Driehaus College of Business and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business

Driehaus College of Business and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
TypeBusiness school
Established1912
Parent institution
DePaul University [1]
AccreditationAACSB
Religious affiliation
Catholic (Vincentian)
DeanSulin Ba [2]
Students5,478
Undergraduates4,013
Postgraduates1,465
Address
1 E Jackson Blvd
,
Chicago
,
Illinois
,
60604
,
United States
CampusUrban
Websitehttps://business.depaul.edu/

The Richard H. Driehaus College of Business (and associated Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business) is DePaul University's business school.

Known until 2012 as the College of Commerce, Driehaus was founded in 1912 and is one of the ten oldest business schools in the U.S.[1] The school is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International.[2]

The college's entrepreneurship programs consistently number among the Princeton Review's top 20 entrepreneurship programs. For 2026, the Princeton Review ranked the undergraduate entrepreneurship program #15 and the graduate entrepreneurship program #16.[3][4]

Mission and Vision

"Our mission is to empower students to become socially responsible leaders who make an impact in their communities. Guided by our Catholic, Vincentian values and aided by our deep roots in the city of Chicago, we deliver a cutting-edge business education, generate path breaking research, and collaborate closely with our community and industry partners to drive positive social outcomes."

Vision

To advance social mobility and foster economic vitality through business education.

History

DePaul's College of Commerce began offering business classes in January 1913, becoming one of the 10 oldest business schools in the nation and the first at a U.S. Roman Catholic university.[1] The college established a Master of Business Administration program in 1948 and launched the Graduate School of Business. The college, including the Graduate School of Business, moved to its current Chicago location in the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., in 1993.

In 1992, DePaul received a $9 million gift from the Kellstadt Foundation to establish the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, named for Charles H. Kellstadt, former president, chairman and chief executive officer of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

In 2012, DePaul alumnus Richard H. Driehaus gave DePaul a $30 million gift to be used to recruit and retain business faculty. DePaul renamed the College of Commerce the Driehaus College of Business.[5] Part of the Driehaus College of Business, the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business retained its name.

International Presence

In collaboration with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, Driehaus runs three degree programs in Bahrain: the MBA, the MS in Finance, and the MS in Human Resources.[6]

In operation since 2002, the MBA is the first degree program in the Middle East to be taught entirely by U.S.-based faculty.[7]

Academics

Driehaus has six divisions: the School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems; the School of Hospitality and Sports Business; and the departments of finance and real estate, management and entrepreneurship, marketing and economics.[8]

Undergraduate Programs

Students can choose from among 15 Bachelor of Science in Business degree programs, including degrees in entrepreneurship, sports business, digital marketing, and more.[9]

A revised Bachelor of Science in Business core curriculum debuted in fall 2022.[10] Entrepreneurial thinking, technology and social good are the cornerstones of the new core curriculum. As part of the core curriculum, all students participate in the Driehaus Cup: a fast-paced pitch competition judged by industry experts with thousands of dollars in scholarship money at stake.[11] In October 2023, the Mid-American Business Deans' Association honored the Driehaus Cup with its curricular innovation award.[12]

Graduate Programs

MBA Programs [13]

The DePaul MBA is offered in two modalities. Full-time students study in-person in the heart of Chicago. Part-time students attend online from anywhere in the U.S.

Additionally, a corporate cohort MBA offering is available to employees of select corporate partners. Past partners have included McDonald's, Walgreens, and others.

The DePaul MBA incorporates substantial real-world experience. Each core class includes a hands-on project in partnership with a real-world company. Each core class also incorporates AI tools tailored to discipline- and industry-specific use cases. The program's capstone tasks students with devising an entrepreneurial -- or intrapreneurial -- solution to a problem faced by a real-world company.

DBA and MS programs

Kellstadt also offers a Doctorate in Business Administration program.[14] Designed as a bridge between academia and industry, the DBA program is tailored to senior professionals and those who wish to transition to academia.

Additionally, Kellstadt offers 12 specialized master's degrees that provide in-depth knowledge in a particular area of business.[15]

Multiple combined degree programs allow students to combine an MBA with an MS program; an MS program with an undergraduate degree; or an MBA with another degree from DePaul, such as a JD or an MFA.[16]

International programs

In collaboration with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, Kellstadt offers three degree programs in Bahrain: an MBA program and master's programs in finance and human resources. This partnership was launched in 2002, and the MBA program was the first in the Gulf region to be taught solely by U.S.-based faculty.[17]

Graduate Career Center

The Kellstadt Career Management Center offers personalized guidance exclusive to business graduate students. Offerings include dedicated coaching, networking events (including events specific to degree areas), executive-in-residence networking opportunities, and more.

Executive Education

The Hay Center for Leadership Development offers a wide range of programs that advance talent development for organizations and individuals.[18] The center offers custom-built programs for organizations who want to develop their talent, cultivate a driven workforce and tackle business challenges.[19]

Centers and Institutes

Driehaus has 17 specialized centers and institutes that conduct research, host symposia and partner with local, national and international organizations to address issues within various fields.[20] Several of these include:

Rankings and Recognition

Undergraduate

In 2026, U.S. News and World Report ranked DePaul's undergraduate business offerings at #88.[3] This ranking places Driehaus among the top 17% of business schools ranked by U.S. News and World Report -- itself a selective list comprising only the 5% of business schools worldwide to be accredited by the AACSB. This ranking also represents a significant jump from Driehaus' place at 114 on the 2025 list.

Driehaus consistently ranks among the Princeton Review's Top Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs:

Graduate

In 2026, U.S. News and World Report ranked DePaul's Part-Time MBA Program at #68.[24]

Kellstadt's entrepreneurship offerings consistently rank among the Princeton Review Top Graduate Entrepreneurship Programs:

The DePaul MBA program consistently ranks among Poets&Quant's top 30 MBA programs for entrepreneurs.[28]

In 2024, Fortune ranked Kellstadt's MBA program among the Top 50 producers of c-suite executives at Fortune 1000 companies.[29]

In 2024, Intelligent.com, a data-driven higher education journalism website, ranked the master's in business analytics program at Kellstadt among the nine best in the nation.[30]

Centers and Institutes

In 2023, the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center earned the Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, which counts over 200 university entrepreneurship centers from more than 19 countries among its members. The award is given annually to the top entrepreneurship center among universities that enroll more than 5,000 students.

Notable alumni

References

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