Best Online MBA Programs

Want to improve your career prospects and salary potential in the business world? Then consider applying to online MBA programs. Top MBA programs let you specialize in key business topics like finance, marketing, and management.

Full-time students can earn an MBA degree online in two years, while part-time students take around three years. No matter which option you choose, you’ll graduate with the skills needed for a successful career in business.

We ranked the best online MBA programs using criteria like tuition rates, coursework, support services, and student outcomes.

The school and/or program descriptions below were drafted using natural language generation technology and have been edited for clarity and accuracy. The data is primarily sourced from government databases such as IPEDS – see sources section for more details.

All rankings and school descriptions on this page were created and reviewed independently by the ACO Rankings Team.

Read About Our Methodology Here

The best online MBA programs hold both institutional and programmatic accreditation.

You can check a school’s accreditation status by using the directories on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation website or the Department of Education website.

Top MBA programs should hold programmatic accreditation from one or more recognized business program accreditors:

Programs with AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE accreditation offer many benefits, including a rigorous curriculum and high-quality student services. These programs also do the most to help you land a job.

In an online MBA program, you’ll learn business and accounting basics. You’ll study topics like business strategy, operations management, entrepreneurship, business law, and microeconomics.

Online MBA programs require 36-48 credits across a mix of core and elective courses. You’ll also likely need to complete a capstone or thesis project.

Some programs give you the opportunity to do an in-person internship at a local business.

Most online MBA programs let you tailor your coursework to a specific concentration, such as finance or human resources.

MBA concentrations give students specialized training in specific areas of business and can lead to a salary boost. You can complete an MBA in healthcare administration, entrepreneurship, finance, supply chain management, or hospitality management, among other specialties explored here.

An accounting concentration can prepare you to understand accounting data and concepts to make informed business decisions, regardless of the specific sector you work in. Possible coursework may teach you about cost analysis, regulatory issues, taxes, and financial statement analysis. Potential career outcomes for graduates include positions as management analysts or financial managers.

After college, you can start your own business or work as a consultant with the tools and knowledge gained in an MBA in entrepreneurship. You’ll learn about building a new venture, including branding, marketing, and day-to-day operations. Employers hire these graduates to fill positions as chief strategy officers, business consultants, and nonprofit fundraisers.

From portfolio management to financial markets and institutions, an MBA with a finance concentration covers all aspects of advanced financial management. The topics surveyed in this course may include international financial markets, corporate risk and insurance management, and financial statement analysis. The best online MBAs can prepare you for financial analyst, finance manager, or investment banker roles.

Through an MBA in healthcare administration, you can get an advanced perspective of the operational side of a medical facility. Common courses include healthcare law, managerial accounting, and healthcare analytics. This concentration can prepare you to seek a leadership position in the medical field. Graduates can pursue jobs as healthcare information managers, hospital administrators, or patient administrators.

With a concentration in hospitality management, you can learn to apply business concepts to careers in event planning and airline and cruise management or at hotels, resorts, and travel agencies. Concentration courses teach you about event leadership and planning, corporate law and ethics, strategic event management, and quality service operations analysis.

Earning an MBA with a concentration in human resources (HR) puts executive and management HR positions within your reach. The concentration often emphasizes staffing and employment law with coursework in workforce planning and development, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and organizational behavior and policy. As a human resources manager, you can work for the government and healthcare, manufacturing, or management companies.

When you earn an MBA with a specialty in information systems, you can chase a career as a computer and information systems manager or database administrator. To prepare for these careers, you’ll study database management systems, information systems principles, and computer applications for business.

Through a concentration in information technology, you can study topics such as big data analytics and data mining for business. Professionals like computer and information systems managers commonly hold MBAs. These professionals work in computer systems design, information, finance, and manufacturing.

If you want to work globally in business, consider an MBA in international business. The concentration incorporates international communication, strategy, marketing, and financial policy courses that provide the education necessary to work in global business. To gain a greater cultural perspective of the global economy, international business students in the best online MBA programs may study abroad.

An MBA in marketing provides insights into consumer behavior, advertising and promotional strategies, and marketing research. The coursework merges business managerial responsibilities with marketing concepts to give you the skills to launch, analyze, and measure marketing campaigns. You can pursue roles like product marketing manager, brand manager, and market research director.

Companies across various sectors need project managers to keep departments on task and see projects through the entire business systems life cycle. An MBA in project management teaches you about cost estimation, quality control, and risk management. Project managers primarily work in professional, scientific, and technical services, but also in construction, manufacturing, and finance.

To pursue a career as a logistician, consider an MBA in supply chain management. The courses teach you about sourcing, procurement, and management, as well as demand and supply planning and operations and logistics. Logisticians work in manufacturing, federal government, and wholesale trade. You can pursue positions like purchasing manager, supply chain manager, and operations manager.

The average MBA program charges $17,500 in annual tuition and fees, according to 2016 NCES data. Many factors affect the cost of online MBA programs, such as whether you qualify for in-state tuition.

You can lower your out-of-pocket expenses in several ways, including by applying for federal financial aid. You must submit the FAFSA each year if you want to qualify for federal grants and low-interest loans. Your school’s financial aid office can help you fill out this form accurately.

Other aid includes scholarships for MBA students.

The jobs available for MBA graduates depend on a person’s individual concentration. For example, you may want to research programs with finance concentrations if you hope to become a finance manager.

An MBA can also help you advance your career if your employer restricts management-level positions to employees with advanced degrees. Many MBA job hubs exist to help you find a first job or start a new career. You can use these to research the latest postings for popular MBA jobs like those in the table below.

On-campus and online MBA programs usually take full-time students about two years to finish. If you opt for an accelerated MBA, you may finish in as few as 1.5 years. Part-time students, on the other hand, typically take 3-3.5 years to earn their MBA.

Employers regard accredited online MBA programs as equal to on-campus programs. Advances in online education mean the best online MBAs offer a rigorous curriculum that aligns well with employers’ needs. Note, however, that employers will still likely consider your university’s overall reputation when considering the reputability of your MBA.

Yes. High-paying MBA roles include computer and information systems manager, financial advisor, and operations research analyst. These and other careers feature high median salaries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Use your career aspirations to guide your research of online MBA programs. You may need to concentrate in a specific area to qualify for your ideal job.

MBA graduates can earn vastly different salaries depending on their years of experience, location, employer, and position. Degree-holders in leadership and management roles may earn over six figures.

According to the BLS, the median income for all business and financial occupations was $76,850 as of May 2022 — that’s around $30,000 more than the median salary for all jobs in the U.S.

Many schools report that some or most students earn more money after getting their MBA. That said, many factors can affect your earning potential, including your location, your MBA concentration, and prior work experience.

Your school’s career center can keep you up to date with changing economic trends and BLS job growth projections. The center can also help you improve your resume and interviewing skills.