Best Online MBA Programs in California

BEST ONLINE MBA IN CALIFORNIA

Your most affordable online MBA options will usually be those offered in your home state. Find the online MBA program in California at a school you and employers will trust.

California's Best Online MBA Programs

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  1. University of Southern California
  2. Pepperdine University
  3. Biola University
  4. University of Redlands
  5. Golden Gate University
  6. Azusa Pacific University
  7. National University
  8. Notre Dame de Namur University
  9. California State University, San Bernardino
  10. Touro University California
  1. California State University, Stanislaus 95%
  2. Azusa Pacific University 94%
  3. California State University, Monterey Bay 93%
  4. California State University, San Bernardino 91%
  5. University of Redlands 83%
  6. Fresno Pacific University 78%
  7. Jessup University 78%
  8. The Master's University 67%
  9. California Baptist University 64%
  10. Biola University 61%
  1. California State University, San Bernardino 27 to 1
  2. California State University, Monterey Bay 23 to 1
  3. California State University, Stanislaus 22 to 1
  4. California Baptist University 19 to 1
  5. National University 16 to 1
  6. Biola University 14 to 1
  7. Pepperdine University 13 to 1
  8. Fresno Pacific University 13 to 1
  9. Jessup University 13 to 1
  10. University of Redlands 12 to 1
  1. University of Southern California $61,503
  2. Pepperdine University $59,702
  3. University of Redlands $54,066
  4. Biola University $44,382
  5. Azusa Pacific University $41,510
  6. California Baptist University $37,018
  7. Jessup University $37,000
  8. Fresno Pacific University $33,452
  9. The Master's University $28,870
  10. Notre Dame de Namur University $19,740
  1. University of Southern California $60,446
  2. Pepperdine University $37,300
  3. Touro University California $30,620
  4. University of Redlands $23,360
  5. Golden Gate University $19,620
  6. Azusa Pacific University $16,571
  7. Notre Dame de Namur University $15,894
  8. National University $15,480
  9. Fresno Pacific University $15,000
  10. Jessup University $13,924
  1. Jessup University
  2. Bethesda University
  3. Fresno Pacific University
  4. The Master's University
  5. California State University, Monterey Bay
  6. California State University, Stanislaus
  7. California Baptist University
  8. Touro University California
  9. California State University, San Bernardino
  10. Notre Dame de Namur University
  1. University of Southern California 13%
  2. Pepperdine University 53%
  3. National University 55%
  4. Biola University 61%
  5. California Baptist University 64%
  6. The Master's University 67%
  7. Jessup University 78%
  8. Fresno Pacific University 78%
  9. University of Redlands 83%
  10. California State University, San Bernardino 91%
  1. Notre Dame de Namur University 8 to 1
  2. University of Southern California 9 to 1
  3. Azusa Pacific University 10 to 1
  4. Bethesda University 10 to 1
  5. The Master's University 11 to 1
  6. University of Redlands 12 to 1
  7. Golden Gate University 12 to 1
  8. Pepperdine University 13 to 1
  9. Fresno Pacific University 13 to 1
  10. Jessup University 13 to 1
  1. California State University, Stanislaus $5,742
  2. California State University, San Bernardino $5,742
  3. California State University, Monterey Bay $5,742
  4. Bethesda University $6,560
  5. Golden Gate University $11,088
  6. National University $13,320
  7. Notre Dame de Namur University $19,740
  8. The Master's University $28,870
  9. Fresno Pacific University $33,452
  10. Jessup University $37,000
  1. Bethesda University $6,200
  2. California State University, Stanislaus $7,176
  3. California State University, San Bernardino $7,176
  4. California State University, Monterey Bay $7,176
  5. The Master's University $8,400
  6. Biola University $12,006
  7. California Baptist University $13,590
  8. Jessup University $13,924
  9. Fresno Pacific University $15,000
  10. National University $15,480

Featured Programs

Colleges and Universities in California

California’s higher education institutes span across the entire state, allowing students to study by the beach, in the forest, in small towns, and in large cities. There are over 30 high quality online programs that would allow you to earn a degree from literally anywhere in California, or the world.

The state’s largest university is the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). UCLA serves nearly 44,000 students and offers a tuition rate around $13,000. This isn’t the only school with a large student body though. California is home to 23 colleges and universities with student populations of over 20,000 students.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

However, more than half of the state’s schools serve smaller student populations, offering plenty of options for students who crave a more intimate campus experience. Additionally, California boasts 50 religiously affiliated schools. Many of these schools have high graduation rates. However, tuition costs can range greatly, from $8,000 at Bethesda University up to $54,000 at Pepperdine University.

Additionally, many of California’s colleges and universities boast influential faculty and alumni, including Neil Armstrong, Jerry Lewis, and Weird Al Yankovic. In addition to famous alumni and professors, California’s schools are also home to some of the country’s top degree programs, including nursing, business, religious studies, education, literature, and law. Many of these schools offer online courses and complete online programs in these same disciplines.

Though Hollywood has given us an inside look into California’s most popular landmarks and attractions, these one-of-a-kind places aren’t the only reason people flock to The Golden State. With hundreds of colleges and universities, as well as community and junior colleges, to choose from, students have countless opportunities to further their education in California.

Many of these opportunities are also accessible through online courses and online colleges. A growing number of online programs in California have received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools, which means online students have a higher level of quality assurance than ever before. It’s also worth noting that students who live in California can still get an in-state discount on their associate degree or bachelor’s degree even when completing online courses or online programs.

To learn more about earning your degree in California, check out some of the state’s top programs and career paths.


What are California’s Colleges & Universities?

California’s Best Overall

What’s the Difference between an Online MBA and Traditional MBA?

Learn more about what you can do with an MBA.

California Online MBA Programs
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Median Salaries of Similar Careers in California

The following graph depicts the average salaries of similar occupations to Project Management Specialists in California.

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Annual Salary
56470Farm Labor Contractors
81360Human Resources Specialists
84430Labor Relations Specialists
88870Logisticians
108990Project Management Specialists
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Best Online MBA Programs in California

  1. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $62K

    Acceptance

    13%

    Graduation

    92%

    Student body

    38K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1435/32

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)
    • Required Credits: 51
    • Completion time: 3-4 years
    • Format: Online
  2. #3

    Golden Gate University

    San Francisco , CA
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $11K

    Student body

    2K

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    Concentrations

    • Accounting
    • Adaptive Leadership
    • Business Analytics
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • General
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Human Resource Management
    • IT Management
    • Juris Doctor (Joint Degree)
    • Marketing
    • Project Management
    • Required Credits: 54
    • Completion time: 3-4 years
    • Format: Online
  3. #5

    University of Redlands

    Redlands , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $54K

    Acceptance

    83%

    Graduation

    69%

    Student body

    5K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1140/22

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    Concentrations

    • Finance
    • General Business
    • Location Analytics
    • Marketing
    • Required Credits: 36
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  4. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $42K

    Acceptance

    94%

    Graduation

    72%

    Student body

    8K

    Online Master’s Degrees

    MBA in Management
    • Required Credits: 39-40
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
    MBA in Master of Business Administration
    • Required Credits: 42-43
    • Completion time: 2.5-3.5 years
    • Format: Online
  5. #7

    National University

    La Jolla , CA
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $13K

    Acceptance

    55%

    Graduation

    47%

    Student body

    25K

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)
    • Required Credits: 45
    • Completion time: 2.5-3.5 years
    • Format: Online
  6. Tuition + fees

    $8K

    Acceptance

    95%

    Graduation

    58%

    Student body

    10K

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    Concentrations

    • General Concentration
    • Finance Concentration
    • Required Credits: 30
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  7. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $37K

    Acceptance

    64%

    Graduation

    57%

    Student body

    11K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1055/21

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    Concentrations

    • Accounting
    • Management
    • Required Credits: 36
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  8. #10

    Jessup University

    Rocklin , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $37K

    Acceptance

    78%

    Graduation

    60%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    MBA in Business Administration
    • Required Credits: 38
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  9. Tuition + fees

    $33K

    Acceptance

    78%

    Graduation

    68%

    Student body

    3K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1020/19

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)
    • Required Credits: 41
    • Completion time: 2.5-3.5 years
    • Format: Online
  10. Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Acceptance

    91%

    Graduation

    57%

    Student body

    17K

    Median SAT/ACT

    995/17

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)
    • Required Credits: 48
    • Completion time: 2.5-3.5 years
    • Format: Online
  11. Tuition + fees

    $20K

    Graduation

    55%

    Student body

    <1K

    Online Master’s Degrees

    MBA in Master’s in Business Administration
    • Required Credits: 36
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  12. Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Acceptance

    93%

    Graduation

    60%

    Student body

    7K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1060/20

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)
    • Required Credits: 14 classes
    • Completion time: 14 classes
    • Format: Online
  13. Student body

    <1K

    Online Master’s Degrees

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)
    • Required Credits: 36
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  14. #16

    The Master's University

    Santa Clarita , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $29K

    Acceptance

    67%

    Graduation

    72%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    MBA in Business Administration
    • Required Credits: 36
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  15. #17

    Bethesda University

    Anaheim , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Graduation

    15%

    Student body

    <1K

    Online Degrees

    MBA in Master of Business Administration
    • Required Credits: 45
    • Completion time: 2.5-3.5 years
    • Format: Online

Frequently Asked Questions About MBA Degrees

MBA degrees are the most popular advanced degree in American higher education. This versatile degree offers a variety of specializations that can help working professionals build leadership skills, expand their network, and enhance their overall business knowledge. MBA degrees are excellent options for anyone needing business fundamentals covered while having the chance to study more in a selected concentration. An MBA in Marketing is different than a MS in Marketing because the MBA degree doesn’t assume previous business education, whereas the MS program likely would.

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Go to Online MBA programs with no GMAT requirements

The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a computer responsive test designed to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and English reading skills used by graduate management programs, such as MBA programs, to assist with admissions selections.

The GMAT is still required by many graduate schools of all shapes and sizes – elite research universities, public universities, liberal arts colleges, online colleges, etc. There’s no real common denominator for which types of schools require the GMAT, or don’t.

If you are considering a graduate business school that requires the GMAT, then you certainly want to do well on the exam. Even if schools you’re considering don’t require it, you may want to take the test because a high score could still help your application, and because there may be another college that suddenly interests you, and it might require successful completion of the GMAT.

If you’re going to take the test, at minimum you’ll want to study with solid guidance provided by quality resources. People have many different opinions about which GMAT test prep resources are the best, therefore we recommend that you start looking at and comparing the best-selling GMAT test guides.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you are aspiring to be admitted into an elite university’s program, you may want to work with a graduate or business school admissions expert. An admissions consultant can give you the most customized information about your prospects and many will work with you on whatever specific need you might have – test prep, applications, personal essays, and even help with finding meaningful internships.

There is a growing number of high quality MBA programs that don’t require the GMAT. Furthermore, there are a lot of highly reputable colleges and universities offering online MBA programs that do not require the GMAT. If standardized testing simply isn’t a strength of yours, you may want to move your search to focus specifically on online MBA programs with no GMAT requirements.

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Typically, online MBA degrees can be earned in about 2 years. However, specializations range from healthcare management to entrepreneurship to international business. Because MBAs offer so many educational paths, program requirements can vary greatly, from 30 to 60 credits, which means this degree may take anywhere between two and four years to complete.

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MBA courses are available both online and on campus, and many programs require a thesis or professional experience component. Students will study topics like corporate law, organizational behavior, and negotiations. Most online MBA programs will be asynchronous for maximum flexibility. This means students watch lectures and read when they can, and likely join web forums for class discussions. While online MBA courses can be “self-paced”, there usually are still mid-term and end of term deadlines. Typical online MBA courses will have multiple deadlines throughout the semester for various assignments.

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MBA graduates can advance to leadership roles in accounting, finance, human resources, organizational administration, and more. MBAs are popular because of their versatility. With so many choices of concentrations, your MBA can prepare you for leadership or executive roles in virtually any industry.

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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require some adjustment. While you’ll generally learn the same content and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, the medium will likely require you to manage much of this experience independently. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, your ability to harness the technology at your fingertips, and your ability to focus on the lectures, lessons, and assignments at hand. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take it upon yourself to build relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier is actually getting there. Taking the commute out of the equation means getting to class should be a lot more manageable. But that’s where it ends. In general, your online courses will incorporate the very same materials, concepts, and testing methods as would a traditional classroom.

And in many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning or working with remote learning technology for the first time, online college may even be a little more challenging for you. For a few insights on how to manage this new experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable institutions and less-than-reputable for-profit schools. Accreditation gives you the power to differentiate between the two. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency which indicates that a college or university is meeting standards of quality, credibility, and currency. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university which is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. When seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that students opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited, you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer. In many cases, you will be required to navigate a bureaucracy in which some of your credits will be transferred and others will be jettisoned. However, provided that you have attended an online school with the proper regional accreditation, you should have plenty of options for transfer.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript or resume differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

While some employers may express concern about making the adjustment from online education to in-person workplace collaboration, many other employers will view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st Century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will require some adjustment.

While there is much that can be supplanted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing which can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual classroom setting. As you make the adjustment to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face is overcoming this difference in order to the get the most out of your classes. Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. First and foremost, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Resources for Prospective Grad Students

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.