Students who complete an online MBA program rightly expect to increase their career options and earning potential. Graduates are able to use the experience, skills and networks gained during their MBA program to advance their careers, even in a tight job market. The practical business expertise that an MBA brings especially helps individuals looking to move up the career ladder at their current organization.
According to the Harvard Business Review, a majority of MBA alumni find their degree professionally rewarding and, knowing what they know now, they would still pursue the degree.
An MBA provides a graduate education in foundational business practices. MBA programs typically include a strong business foundation in accounting, finance and management as well as advanced courses in business communications, marketing strategy, operations management, and quantitative analysis.
MBA programs prepare graduates to take on new responsibilities, transition to management roles or pursue an entrepreneurial route. MBA graduates pursue careers as financial managers, market research analysts, logisticians and distribution managers. Graduates who seek careers as college professors also can further their education with doctoral studies in a business-related field.
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) accreditation
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International accredits business schools, providing graduate and undergraduate business programs. The association also accredits accounting programs. AACSB International accredited schools have received a positive evaluation of their mission, operation, programs, faculty qualifications and contributions and in other important areas.
AACSB International accreditation is the most recognized form of specialized/professional accreditation an institution and its business programs can obtain.
We selected the degree programs based on the quality of the program, types of courses provided, faculty strength as well as school awards, rankings, and reputation, including reputation for quality online programs. This ranking uses the same methodology as our well regarded ranking of the best online colleges, only applied specifically to MBA programs.
What is an MBA?
An MBA provides a graduate education in foundational business practices. MBA programs typically include a strong business foundation in accounting, finance and management as well as advanced courses in business communications, marketing strategy, operations management, and quantitative analysis.
Online MBA programs often feature group projects and case studies, allowing students to collaborate with others from varied backgrounds, giving them inspiration, ideas and a network to shape their future careers. Master of Business Administration programs focus on helping students hone their leadership, communication and analytical skills and applying them to the global business world. MBA programs often allow students to tailor the degree to their personal and professional goals with concentrations in a variety of areas such as entrepreneurship, marketing, supply chain management and health care administration.
MBA programs prepare graduates to take on new responsibilities, transition to management roles or pursue an entrepreneurial route. MBA graduates pursue careers as financial managers, market research analysts, logisticians and distribution managers. Graduates who seek careers as college professors also can further their education with doctoral studies in a business-related field.
MBA salaries
According to the 2015/16 QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary Trends Report, employees with an MBA degree in the United States have an average salary of $103,300 and an average bonus of $22,400.† The survey targeted individuals with responsibility for MBA recruiting for their company. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in fields such as commodities, securities and financial services sales agents who also hold a master’s degree earn a wage nearly ninety percent higher than workers with a bachelor’s degree.Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) accreditation
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International accredits business schools, providing graduate and undergraduate business programs. The association also accredits accounting programs. AACSB International accredited schools have received a positive evaluation of their mission, operation, programs, faculty qualifications and contributions and in other important areas.
AACSB International accreditation is the most recognized form of specialized/professional accreditation an institution and its business programs can obtain.
We selected the degree programs based on the quality of the program, types of courses provided, faculty strength as well as school awards, rankings, and reputation, including reputation for quality online programs. This ranking uses the same methodology as our well regarded ranking of the best online colleges, only applied specifically to MBA programs.
The Best Online MBA Degree Programs
1. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public, co-educational research university established in 1789, enrolls more than 29,000 students from around the world. Among the oldest public universities in the nation, UNC Chapel Hill offers more than 250 programs leading to a variety of bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers an online MBA through its Kenan-Flagler Business School. The degree program helps students develop strong foundational business knowledge, while tailoring their degree to their personal and professional goals through a host of elective courses. The program also prepares graduates to network face-to-face with business leaders and to lead organizations.
Applicants with less than seven years of professional full-time work experience must submit GMAT or GRE scores. The online MBA program features weekly online classes in a cohort-based format with four start dates each year. The same professors teach the online and on-campus courses.
Online MBA students can choose from seven concentrations — Entrepreneurship, Corporate Finance, Marketing, Global Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Enterprise, Investment Management and Management Consulting.
All students must attend at least two Global Immersions during the program. They can choose an international or domestic location.
Students can complete the sixty-six-credit online MBA program in eighteen to thirty-six months. Courses include:
- Analytical Tools
- Business Communication
- Business Strategy
- Developing Management and Leadership Skills
- Economics
- Financial Accounting
- Introductory Finance
- Marketing Strategy
2. Indiana University, Kelley School of Business
(Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana)Indiana University, a multi-campus public university system established in 1820, enrolls more than 110,000 students across two core campuses – Bloomington and Indianapolis, seven smaller campuses and two extension centers. The university system offers more than nine hundred majors and programs leading to a host of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees as well as professional degrees in medicine, dentistry and law.
Among Indiana University’s degree options is an online MBA, offered through its Kelley School of Business. Through technology-mediated global teamwork, students gain a deeper understanding of the global nature of business. The online MBA curriculum includes study in business law and ethics, operations, project management and information technology. The fifty-one-credit-hour MBA online program includes the following courses:
- Economics
- Business Planning and project Management
- Strategic Marketing Management
- Global Business
- The US in Global Economy
- Topics in Directed Business Integration
- Quantitative Analysis
- Information Technology
Students also must complete an Integrative Team Capstone course. The flexible online program features discussion forums and web-based meetings. Students can earn their degree in two to five years. Online MBA students can earn a dual online Master of Science degree in a host of topics with about twelve additional credit hours.
Students can take part in the Washington Campus program to learn how to navigate governmental policy or study abroad through the AGILE – Accelerating Global Immersion Leadership Education program.
Students must attend two Kelley Connect Weeks on the Bloomington campus – one at the beginning of the program and the other at the beginning of their second year.
Students can take part in the Washington Campus program to learn how to navigate governmental policy or study abroad through the AGILE – Accelerating Global Immersion Leadership Education program.
Students must attend two Kelley Connect Weeks on the Bloomington campus – one at the beginning of the program and the other at the beginning of their second year.
3. University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business
(College Park, Maryland)The University of Maryland, College Park, a public land-grant, space-grant, sea-grant, research university founded in 1856, enrolls more than thirty-seven thousand students. The flagship of the University System of Maryland, the university offers more than 220 programs leading to a host of undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The University of Maryland, College Park, offers an online MBA through its Robert H. Smith School of Business. The program helps students develop high-level analytical and communication skills, explore financial and ethical challenges of doing business in the global marketplace, and gain expertise in marketing, accounting, finance, information systems and management. The program prepares graduates for careers in local, regional or international enterprise.
Students can complete the program in as little as twenty-one months. Students can choose from four specializations — Information Systems and Business Analytics, Finance, Marketing, or Accounting — or pursue the general track. The online program features mostly asynchronous coursework with some live online classes. The MBA online program includes the following courses:
- Managerial AccountingData
- Models and DecisionsLeaders
- hip and Human CapitalThe Global
- Economic Environment
- Operations Manag
- EmentEntrepreneurship
4. Arizona State University, W.P. Carey School of Business, ASU Online
(Phoenix, Arizona)Arizona State University, a public, metropolitan, research university founded in 1885, enrolls about eighty-three thousand students across five campuses and online. Among the largest public universities in the nation, ASU offers more than 350 programs leading to a host of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees, such as those in engineering, education, law and nursing.
Arizona State University offers an online Master of Business Administration degree through its W.P. Carey School of Business and ASU Online. Designed for career professionals who need convenience and flexibility, the online degree program features a comprehensive business curriculum. With areas of emphasis, students also can customize the degree program to meet their personal and professional goals.
The Carey School of Business offers two starts dates each year. Students must attend an on-campus orientation before the start of the program. Students take one five-week course at a time. Online MBA students choose from concentrations in Finance, Marketing, International Business, and Supply Chain Management. ASU also allows MBA students to combine the degree with an online master’s degree in legal studies, industrial engineering, or electrical engineering. The university’s online courses feature the same faculty and the same curriculum as its traditional on-campus courses. The online MBA program includes the following courses:
- Statistics for Managers
- Managerial Accounting
- Financial Accounting
- Managerial Finance
- Organizational Theory and Behavior
- Operations and Supply Chain Management
- Marketing Management
Online students have access to a host of services such as technical support, career resources and MBA Ambassadors. Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business requires applicants to submit GMAT or GRE scores.
5. Penn State World Campus
(State College, Pennsylvania)
Penn State World Campus, launched in 1998 as the online campus of The Pennsylvania State University, a land-grant, space-grant, sun-grant and sea-grant university founded in 1855. Penn State World Campus offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as certificate programs.
Penn State World Campus offers an online MBA, an intercollegiate degree through four of Penn State’s business schools – The Black School of Business, the Smeal College of Business, the School of Graduate Professional Studies and the School of Business Administration.
The degree program focuses on business themes such as process management, strategic planning, customers and markets, information analysis and leadership. Students work in virtual teams, allowing them to gain insight from their classmates’ experiences as well as how high-performance organizations function. The program also helps students develop strong communication, problem-solving and analytical skills.
Courses feature weekly assignments, and students complete the cohort-based program in two years. Online MBA students must complete two residencies – a one-week study at a prominent U.S. firm and a team business simulation at Penn State University Park. After the second residency, students can walk at commencement.
The forty-eight-credit online MBA program includes the following courses:
Penn State World Campus offers an online MBA, an intercollegiate degree through four of Penn State’s business schools – The Black School of Business, the Smeal College of Business, the School of Graduate Professional Studies and the School of Business Administration.
The degree program focuses on business themes such as process management, strategic planning, customers and markets, information analysis and leadership. Students work in virtual teams, allowing them to gain insight from their classmates’ experiences as well as how high-performance organizations function. The program also helps students develop strong communication, problem-solving and analytical skills.
Courses feature weekly assignments, and students complete the cohort-based program in two years. Online MBA students must complete two residencies – a one-week study at a prominent U.S. firm and a team business simulation at Penn State University Park. After the second residency, students can walk at commencement.
The forty-eight-credit online MBA program includes the following courses:
- Markets, Industry Analysis, and Business Strategy
- Accounting for External Reporting
- Financial and Accounting Tools
- Data Analysis Resource Module
- Corporate Governance
- Accounting for Internal Decision Making
- Corporate Innovative Strategies
- Strategic Financial Decisions
The same faculty create and deliver the university’s online and on-campus courses. Penn State World Campus students receive the same degree as students on the University Park campus. Online students have access to a program adviser, career services and library resources.
source: thebestschools.org
