American Public University Online Master of Business Administration (MBA)

• MBA - Accounting
• MBA - Analytics
• MBA - Artificial Intelligence in Business
• MBA - Business Project Management
• MBA - Cybersecurity
• MBA - DoD Project Management
• MBA - Event Planning and Management
• MBA - Finance
• MBA - General
• MBA - Global Business Management in a Digital World
• MBA - Global Supply Chain Management
• MBA - Government Contracting & Acquisition
• MBA - Healthcare Administration
• MBA - Human Resource Management in a Global World
• MBA - Information Technology Management
• MBA - Marketing
• MBA - Operational Crisis Management
• MBA - Operational Technology Management
• MBA - Sports Management

By Bernd Geels Reviewed By Jocelyn Blore

Updated October 21, 2026

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Retired Marine Corps officer James P. Etter founded American Military University (AMU) in 1991. AMU is noteworthy for its distance education programs designed specifically for military learners who often need flexible academic programs to accommodate their careers and other needs. In 2002, AMU was integrated into the American Public University System (APUS).

American Public University offers a 100 percent online master of business administration (MBA) designed for working professionals who want to develop the business acumen to solve complex problems through informed decision-making.

APU offers 18 concentration tracks, each consisting of nine credits of specialized coursework. The general concentration allows students to select from dozens of concentration courses to create their own focused area of study. The accounting concentration covers corporate, public, nonprofit, and governmental accounting, along with budgets, financial statements, fraud detection, and tax topics. The analytics concentration prepares students to define business problems and use data-processing tools across finance, operations, management, and marketing.

The artificial intelligence in business concentration is a nontechnical focus that helps business professionals understand how AI can be integrated into business operations and decision-making, with no prior technological or coding experience needed. The business project management concentration develops skills to track, monitor, and manage projects in a business environment. The cybersecurity concentration explores the protection of networks, programs, and data from unauthorized damage, access, and theft.

The DoD project management concentration introduces students to the DoD acquisition cycle and program management within the federal and military government. The event planning and management concentration develops skills in risk management, event coordination, financial management, budgeting, and legal issues. The finance concentration covers commercial bank management, security markets, portfolio management, investment valuations, and capital budgets.

The global business management in a digital world concentration examines digital transformation and decision-making in the global marketplace. The global supply chain management concentration focuses on managing logistics, risk, operations, and distribution channels. The government contracting and acquisition concentration addresses knowledge and skills for contract management in federal agencies and defense establishments.

The healthcare administration concentration explores healthcare delivery systems, performance measurement, costs, budgets, profit margins, and prices. The human resource management in a global world concentration compares managerial approaches to employment law, rewards systems, employee performance, and compensation. The information technology management concentration covers IT project management, system development life cycle models, and information systems security.

The marketing concentration analyzes e-commerce opportunities, global and electronic marketing strategies, product and pricing strategies, and supply chain management. The operational crisis management concentration prepares students to lead organizations through crises and complex transformations. The sports management concentration explores leadership, marketing, finance, law, and entrepreneurship in the sports industry.

The American Public University System, which includes American Public University and American Military University, is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The online MBA program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

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Admission Requirements: To apply to the American Public University online MBA, applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an institution whose accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). There is no fee to complete the APU admission application for this program. No GRE or GMAT is required, and professional work experience is not required.

Depending on the applicant’s country of citizenship, documentation of English proficiency may be required. Applicants do not need a bachelor’s degree in business administration to pursue the MBA online at APU. Students may transfer up to 15 credits into the program.

State Restrictions: APU welcomes students from a variety of backgrounds, such as international applicants and military personnel.

APU is the top-ranked provider of higher education to the U.S. military as well as the top choice nationwide for veterans using their GI Bill benefits. Military applicants complete an application process somewhat similar to domestic and other applications. Military applicants from all service branches must submit their government-issued military transcript. Military transcripts are reviewed not just to verify admissions eligibility but also to determine what academic transfer credit an applicant may be eligible to receive. Military applicants of the APU MBA program may receive such credit for professional military education or military service. Military applicants are not required to complete entrance exams and also pay no transfer credit or application fees.

International students are also welcome to complete the APU MBA program. Because international students are not required to reside in the USA to attend APU online programs, APU does not issue I-20 or DS-2019 forms for F-1 or J-1 student visas. Depending on their country of citizenship, some international applicants may be required to demonstrate English language proficiency.

International applicants who have completed at least a portion of their education outside the USA must have their non-US transcripts evaluated by an approved credential evaluation agency if these transcripts are required for admission and/or transfer credit decisions. For more details on this requirement, you can also find them online.

Study Plan: The online MBA at American Public University requires 33 credits, including three credits of institutional requirements, 18 credits of core requirements, nine credits for one concentration, and a three-credit final program requirement. The program uses eight- to 16-week courses with monthly start dates, allowing students to begin at a time that fits their schedule. Most full-time students complete the MBA in about two years, while APU allows MBA students up to seven years to complete their master’s degrees.

Students may transfer up to 15 credits into the program. The program consists of online courses with no set login times; students complete weekly assignments and engage in weekly discussion forums. Students select one concentration from 18 available tracks, each consisting of nine credits of specialized coursework. The program concludes with a final capstone project requiring students to build e-portfolios demonstrating their competencies.

MBA Curriculum: Core coursework consists of six courses covering the following topics: artificial intelligence practices in business; strategic management; legal and ethical issues in management; managerial economics; corporate finance; and marketing management. The institutional requirement is fulfilled by completing a course in fundamentals of business analysis. Upon program completion, graduates will have further developed their competencies in subjects such as marketing, management, leadership, finance, legal and ethical issues, business analytics, and human resources.

Concentration coursework for the eighteen APU MBA specializations is noted below.

• General MBA Program Curriculum: General program students may complete nine credits from a large variety of concentration courses offered within the entire APU MBA program roster of courses.
• MBA Accounting Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: financial reporting and analysis; managerial accounting; comprehensive financial accounting; and advanced accounting.
• MBA Analytics Curriculum: Students complete courses in the topics of advanced analytics I and II (2 courses) and applied advanced analytics.
• MBA Artificial Intelligence in Business Curriculum: Students complete the following courses: artificial intelligence: law, ethics, and risk strategy; artificial intelligence: business strategies for high-level decision makers; and artificial intelligence and crisis management.
• MBA Business Project Management Curriculum: Students complete three of the following courses: project management for the business professional; advanced business project schedule and scope management; advanced business project risk and quality management; advanced business project integration, resource, and stakeholder management; and advanced business project cost controls.
• MBA Cybersecurity Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: telecommunications and network security; and information security management; and another course in either intrusion detection and incident handling; or computer crime.
• MBA Department of Defense Project Management Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: program and acquisition management; program manager’s skills; and executive program manager’s decision-making skills.
• MBA Event Planning and Management Curriculum: Students choose three courses from the following course topics: event coordination and management; financial planning and management for events; event risk management and safety; leadership in meeting and event planning; and sports event management.
• MBA Finance Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: investment management; international finance; and entrepreneurship finance.
• MBA Global Business Management in a Digital World Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: global business perspectives in a digital world; international business law, ethics, and cultural intelligence for business leaders; and international finance and emerging global markets.
• MBA Global Supply Chain Management Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: sustainable supply chain strategy; managerial supply chain risk management; and supply chain analytics.
• MBA Government Contracting and Acquisition Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: advanced business solutions for mission support; program manager’s skills; and executive program manager’s decision-making skills.
• MBA Healthcare Administration Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: business of healthcare; healthcare finance; and operational quality in healthcare.
• MBA Human Resource Management In A Global World Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: employment law and labor relations; human resource policy; and strategic human resource management practices.
• MBA Information Technology Management Curriculum: Students take a course in information technology project management and complete two courses from the following topics: strategic human resource management practices; computer forensics; computer networks and data systems; telecommunications and network security; intrusion detection and incident handling; information assurance; and information security management.
• MBA Marketing Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: principles of e-commerce; strategic internet marketing; and global marketing strategy.
• MBA Operational Crisis Management Curriculum: Students complete three courses from the following topics: legal, policy, and ethical issues of crisis situations; business continuity; sustainability and crisis management; artificial intelligence and crisis management; crisis management for the business leader; economics of disaster; crisis action planning; risk communications; and organizational crisis management.
• MBA Sports Management Curriculum: Students complete courses in the following topics: the sports industry; and sports marketing, promotion, and public relations. Students complete a third course in one of the following topics: sports law; sports finance; or sports entrepreneurship.

Online Experience: All APU online MBA degree programs are offered fully online. There is no on-campus coursework or other participation requirements to complete this program. APU embraces an online learning delivery model as a way to accommodate the diverse needs of the military student community its programs are especially designed to serve.

On-Site Requirements: As noted above, the APU MBA degree program is offered fully online. There are no on-campus requirements.

Paying for the APU Online MBA Degree Programs

The tuition figures for the online MBA degree programs are listed in the tables below. Prospective students should carefully review the tuition information and contact APU for additional support with applications and any questions they may have.

Many students ultimately use a variety of resources to finance their education. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a widely used form that serves as the primary application for determining eligibility for federal, state, and institutional aid. The FAFSA is issued annually, and universities typically provide robust support to help students understand and complete the FAFSA. Financial aid eligibility determinations generated by the FAFSA and other applications are often based on a number of factors, such as academic achievement, talent, financial need, and family background.

Given its emphasis on educating military-affiliated students, it is no surprise that APU offers many financial resources to serve this particular student background. Examples of such resources include APU’s preferred military tuition rate, multiple GI Bill benefit programs, veteran readiness and employment service benefits, military tuition assistance (TA) programs, the veteran tuition grant, military-specific scholarships, the West Virginia higher education grant, and much more. All prospective students are advised to thoroughly research the APU website to guide them in formulating their strategy for financing their education.

Bernd Geels

Writer

Bernd Geels is a Berlin, Germany-based freelance writer and artist. He holds an undergraduate degree in atmospheric science and two graduate degrees. He completed his most recent graduate degree in international environmental studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2011. He is interested in healthcare, climate change, marine conservation, indigenous science and refugee issues. You can reach him directly at [email protected].