there are many on-campus student employment opportunities that students can apply for. Further information about specific GA positions is provided to committed students.
Application Checklist
$50 domestic, $75 international application fee
Online application
Two letters of recommendation
GMAT/GRE not required*
Official transcripts from each college or university attended
Four short essays
Resume
English language proficiency—international applicants only
International Credit Evaluation—international transcripts only
*See admission requirements section for more detail
How to Apply
The One Year MBA program admits students for a fall start only. Admissions operate on a rolling basis, meaning decisions are made as applications are completed. Scholarships for the program are offered on a first come first served basis, so it is best to submit a completed application as early as possible.
Application Process
The application process has two components: application, and if selected, interview. Applicants are required to submit all application materials by the final deadline. Interviews are by invitation only and conducted via Zoom.
Admission Requirements
- Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree at an accredited United States college or an equivalent in another country by the start of the program. The program welcomes applications from students in the final year of their undergraduate degrees.
- The GMAT is not required for admission for students with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA from an accredited university. Please reach out to oneyearmba@ucdenver.edu for more information regarding options for students with lower than a 3.0 GPA.
- For students with lower than a 3.0 GPA, GMAT waivers are available on a case-by-case basis and can be requested while completing the online application. GMAT waivers take into consideration professional experience as well as academic qualifications, including demonstrated successful academic background in both quantitative and qualitative coursework.
- A GMAT Waiver request is available for students with a previous graduate degree.
- In some situations, another test score like an LSAT or MCAT could be considered in lieu of a GMAT.
- No course prerequisites, work experience, or formal business education are required for admission.
- International applicants must demonstrate proficiency in written and oral English. TOEFL minimum scores are 90 (IBT) or 575 (PBT). Our IELTS minimum score is 6.5.
For any questions, please contact our admissions team at oneyearmba@ucdenver.edu.
International Students
To meet the English Language Proficiency (ELP) criteria, you must either showcase your proficiency through past education in English instruction or an English Language Proficiency test. If you are a citizen of a country whose official language is English, you do not have to prove proficiency. See below for a listing of accepted countries.
To claim proficiency, you must complete one of the following criteria. Please note that test scores are valid for two years.
- Submit a TOEFL score that meets the minimum requirements of 90 (IBT) or 575 (PBT).
The minimum IBT sub-scores for each section are:- Reading: 18
- Listening: 17
- Speaking: 20
- Writing: 17
- Submit an IELTS score of at least 6.5 The minimum IELTS sub scores for the reading, listening, speaking, and writing sections are 5.5.
- Submit a copy of completion from the CU Denver ESL Academy.
- Be a citizen of a country whose official language is English. International applicants holding a citizenship from the following countries do not need to prove their English language proficiency for admission to CU Denver: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, United Kingdom.
- International applicants may meet the English language proficiency requirement through any of the options below for previous coursework completed. Options for previous coursework completed which will satisfy admissions ELP requirements:
- Earn an associate or bachelor's degree in the US
- Earn a post-secondary credential (comparable to a US associate or bachelor's degree) in any of the exempt countries listed above
- Earn a post-secondary credential (comparable to a US associate or bachelor's degree) at an exempt-country-accredited school located in a non-exempt country
- Earned 12 or more credit hours in a master or doctoral degree program in the United States, an exempt country, or at an exempt-country-accredited school in a non-exempt country AND earned an overall college-level GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Veteran and Military Education Benefit Students
We have many students that use military education benefits at CU Denver. Students planning to use military education benefits will work closely with the One Year MBA program staff and the Veteran and Military Student Services Office throughout our program. We are happy to discuss specifics of using military benefits for this program. Please email oneyearmba@ucdenver.edu.
Application Deadlines
Space in each cohort is limited, so we urge you to apply as early as possible. Applications open in September for the following fall start. The admission rounds provide timing guidance for you, but the program operates on rolling admissions, meaning completed applications are reviewed as they are received.
- Early Bird: February 1, 2024
- Priority Deadline: April 15, 2024
- Final International student deadline: May 15, 2024
- Final Domestic student deadline: June 15, 2024
Sarah Atkin’s One Year MBA Advances her Career
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“I chose to pursue the One Year MBA because I wanted to gain usable expertise and make valuable connections without sacrificing more than a year of the experience in the job market that I would have otherwise gained.”
– Danielle Thollot, One Year MBA student
“I chose the One Year MBA program at CU Denver to effectively change the direction of my post-military career. It affords me opportunities to build tangible networks and gain practical experience simultaneously in Denver.”
– James Ciccarello, US Army veteran and One Year MBA student