Top 10 Online MBA Degree Programs

Best online MBA degrees

If you’re looking at online master of business administration programs, chances are you’re already well along in your career.

At least, you should be—for two reasons:

  1. Most MBA programs require several years of full-time work experience.
  2. Would you want your boss to have 3 extra years of schooling but zero business experience? No way! Neither do the people who will work for you one day.

Maybe you’re a master salesperson, but in order to get that VP position, you’ll need some accounting know-how. Maybe you know you’ve got the raw talent to be an executive, but you think more education could be the key to that next promotion. Whatever your motivations, earning an MBA is a great opportunity to learn from some brilliant people and directly apply that knowledge to your professional life.

Whether you’ve already earned your bachelor’s in business administration, or you have a degree in something completely different, an MBA can help you climb the corporate ladder or take your organization to the next level. Many online MBA programs allow you to specialize in a specific business-related discipline as well, so you can customize your education to fit your career goals.

You don’t have to move across the country to master the intricacies of the business world. There are countless online business administration degree programs that can land you the credentials and expertise you need to start your career. To help you sort through them all, we’ve used data from The National Center for Education Statistics and ratings from school-ranking entities like Princeton Review, OnlineMBA.com, TheBestSchools.org, BestColleges.com, U.S. News & World Report, CollegeChoice.net, and BestCollegeReviews.org—so this list of the top 10 online master’s in business administration programs is the best of the best.

Less than 5% of the world’s 15,000 business schools are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, but 80% of the schools on this list are AACSB approved.

To help you make the choice that’s right for you, we’ll show you each school’s:

  • Tuition cost
  • Program length
  • Graduation rates
  • Awards and accolades
  • Accreditation
  • Anything else we think will help you decide

Let’s find a school you’ll love! For starters, here are some highlights:

Most affordable

While a master’s degree can probably help you get a nice bump in pay, you might not be willing or able to take on a lot of debt before you get there. If you’re looking for an MBA on a budget, some of these schools are going to be a lot more appealing than others.

If you happen to live in Florida, University of Florida (#1) is easily the most affordable school on this list with a $4,000 per year in-state tuition. For everyone else though, Arkansas State University (#9) is going to be your best bet, with a $9,000 per year out-of-state tuition.

Best job placement rate

A lot of schools don’t report their job placement rates or what percentage of their graduates get jobs. Sometimes it’s because they feel like that’s on you as a student to use the resources they give you, and whether or not their students are employed isn’t an indicator of the quality of the education they deliver. In this case, it could also be because many MBA programs require students to already have years of professional experience, so they already have jobs.

But if you just want an education so you can get a job, that’s not very helpful. Any of these schools will give you a great education that can help you advance in your career, but North Carolina State University (#6 on our list) boasts a 92% job placement rate within three months of graduation (the data is a little fuzzy though).

You may also want to see which schools have reported an increase in salary (we’ve included that in the list).

Best graduation rate

The things you’ll learn in an online MBA program are probably going to have an immediate impact on your professional life. But if at the end of the day, you need the credentials to move up the corporate ladder, look no further than #1 on our list: University of North Carolina. They have a graduation rate of 91%.

University of Florida (#2) and University of Maryland (#8) were close behind with 87% and 86% graduation rates, respectively.

Fully online

Unfortunately, many “online” master’s programs aren’t fully available online. (That goes for any field.) You can expect that most schools are going to have some sort of on-campus residency or orientation. Sometimes they’re only for a weekend, or a week, and sometimes there are multiple in a single program.

Don’t get me wrong, these are great opportunities to network and workshop with fellow students and faculty. But if you’re looking for a fully-online program, only three schools on this list meet that criteria: Arizona State University (#5), The University of Texas at Dallas (#7) and Arkansas State University (#9).

Now, on to the top ten!

1. University of North Carolina

University-of-North-Carolina-online-MBA-program
Image source: University of North Carolina

Tuition cost: about $115,000 total

Program length: 66 credits, can be completed in 18-36 months

Graduation rate: 91%

Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on Princeton Review: 1
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 1
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 1
  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 1
  • Rank on BestColleges.com: 2
  • Top 5 MBA Teaching Faculty by Poets and Quants

As an online MBA student at University of North Carolina, you’ll have the opportunity to build on foundational business knowledge with one of eight concentrations:

These specializations are optional and don’t require additional credits, time, or money. Choosing a specialization just uses your elective credits. So if you don’t want to specialize, you can use your elective credits to pursue other areas or dabble in them all.

University of North Carolina promises that as an online MBA student, your classes will never exceed a 15:1 student to professor ratio. Plus, live online classes give you virtual face-to-face interaction with other students, so you won’t simply be known by your email address.

This program isn’t fully online. Part of the online MBA program is what they call “global immersion.” Over the course of your studies, you’ll take two three-day trips with your fellow students and faculty to cities around the world.

Room and board for global immersions is included in your tuition.

Here’s how some UNC online MBA students felt about their experience:

Graduates of University of North Carolina’s online MBA program saw an average salary increase of 29%.

One former student said, “One thing that helped land my job in the financial sector in New York was a referral from one of my fellow MBA@UNC students. When you have a connection like that, your resume really gets to the top of the stack.”

Only 3% of UNC students transfer schools, compared to the national average of about 33%.

2. University of Florida

University-of-Florida-online-master-of-business-administration-program
Image source: University of Florida

Tuition cost:

  • In state: about $4,000 per year for online students
  • Out-of-state: about $17,000 per year for online students

Program length:

  • 16 month accelerated option for those with a bachelor’s degree in business (32 credits)
  • 27 month option for those with an undergraduate degree in another discipline (44 credits)

Graduation rate: 87%

Accreditation:

  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Ranked #1 in the U.S. and #3 in the world by Financial Times
  • Rank on BestColleges.com: 1
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 4
  • Rank on Princeton Review: 5
  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 5
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 7

University of Florida offers an accelerated 16-month online MBA program for students who have an undergraduate degree in business (earned within the last 7 years). A 27-month online MBA program is open to anyone with an undergraduate degree. Both options require a minimum of two years of full-time work experience.

Here’s how they describe the two options:

Online 16-month MBA

“With your business undergraduate degree (earned within the last 7 years) and a foundations review provided as part of our program, you will be able to delve into higher-level MBA classes sooner in our accelerated program option. The online one-Yyear program is 32 credits versus the 48 credits in our two year programs. We recognize that you completed the core business courses during your undergraduate experience, and are therefore not requiring them to be repeated.”

Online 27-month MBA

“Students in this program build a strong foundation in core business areas such as finance, marketing, management, operations and economics. After this foundation is built, students can then focus their studies in a particular area of interest.”

The “focus areas” you can choose from include:

  • Entrepreneurship
  • International
  • Finance
  • Marketing

Your focus area consists of four elective courses.

Neither of these programs are fully online. Every four months, online MBA students come to campus for a weekend-long residency. While it does mean time on campus, it also offers great networking opportunities.

“It’s not just the credential,” one UF professor said of the MBA program. “That’s the transactional piece. The transformational piece is the relationships, the association with the university—it’s how it changes you.”

Here’s what they say about their online program:

“Designed for students whose commitments make traditional campus attendance impractical, our online program stands at the forefront, providing flexible academic options with the same elite faculty and rigor that makes us a leading university and top research institution. We connect people with opportunities, remove barriers and set the standard for online higher education. UF Online graduates earn the same elite degree they would receive on campus, and they will be at the top of the list for the best employers in the country.”

Students and faculty give you a glimpse of the online MBA program in this two-minute video:

3. Indiana University-Bloomington

Indiana-University-Bloomington-Kelley-School-of-Business-online-MBA
Image source: Kelley School of Business

Tuition cost:

  • In state: about $9,000 per year
  • Out-of-state: about $28,000 per year

Program length: 51 credits, two years

Graduation rate: 76%

Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on Princeton Review: 2
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 2
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 2
  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 8

An online MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business covers topics like:

  • Business law and ethics
  • Economics
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Operations
  • Information technology
  • Project management

Explore the intersection of business and government

If you want to learn about how government and public policies impact businesses, the Kelley School of Business has a Washington Campus program that gives MBA students some unique opportunities to learn from faculty and government officials in Washington D.C. These are professional development courses that last five days or less.

Want to study abroad?

You can use your elective credits to incorporate real-world international business experience into your plan of study. You’ll help your client—a real business in an emerging economy—solve real, high-stakes problems.

(You don’t have to study abroad. You can be a homebody like me, too.)

Indiana University also encourages students to earn a second master’s degree for as few as 12 credits. In addition to your MBA, you could walk away with a master of science in:

Indiana University’s online MBA program isn’t fully online. MBA students are required to attend a seven day residency at the start of each year. These residencies include a course, a real-world business problem you’ll solve with a team of classmates (you’ll present your solution to a panel of corporate executives), and networking opportunities with faculty and alumni at “an iconic Bloomington pub.”

4. Temple University

Temple-University-online-MBA-degree
Image source: Temple University

Tuition cost: about $16,000 per year

Program length: 48 credits

Graduation rate: 71%

Accreditation:

  • Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 2
  • Rank on Princeton Review: 3
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 5
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 6
  • Other awards

As an online MBA student at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, you can expect top-notch teaching from internationally-recognized faculty. Here’s what they say about their instructors:

“When you consider the depth and breadth of the experience that the Fox School’s Online MBA faculty possesses, it is easy to understand why the program is so widely respected. Our faculty is comprised of individuals who are recognized as some of the most esteemed thought-leaders in their industries. These faculty members have worked for some of the world’s most influential organizations, where they gained real-life experience that they now use in the classroom. They are interested in providing their students with the academic and professional knowledge that they need to solve industry-related issues, and draw upon their vast experience to bring a real-world dimension to the learning environment.”

Here’s what they about their online MBA program:

“The Fox Online MBA delivers a dynamic learning environment through a combination of high-impact asynchronous study tools and on-demand video content that can be reviewed at your own pace. You’ll also benefit from regularly-scheduled WebEx collaboration sessions with your peers and our faculty that allow you to solve real-world business problems related to your field.”

Temple University’s online MBA program isn’t fully online. Students are required to participate in a week-long residency.

TU says of the Fox School of Business, “Its programs continue to be ranked internationally and nationally by leading business publications and organizations, such as the Financial Times, The Economist, U.S. News & World Report, and The Princeton Review/Entrepreneur magazine.”

You can check out all their rankings and accolades here.

To learn more about what being an online student at TU is like, take a virtual tour.

Fun fact: Most of the student professional organizations at the Fox School of Business don’t require you to attend meetings to be a member, so online students are free to join. Some of them even record their meetings, so you can easily keep up.

5. Arizona State University

Arizona-State-University-online-master-of-business-degree-program
Image source: Arizona State University

Tuition cost: about $60,000 total

Program length: 49 credits, two years

Graduation rate: 67%

Accreditation:

  • Higher Learning Commission
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 3
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 4
  • Rank on Princeton Review: 6
  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 7

Arizona State University’s online MBA is entirely online. At the time I wrote this post, the website still said you’d have to make one campus visit, but I called and confirmed: this is 100% online. That means no on-campus residencies or orientations of any kind.

A little more than half of your classes are electives, which you can use to focus on a particular area of emphasis or disperse over a variety of disciplines. There are four areas of emphasis to choose from:

  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • International business
  • Supply chain management

In this video, ASU’s professors share what makes their online programs so appealing—and if you ask me, it’s one of the best pitches for attending class online, period:

Basically, it’s way easier to participate in class discussions (one person can’t dominate the conversation), and online students actually perform in the industry as well as on-campus students.

6. North Carolina State University

North-Carolina-State-University-online-master-of-business-administration-degree
Image source: North Carolina State University

Tuition cost:

  • In state: about $8,000 per year
  • Out-of-state: about $27,000 per year

Program length: as little as 21 months

Graduation rate: 77%

Job placement rate: 92%

Accreditation:

  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on BestColleges.com: 3
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 6
  • Rank on Princeton Review: 9
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 9

North Carolina State University offers two main pathways to an online MBA: an accelerated format, and a flexible program. The accelerated format can be completed in less than two years, and the flexible program gives you up to six years to finish.

This program requires two three-day residencies in Raleigh, North Carolina. These are designed to give you hands-on experience and networking opportunities.

“When you come out of the program,” one professor said, “you’re going to have immediate skills that you’re going to be able to use, but beyond that, what we’re doing is we’re trying to position you to move up in your organization.”

Graduates of NCSU’s online MBA program saw an average salary increase of 26%. There’s a handy list of quick-facts if you want to know more stats about graduates, or the program in general.

“I’m definitely taken more seriously at work when it comes to business conversations,” one graduate said. “I’ve been given new assignments that I wouldn’t have gotten before. I was able to double my salary, which more than paid back what I’d put into the program.”

You can hear from more from faculty and students in this video:

Fun fact: NCSU’s online faculty offer “virtual office hours” in addition to being available by phone or email.

7. The University of Texas at Dallas

University-of-Texas-at-Dallas-online-MBA-degree
Image source: University of Texas at Dallas

Tuition cost:

  • In state: about $12,000 per year
  • Out-of-state: about $24,000 per year

Program length: 53 credits

Graduation rate: 67%

Accreditation:

  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on U.S. News & World Report: 1
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 10
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 10
  • Rank on BestColleges.com: 10

The online MBA program at University of Texas at Dallas focuses on your analytical problem-solving skills and developing team-oriented approaches to business problems.

This program is available fully online. However, some courses may not be available online. This doesn’t limit your ability to complete the program, but it does mean you won’t have the same selection of classes as on-campus students. Some classes are only available online during particular semesters, so you’ll want to plan your schedule accordingly. You can see all courses available online here.

In addition to core business classes, the MBA program includes courses in four primary disciplines:

  • Finance and managerial economics
  • Operations management
  • Marketing
  • Organizations, strategy, and international management

One student had this to say of the program:

“The instructors are great about bringing real-time events into the classroom and encouraging us to apply our experiences to their material as well.”

8. University of Maryland

University-of-Maryland-online-MBA-degree-program
Image source: University of Maryland

Tuition cost:

  • In state: about $12,000 per year
  • Out-of-state: about $25,000 per year

Program length: as few as 24 months

Graduation rate: 86%

Accreditation:

  • Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 3
  • Rank on OnlineMBA.com: 8
  • Rank on BestColleges.com: 8

The curriculum for University of Maryland’s online MBA program is developed directly from real-world business experience. Being so close to Washington D.C., the Smith School of Business frequently recruits some of today’s most powerful policy makers and professionals as both speakers and educators.

Here’s what their online MBA program:

“The online MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park, develops expertly skilled, ethically sound business leaders. Smith MBA graduates embody the professional intelligence and practical management skill set to thrive at the forefront of local, regional and international enterprise.”

University of Maryland believes the most important areas of business are accounting, finance, information systems and business analytics, marketing, and supply chain management. As one of their online MBA students, you can specialize in one of these four areas, or choose the general track to develop a broad understanding of all four.

Here’s what they say about their MBA faculty:

“While enrolled in the program, you will have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with the innovators and established thought leaders of the Robert H. Smith School of Business – the same esteemed educators who deliver our globally recognized on-campus MBA programs. Consistently ranked among the nation’s best in intellectual capital by Financial Times, our faculty delivers a wealth of industry experience into every online course. Our students benefit from having the opportunity to interact and network with the minds that are currently shaping the world of business and defining the future of global business practice.”

Fun fact: Only 4% of students at the University of Maryland transfer to another school, compared to the national average of about 33%.

9. Arkansas State University

Arkansas-State-University-online-MBA-degree-program
Image source: LinkedIn

Tuition cost:

  • In state: about $5,000 per year
  • Out-of-state: about $9,000 per year

Program length: 33 credits

Graduation rate: 45%

Accreditation:

  • Higher Learning Commission
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on U.S. News & World Report: 2
  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 4

Arkansas State University offers a fully online MBA program with an optional concentration in either supply chain management or finance.

Here’s what they say about the program:

“The Online MBA was created to provide high-quality, flexible graduate management education for students with varied academic and professional backgrounds. The graduate faculty strives to build comprehensive and challenging programs of excellence to meet the needs of a dynamic, global business environment through a leading-edge curriculum emphasizing leadership/values, international business, latest technology, decision tools, and social responsibility/ethics facilitated by action-based learning.”

A concentration uses your six elective credits and adds an additional 3-6 credits to your program.

Here’s how the describe each concentration:

Concentration in finance

“The MBA with a Concentration in Finance is designed to allow students to complement their studies in business administration with in-depth coverage of the core components of finance, including corporate finance, financial markets and institutions, and investments.”

Concentration in supply chain management

“The MBA with a Concentration in Supply Chain Management is designed to allow students to complement their studies in business administration with in-depth coverage of the core components of the supply chain functions of business as they relate to operating in a dynamic global business environment.”

Note: Don’t freak out when you see a message that says “the online MBA is only available in approved states.” The online MBA is approved in all states.

10. Penn State World Campus

Penn-State-University-online-master-of-business-administration-degree
Image source: Penn State University

Tuition cost: about $57,000 total

Program length: 48 credits

Graduation rate: 25%

Accreditation:

  • Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Awards and accolades:

  • Rank on CollegeChoice.net: 3
  • Rank on TheBestSchools.org: 5

Penn State Online offers a comprehensive MBA with 10 built-in concentration options.

Here’s what they say about the program:

“The program strives to unify business concepts across previously siloed business disciplines, allowing you to engage in problem solving from a comprehensive perspective. Courses will also include group projects to encourage peer interaction and to build a learning community among the students. These projects simulate real-world business environments, where individuals frequently work in teams to solve problems.”

Your concentration options include:

But choosing a concentration doesn’t mean you have to miss out on learning other vital business expertise. Your core business classes will cover “principles and practices essential to modern management,” including topics like:

  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Data analysis
  • Ethics
  • Communications
  • Human resources
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Leadership
  • Supply chain
  • Strategy
  • Innovation
  • Digital transformation

This program is not fully online. At the beginning of the program, students participate in a five day residency in University Park, Pennsylvania. You’ll earn credit, attend workshops, network with alumni, and hear from keynote speakers. The purpose of the residency is to equip you to apply your learning directly to the field, prepare you for a rigorous academic program, and help you get familiar with your classmates and faculty.

A quick note on transferring schools

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, more than one third of all college students transfer schools before graduating. In order to transfer your credits from one school to another, the two schools usually have to be accredited by the same organizations.

Four schools on this list are accredited by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Colleges, four are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and three of them are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Plus, eight of them are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Business Schools. So whichever school you choose, there are other great schools you can transfer to as well.

The best school is really up to you

We can’t tell you exactly which school is the best choice for you—and you shouldn’t let anyone else do that, either. You have to weigh the factors that are most important to you and let that guide your decision. Choosing a school is a huge investment—both in terms of what it immediately costs you and how it affects your life. So take your time.

We hope this list has helped make the decision a little easier for you. Good luck in your future studies!

Ryan Nelson
Ryan has a B.A. in English Literature from Western Washington University. If he could rewind and go to college all over again, he'd do it a little differently. For now, he's living vicariously through people like you by helping you find the best online schools for your field.

1 Comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *