DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2017-- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) has launched a customized Bachelor’s Degree in Business, further expanding its current educational assistance program with Guild Education. Available through Bellevue University, the degree integrates hands-on, applied learning with theory to accelerate career growth within the restaurant and is open to Chipotle employees only. Bellevue University, a private, non-profit, regionally accredited institution and trailblazer in higher education, worked closely with Chipotle to develop the curriculum.

“This degree enables our employees to apply what they learn in the classroom to their work at Chipotle and vice versa,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and CEO at Chipotle. “Employees will gain a solid understanding of business operations including people development, marketing, and decision making. The new degree program extends a series of education benefits we’ve been putting in place over the last couple of years to help better equip our employees for success at Chipotle and beyond.”

The degree is designed around a Chipotle employee’s schedule. When combined with credit from a previous school and credits earned through Chipotle’s internal training, it can be completed in as little as eighteen months. This program also has a cohort format, which allows Chipotle students to share and learn from their own organizational and real-world experiences.

“One of the best ways we can help working students succeed is to leverage their real-life experiences and skills,” said Rebecca Murdock, dean of the College of Business at Bellevue University. “With Chipotle’s help, we have built a truly best in class business degree program.”

This customized degree is one of more than 30 degrees offered through Chipotle’s educational assistance program in partnership with Guild Education. The educational assistance program gives Chipotle employees an opportunity to earn college credits and pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees while working at the company.

Students who enroll in the new Bachelor’s Degree in Business are eligible for up to $5,250 a year in tuition assistance from Chipotle as well as other benefits, including a personal success coach who will assist in the program enrollment and application for federal financial aid.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE

Steve Ells, Founder, Chairman and CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in an interactive style allowing people to get exactly what they want. Chipotle seeks out extraordinary ingredients that are not only fresh, but that are raised responsibly, with respect for the animals, land, and people who produce them. Chipotle prepares its food using only real, whole ingredients, and is the only national restaurant brand that uses absolutely no added colors, flavors or other industrial additives typically found in fast food. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in Denver in 1993 and now operates more than 2,300 restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com

ABOUT BELLEVUE UNIVERSITY

Bellevue University has been a trailblazer in the higher education industry since its inception in 1966. Now, in 2016, they're paving the way. Bellevue University effectively engages students in earning awards and degrees that prepare them to thrive in a connected, competitive world. They provide students with a powerful foundation for personal value creation, instilling the confidence they need to take control of their lives and to be responsible citizens of the global community. They teach the value of a free market, capitalist economic system and the importance of preserving our American heritage of a democratic and free way of life.

ABOUT GUILD EDUCATION

Guild Education is bridging the gap between education and employment to help working adults navigate the two worlds of work and college. Their platform enables employers to offer education-as-a-benefit, with tuition benefit policies that align business goals, like talent development and retention, with affordable education programs that employees love. Guild’s network of nonprofit universities and learning providers offer a consortium of classes, programs, and college degrees.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502005949/en/

Source: Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chris Arnold
303.222.5912
carnold@chipotle.com