Online MBA Programs in General Management

Featured Online MBA Programs in General Management

Founded in 1959, California Lutheran University was formally recognized in 2016 as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The MBA program may be completed on-campus, online, or the hybrid format. Students may attend on a part- or full-time basis. Only the 36-credit MBA general track may be completed 100 percent online. Students may choose to add an emphasis area to their degree. The emphasis areas are finance; information technology; and marketing. Each emphasis requires 45 credits to complete. In addition the emphasis coursework must be completed on-campus.

The curriculum includes enterprise management, organization, and strategy; organizational behavior; business ethics and law; marketing management; strategic decision making; macroeconomics in the global economy; leadership and teamwork essentials; managerial finance; and foundation of business analytics. Students chose four electives from topics that include marketing research; international business; information technology management; and innovative business models, among others. They also complete a capstone course.

Each emphasis area contains an extensive list of approved electives relevant to the chosen emphasis, from which students chose four that fit their career goals. For example, the finance electives cover topics such as strategic financial analysis; real estate investments; advanced analytics; and others.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school; a GPA of at least 3.0; a current resume or CV; two letters of recommendation; and a personal letter of intent and future career plans. They must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

The MBA programs at Texas A&M are fully online with accelerated options. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree. If their GPA is less than 2.4, they will need to submit GMAT/GRE scores, unless they obtain a waiver. Other admission requirements include transcripts, a resume, and an essay. Work experience is not required. Students who don’t have undergrad business degrees may take the prerequisite coursework at Texas A&M.

The MBA program is available as a general track, or with concentrations in areas that include finance, accounting, business analytics, healthcare administration, and international business. The general track requires 30 credits, and the concentration tracks each require 36 credits.

All tracks encompass core courses that include marketing management; operations management; and organizational behavior and theory; accounting; managerial economics; managerial finance; software-based business solutions; and administrative strategy policy and capstone. Students in the general track then select two of the following electives: entrepreneurship; leadership; or social media marketing. The concentration tracks include additional coursework relevant to the concentration.

The MBA programs at Southern New Hampshire University include a general track as well as a leadership orientation, and 15 others. The 30-credit programs are fully online. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum GPA of 2.75. GMAT/GRE scores and work experience are not required.

The core coursework includes leading people and organization; organizational strategy in a global environment; innovation and strategy for high-performance organizations; measuring success in an organization; optimizing brands; leading organizational change; and strategic opportunity management.

The general track adds three electives; and the leadership concentration adds communication for leadership; leading change; and the psychology of leadership. The faculty have real-world experience and are invested in helping students develop their skills. Each student is also assigned an academic advisor.

Southern Oregon University offers a general MBA, as well as concentrations in accounting; business analytics; corporate sustainability; finance; healthcare administration; information analysis and decision making; and marketing. All are available 100 percent online, have five start dates, and accelerated courses. Applicants should have a bachelor’s degree and 3.0 GPA. GMAT scores and work experience are not required. Applicants with 2.75 GPA must have three years of relevant work experience.

The 45-credit programs include core coursework on topics such as marketing management; information systems; operations management; managerial accounting; managerial decision-making; organizational behavior; financial management; and legal and ethical issues in business. Students will also complete a capstone and a graduate research project.

The general track has a list of approved electives from which to choose, allowing students to customize their degree. The concentration degrees have additional coursework relevant to the degree. Student services include technical support, academic advising, and career counseling, among other services as needed.

Students at Walden University may choose from ten concentrations in the MBA program. They may also choose whether to complete their coursework in the traditional manner or in a competency-based mode. The competency-based mode, which is available only for certain concentrations, focuses on mastering skills, rather than completing specific courses. In general, it is more flexible and allows students to complete the program faster and at less cost.

The MBA concentrations include general; self-designed; accounting; corporate finance; entrepreneurship and small business; healthcare management; human resource management; leadership; marketing; and project management. The general track requires 30-credit hours; all the other concentrations require 39-credit hours.

The course-based curriculum for all concentrations includes dynamic leadership; managing people and promoting collaboration; fostering a culture of innovation; managing business information systems; improving business performance; accounting for management decision making; marketing for competitiveness; managerial finance; and sustainable business practices and strategy.

Students in the self-designed track chose three electives that meet their career goals. Those in the leadership track add the following: finding your inner leader; building organizational culture; and personal leadership. The competency-based curriculum is currently available only for the healthcare management and project management concentrations.

Rasmussen University presents its MBA program using the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system. The curriculum is presented in modules in which students meet defined competencies through real-world projects. The 48-credit program is fully online, however students receive faculty support, feedback, and other services as needed.

The coursework includes accounting; financial analysis; corporate responsibility; sustainability; operations management; marketing, strategic planning; organizational behavior; professional growth; and leadership. Each course is 11 weeks and students complete them at their own pace.

Students gain proficiency in soft skills such as critical thinking; digital fluency; information literacy; communication; and ethics and professional responsibility. Applicants must already have a bachelor’s degree and a GPA of at least 2.75. Applicants with a lower GPA may be admitted if they meet specific conditions. Work experience and GMAT/GRE scores are not required.

UW Parkside offers an online MBA program with a concentration in general management. This program offers core courses such as managerial accounting, innovative management, operations management, project management, IT for business decision-making, corporate financial management, leadership, global, strategic, and marketing management, and competitive decision-making. Additionally, students choose three elective courses among the other specializations.

University of West Alabama’s College of Business and Technology offers an online MBA with a concentration in general business which comprises 33 credits. The program’s core curriculum includes courses such as foundations of business; managerial accounting; comparative business law and ethics; research methods and design; emerging technologies; managerial economics; and financial management.

The general business concentration helps students in developing a deep knowledge of analysis across an organization. The program’s project-based courses allow students to focus their studies on a specific area that interests them most. Students will be required to complete nine credits in the general business emphasis. Courses include current issues in international business; business analytics and intelligence; and statistical analysis.

Applicants to the program must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree with a GPA of 2.75 or 3.0. Graduates will be ready to take up leadership positions such as marketing managers, media directors, sales managers, C-level executives, financial managers, human resources managers, and data analysts.

Designed for working professionals, Pepperdine’s online MBA embraces experience-driven learning so that students can immediately apply their education to their real-world business situations. The online MBA offers the same blend of training and personal development as the school’s on-campus program and delivers the innovative ideas, new skills, and practical knowledge students need to advance in their current careers, change careers, or establish a lasting career at the management or executive level.

Pepperdine’s online program provides an interactive, experience-driven approach to graduate business education with a 52-unit program over six 14-week trimesters. More specifically, the general management concentration allows for a broad selection of any 12 units of MBA electives and is one of the more flexible programs surveyed for this guide. All online MBA students must attend a weekend-long, on-campus personal and leadership development workshop at the beginning of their programs.

Graduates obtain lifelong access to the school’s one-on-one career coaching, online career portal, and career development tools to receive personalized guidance and address challenges. The school requires at least two years of work experience, offers GMAT waivers, and does not specify a minimum undergraduate GPA requirement.

The program’s core curriculum includes courses such as behavior in organizations; marketing management; strategic management; quantitative analysis for business operations; prices, profit, and the market economy; financial management of the firm; and integration in business operations.

Maryville University’s management concentration requires students to take 12 credits of class across the following topics: project management, human resources management, leadership, and interpersonal management. Students must also complete eight business core courses and a capstone course as part of the program. Professors teach with actual examples fueled by current events rather than their personal research interests so that students can gain real-world knowledge and students can apply a practical understanding of how the skills learned in class to the business world.

Prospective students must have an undergraduate degree but are not required to have previous business experience, or GMAT or GRE scores. However, students must complete coursework in financial accounting and economic statistics before enrollment.

Graduates of the program will be ready to take roles such as business operations specialists, administrative services managers, sales managers, management analysts, and human resources managers.

Northeastern’s online MBA program was designed for business professionals who wish to build the most diverse range of skills possible. Students who choose the general management concentration can become familiar with high-level tactics and strategies, such as enterprise growth, value creation, employee management, operations management, new venture creation, and global business best practices.

Graduation with a general online MBA requires the completion of 50 credits of core courses and electives. Core courses in the program include financial statement preparation and analysis; identifying strategic implications in accounting data; enterprise growth and innovation; value creation through financial decision making; managing people and organizations; and managing the global enterprise. Students can enroll in the dual degree track, where they will obtain an MBA and a master’s in finance. There are also optional campus-based and international field study residencies.

Admission requirements are more specific than the other online MBA programs surveyed for this guide. The school requires an undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Candidates must be currently employed and have at least five years of professional experience.

The online MBA in general management at the University of Saint Mary provides students with an in-depth understanding of legal and ethical issues in business and leadership skills so that they can overcome common obstacles that may arise in the workplace. Students also learn to formulate and implement strategic solutions to spearhead teams and projects.

The program is broken down into eight core courses and three electives. Most students in the general management program select USM’s leadership course as one of their three electives. For the remaining two, students can choose among topics such as operations management; management information systems; and project management. Students can also choose courses from other online MBA concentrations.

This MBA concentration may be well suited for current business and management professionals ready to move into elevated roles within their organization and those looking to enter an entirely new profession. Because the affordable degree only requires 36 credits to graduate, students can complete USM’s online MBA in as little as one year by taking two classes each term. No GMAT or work experience is required for admission.

The University of Illinois online MBA program is entirely online with no campus visits required and is powered by Coursera, an education-focused web platform for online courses. The general management concentration is called “Strategic Leadership and Management” and teaches students leadership and business skills that they can apply immediately in their professional lives.

Students learn how to collaborate with and manage people effectively, design and lead organizations, and create and maintain value within organizations through three general management-focused courses. Finally, they complete the program with a capstone project, applying all the knowledge and skills students learned in the strategic leadership and management concentration.

Admissions may be competitive, but the program’s tuition is about one-third the cost of online MBAs from comparable institutions. Coursera notes that the University of Illinois is ranked as one of the world’s most reliable university brands.

Admission Requirements for Online MBA Programs in General Management

Below, prospective students can find common application requirements for online general management MBA programs:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• A competitive GPA from undergraduate programs
• More reputable schools ask for GMAT or GRE scores, but often waive testing for students with several years of relevant work experience
• Schools strongly prefer one or two years of professional experience in a healthcare, business, finance, or technology organization
• The completion of key prerequisite financial accounting and statistics courses, or the completion of the business school’s abridged overview course (for candidates without work experience or undergraduate degrees in business)
• A personal statement of objectives
• Letters of recommendation
• The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for international students

Online MBA Program Accreditation

Educational accreditation means that a university offers a curriculum that adheres to quality assurance standards in academic disciplines. In the United States, external private, non-profit organizations evaluate educational institutions and certify that the schools comply with applicable standards by awarding accreditation status. Several organizations award accreditation to business schools.

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, commonly known as AACSB International, has provided quality assurance services to accredited business schools since 1916. AACSB-accredited schools generally have the highest-quality faculties, deliver relevant and challenging curricula, and provide educational and career opportunities not found at other schools. The organization emphasizes faculty research in providing students with solid knowledge foundations.

The AACSB has awarded accreditations to nearly 1,000 schools in 90 countries, mainly those affiliated with major research universities, and has awarded specialized accounting program accreditations to an additional 190. More than 250,000 students are enrolled in AACSB-accredited MBA programs worldwide. Accredited schools include the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, and the Harvard Business School.

The newer Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) was founded in 1989 to accredit various types of schools, including two-year institutions like community colleges, with an emphasis on teaching instead of the research emphasis common to the AACSB-accredited institutions. The ACBSP focuses on tangible learning outcomes and quality improvement, significantly as the workforce demands change. More than 2,900 ACBSP-accredited programs exist worldwide.

A third agency, the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), focuses more specifically on accrediting smaller and mid-sized private liberal arts colleges with business degree programs. This agency is the newest of the three major organizations. It focuses its criteria on eight pillars: outcomes assessment, strategic planning, curriculum, faculty, scholarly and professional activities, resources, internal and external relationships, and educational innovation.

General Management Salary & Career Outlook

General managers are critical to the success of organizations across various industries, overseeing operations, setting policies, and ensuring that goals are met efficiently.

The career outlook for general managers from 2024 to 2034 is expected to be robust, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2025) projecting a steady demand for professionals in this role with a projected 1.2 million new positions. The median annual salary for these positions is $122,090, which is more than double the national average for all occupations (BLS 2025).