Flexible Online MBA Programs
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In today’s business world, a master of business administration (MBA) degree can prove a valuable tool to help professionals advance into executive, leadership, or managerial roles.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, top executives often have an MBA. But committing to earning an MBA can be time-consuming. The traditional on-campus, full-time MBA program requiring students to attend a classroom at set times during business hours may be a commitment impossible for the working professional, or an unattractive option for those who understand the importance of continuing to cultivate real-world experience. Fortunately, flexible MBA programs make it so that working professionals hoping to advance professionally need not sacrifice their current occupation to advance their careers.
Flexible MBA programs are designed and scheduled specifically to fit around the life a student has already built. Flexible MBAs provide various options, including evening and online courses; alternate admissions deadlines; and the capacity to complete coursework one class at a time instead of having to complete multiple courses simultaneously.
In addition, flexible MBA programs are not rare, and high-quality institutions across the country are beginning to translate on-campus MBA programs into more flexible MBA offerings. This means that students can pursue 100 percent online degrees or hybrid degrees that combine on-campus and online requirements. Additionally, out-of-state students can enroll in reputable programs without relocating.
Flexible MBA programs provide various delivery options based on individual learning styles. Asynchronous, fully online programs are appropriate for students with advanced time management skills whose main priority is the capacity to learn completely on their own schedule. Hybrid programs or synchronous online flexible MBA programs have more rigid schedules and students are required to log in at a certain time or visit campus for certain courses. In flexible MBA programs, these requirements are often built so that these times are during non-business or weekend hours. Hybrid or synchronous programs may be best suited to the student who does their best learning through interpersonal interaction and excel with more frequent deadlines.
Anyone who doesn’t want to fully sacrifice the life they’ve built to gain the knowledge necessary to advance their business career can consider a flexible online MBA program.
The following highlights outstanding flexible MBA programs across the country and highly-respected educators teaching classes at these institutions.
| Featured Flexible & Part-Time MBA Programs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Queens University of Charlotte | Flexible MBA (Online) | View Full Profile |
| University of North Carolina | MBA@UNC Online MBA | View Full Profile |
| George Mason University | Online MBA | View Full Profile |
| University of New Haven | Online MBA | View Full Profile |
Featured Online Flexible MBA Programs
Fortunately for aspiring students, many reputable institutions currently offer online flexible MBA programs, including the following:
U.S. News & World Report ranked the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University among the best business graduate schools in the country in 2022 by U.S. News & World Report. The flexible MBA program offered by ASU allows students to study in a hybrid format or take classes entirely online. The MBA can be completed in as few as 21 months, but students have the freedom to earn the degree more slowly to accommodate their own professional schedules.
Course offerings include organizational theory: leading people, teams, and organization; statistics for managers; financial performance reporting; operations and supply management; decisions, market structure, and games: managerial economics; create and deliver customer value: marketing management; finance: the art of managing resources; ethical issues for managers; and managerial accounting. While all coursework can be completed online, every student must visit campus at the start of the program for a mandatory orientation session with their classmates.
Once enrolled, students can choose to focus on one of the four available focus areas: finance, marketing, supply chain management, or international business.
| Location: Tempe, Arizona |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Expected Time to Completion: 21 months or more |
| Estimated Tuition: $1,311 per credit |
Walden University’s online MBA prepares students to be socially minded, high-impact change agents in business settings and become capable, socially conscious, and confident business leaders. This program’s unique format allows students to progress at their pace, on their schedule, and without any set weekly deadlines. The program also has a one-year fast-track MBA option where students can double up on courses and earn their degree in half the time.
The program also allows students to choose one of the several available specializations: healthcare management; human resource management; project management; a self-designed MBA option. The program is made up of 30 credits. The curriculum includes instruction in business essentials; dynamic leadership; managing people and promoting collaboration; fostering a culture of innovation; managing business information systems; improving business performance; and accounting for management decision-making.
| Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Accreditation: Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP); Higher Learning Commission (HLC) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 12 to 24 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $989 per semester |
Greenville University‘s Briner School of Business offers an online MBA that prepares working professionals for in-demand leadership careers. Combining hands-on study with a comprehensive study of advanced business management, the program’s curriculum emphasizes practical knowledge, so students can gain skills that can be directly applied to their current job.
Admission requirements to the program include a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or other recognized institution from another country, a completed online application, transcripts from all previously attended institutions, a grade point average of 3.0, and an up-to-date resume or curriculum vitae.
The program comprises 40 credits, including coursework in accounting management; strategic management; organization theory and practice; values-based leadership; human resource strategies; legal and ethical environments; project management; international business & global strategy; financial management; and economic thinking for managers.
| Location: Greenville, Illinois |
| Accreditation: International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE); Higher Learning Commission (HLC) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 24 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $476 per credit |
Lamar University offers a fully online master of business administration program providing students with a strong business background and the opportunity to tailor their degree to their interests with several in-demand concentrations. Graduates will gain strategic and leadership savvy skills while being equipped to solve both the human and technical sides of the management equation.
Applicants to the program must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited university and submit a completed online application along with official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
Comprising 30 credits, the program includes courses such as managerial accounting; managerial decision making; managerial economics; financial management; international business; strategic management; ERP overview; and marketing management.
Apart from the general MBA program, Lamar University also offers several concentration options in business analytics; construction project management; criminal justice management; enterprise resource planning; financial management; healthcare administration; management; management information systems; marketing; and management information systems.
| Location: Beaumont, Texas |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB); Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 12 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $12,626 |
The Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University offers an online flexible MBA program through one of the most respected academic institutions in the world. This 54-credit-hour program takes an average of 2.5 years to complete and allows students to focus on different concentrations, including business analytics and risk management; digital marketing; entrepreneurial marketing; entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology; financial management; health care management, innovation, and technology; investments; and public and private sector leadership.
Most courses are delivered asynchronously, although some involve real-time learning activities. While much of the coursework is delivered online, students in certain concentrations will be required to attend an in-person residency at the Baltimore campus to complete their degree, lasting between 1.5 and three days.
The curriculum of this 54-credit program includes courses such as corporate governance; entrepreneurial ventures; data analytics; fixed income; marketing strategy; managing in a diverse & global world; power and politics; wealth management; and social media analytics.
| Location: Washington DC; Baltimore, Maryland |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 31 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $1,730 per credit |
Established in 2017, the McColl School of Business at the Queens University of Charlotte now offers students the opportunity to complete an online flexible MBA. Most of these accredited programs can be completed entirely online, although students must visit the campus for two different residencies, one at the beginning of the program and one at the midpoint.
Students must complete between 36 and 39 credits, depending on whether or not they choose a specific track of study. Available areas of concentration include leadership and change; healthcare management; finance; executive coaching; cybersecurity management; and global business management. This online flexible MBA program can be completed in just 18 months.
The curriculum includes courses such as leadership development; managerial accounting; economics for managers; marketing management; business analytics; managerial finance; and strategic planning & implementation.
| Location: Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 18 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $1165 per credit |
The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University offers an online flexible MBA program that was ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Throughout the program, students must attend access weekends between each mini-semester, where they can connect with faculty, classmates, and alumni. Outside of this requirement, courses can be completed online in synchronous and asynchronous formats.
The program generally takes three years to finish for online, part-time students and includes courses on subjects such as probability and statistics; managing people and teams; managerial economics; financial and managerial accounting; global economics; operations management; managing networks and organizations; corporate strategy; and ethics and leadership.
| Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB); Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) |
| Expected Time to Completion: Two-to-six years |
| Estimated Tuition: $18,200 per semester |
The UCLA Anderson School of Management Offers an online flexible MBA program that can be completed in as few as 27 months, but many students complete three years to accommodate their professional schedules. While much of the coursework can be completed online, this 80-credit-hour program is actually more of a hybrid option as on-campus participation is required throughout much of the experience.
Assignments are delivered both in-person and online, and students will be required to attend a core course at the beginning of the program and a global access capstone project.
As part of the program, students will delve into topics such as data & decisions; managerial economics; marketing management; organizational behavior; business strategy; operations & technology management; foundations of finance; and financial accounting.
| Location: Los Angeles, California |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB); Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 27 months or more |
| Estimated Tuition: $1,640 per credit |
At the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, students can complete an online flexible MBA program focusing on one of five different areas of study, including business analytics; entrepreneurship; finance; healthcare administration; and marketing. The program can be completed 100 percent online, meaning students are never required to set foot on campus to complete their degree.
The program requires students to take 11 core courses and various electives within their chosen specialty. Some of the topics students will delve into include foundation of accounting; the foundation of finance; strategic information management; economic analysis for managers; organizational strategy; career and professional development workshop; data management for business leaders; and business intelligence and analytics.
| Location: Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB); New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 24 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $925 per credit |
Students at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah can participate in an online flexible MBA that was ranked 15th in the world by the Princeton Review. Students can finish in 24 months by taking two classes at a time and can complete all coursework at a distance. If desired, students also have the opportunity to study in a hybrid format by taking some classes online and on-campus. All online students must participate in a three-day on-campus residency at the beginning of the first year. In this program, online MBA students are also allowed to pursue an additional graduate certificate in information systems, business analytics, or operations & supply chain management. Students can also earn a dual degree (MBA/MS) in information systems.
Comprising 48 credits. The program includes courses such as business communication; information technology; business ethics; managerial accounting; competitive strategy; managerial economics; data analysis; managing and leading in organizations; financial accounting; and marketing management.
| Location: Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB); Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) |
| Expected Time to Completion: 24 months |
| Estimated Tuition: $64,800 |
Professors to Know in Online Flexible MBA Programs
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Agha Iqbal Ali, PhD
Dr. Agha Iqbal Ali is the Karen & Chuck Peters Family Endowed professor of operations and information management at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.
Dr. Ali’s research areas include data analytics and performance evaluation, supply chain management, applications of mathematical programming models, design and implementation of mathematical programming algorithms, combinatorial and network optimization, and data envelopment analysis. His work has also been featured in many peer-reviewed publications, including the European Journal of Operational Research and Empirica.
His teaching interests are in the areas of operations management, optimization, management science, and the design and implementation of mathematical programming algorithms. He completed his PhD and MS from Southern Methodist University and his MA and MS from Ball State University.
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Kathryn Barraclough, PhD
Dr. Kathryn Barraclough is a distinguished service professor of finance within the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, where she has also served as the head of the MBA program. She has many authorship credits to her name, including in publications such as the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Markets, and the Journal of Investment Management.
Dr. Barraclough teaches or has taught courses in derivative securities, financial modeling, introductory finance, and debt markets. Before coming to the Tepper School of Business, she worked at Vanderbilt University as a senior lecturer and a director of MS in finance. She has a PhD in finance from the Australian National University.
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Carla Hayn, PhD
Dr. Carla Hayn is a professor of accounting at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She serves as the senior associate dean of the executive MBA and global executive MBA programs and the faculty director of the International Initiatives.
Dr. Hayn also works as the faculty co-director of the corporate governance program as part of the school’s executive education, which is aimed at educating and updating directors of public and private companies’ boards. Her research focuses on financial reporting and disclosures, the effect of accounting numbers on stock prices, analysts' forecasts, the economic consequences of tax reporting and taxes, mergers and acquisitions, and the information content of accounting information. She completed her PhD in accounting and finance from the University of Michigan.
