The Best Online MBA Degree Programs in 2025 Ranked for Students

Updated: Oct 2, 2024

Find top-ranked online Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree programs for students wanting to advance to leadership roles in accounting, finance, human resources, organizational administration, and more.

Key Takeaways

If you hold an MBA degree, you can qualify for senior management roles of your choice. This is also ideal if you plan on changing careers in the future.
It’s a given that earning an online MBA degree is costly, but the ROI makes the investment worth it.
The best online MBA business programs will equip you with industry connections and leadership skills that are crucial to advancing your career.

See our complete guide to MBAs for more information.

Table of Contents

10 Best Online MBA Programs in 2025

Johns Hopkins University
+1
University of Southern California
–1
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Arizona
+3
Brandeis University
+7
Syracuse University
–2
University of Miami
–1
Rice University
–3
University of Massachusetts Amherst
+2
University of Missouri

2025 Ranking Update

Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.

In 2025, the top ten schools in our ranking of the best online MBA programs shuffled considerably. Brandeis University, in particular, moved up seven ranking positions due to the university enhancing its online learning platform, integrating interactive simulations, virtual case studies, and real-time collaboration tools to create a more engaging experience.

Additionally, Brandeis has expanded its specializations in areas such as digital transformation, sustainable business practices, and global leadership, offering students more tailored options to align with their career goals. The university has also strengthened its virtual networking and career services, providing online MBA students with opportunities to connect with industry professionals, attend virtual job fairs, and participate in mentorship programs. These updates make the online MBA program more dynamic and career-focused.

Featured Programs

50 Best Online Master of Business Administration MBA Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with MBA Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Business Administration And Management

Degree Level: Master's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Cost of Degree*: $11,907
Avg. Expenses*: $17,637
Avg. Starting Salary*: $83,399
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $95,030
Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 4 years
Job Growth: 6.72%
Number of Jobs: 12,486,499
* denotes ‘annually’
** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Chief Executives	5.48%	$206,680
Computer and Information Systems Managers	17.42%	$169,510
Compensation and Benefits Managers	2.09%	$136,380
Purchasing Managers	5.04%	$136,380
Human Resources Managers	6.51%	$136,350
Sales Managers	5.87%	$135,160
Managers, All Other	5.75%	$133,560
Training and Development Managers	7.41%	$125,040
Fundraising Managers	6.02%	$119,200
Industrial Production Managers	2.87%	$116,970

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Chief Executives	$206,680
Computer and Information Systems Managers	$169,510
Compensation and Benefits Managers	$136,380
Purchasing Managers	$136,380
Human Resources Managers	$136,350
Sales Managers	$135,160
Managers, All Other	$133,560
Training and Development Managers	$125,040
Fundraising Managers	$119,200
Industrial Production Managers	$116,970

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Online MBA Programs Are Your Key to Lucrative Business Careers

Online MBA programs have significantly increased in popularity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with programs from many states, such as Texas, New York, and Nebraska. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) said that applications to online MBA programs grew by 43.5% in 2024. While MBA programs were once consigned to the classroom, today, you can study anywhere you want, anytime.

Online MBA programs entice older and more experienced candidates over full-time, school-based counterparts. This is partly because the prospective students of online MBA programs are already working professionals. Thus, becoming full-time students is no longer a priority. Online MBA programs are the best options for students who don’t want to or cannot take the two years out of their jobs a conventional full-time MBA degree demands. Students can pursue an online MBA in virtually every state, even Hawaii.

Types of Online MBA Programs

Some online MBA programs are 100 percent delivered online, while others may require students to attend several days on campus, specifically during the program’s first and last few days.

For working professionals, many schools offering online MBA programs give ample time for the students to complete their classes—sometimes even up to six years. But the usual program length for the online MBA is between 24 and 36 months. Some business schools also offer an accelerated one-year online program, although these usually come with specific candidate requirements.

Online MBA Courses and Curriculum

The online MBA syllabus is the same as the full-time MBA but is delivered mostly online. Distance learning students will get a grounding in the major business fundamentals, including:

Marketing
Accounting
Corporate Finance
Strategy
Human Resource
Organizational Behavior
Investing

You can then select your electives, ensuring that you focus on your core interest. Online MBA courses may also focus on entrepreneurship and new venture creation, mergers and acquisitions, behavioral science, or project management.

The learning delivery of an online MBA program will also vary. Synchronous learning is where you are placed in a virtual and interactive classroom with group work, case study work, and live discussions.

On the other hand, an asynchronous learning mode allows students to complete their degree on their own schedule. Lectures are often pre-recorded, making it easier for busy working professionals to complete their classwork while still managing their career.

Considerations When Choosing an Online MBA Program

Pursuing an MBA degree is a huge decision, but you have many other things to consider before making any decision. Below are some considerations to consider when you’re pursuing your master’s degree.

Accreditation for MBA Programs: A properly regionally accredited program and school guarantees that they are certified and trustworthy. Accredited institutions have proven to meet the highest standards of quality education and have undergone third-party reviews by an outside learning commission. You know you are getting the best quality education when you attend accredited schools.

Admissions: Before starting your application, make sure you check each school’s admission policies. All schools require a GPA and official transcripts, but not all set a minimum GPA requirement. Some schools require GMAT score ranges, while some don’t.

Other admissions requirements include professional work experience, letters of recommendation, and personal statements.

Specialized or General MBA: Which is Better?

How do you know whether a general or specialized MBA better suits your career goals? While both MBA programs build your core business skills, a specialized MBA provides you with an in-depth education in a specific field like entrepreneurship or finance. The specialized MBA program is best suited for students or working professionals who plan to enter or switch careers to a subfield from which they believe they are most productive.

The courses focus on a broader business curriculum for general MBA programs. This usually takes 2-3 years to complete, and students must have at least minimal work experience before applying for the program.

Frequently Asked Questions About MBA Degrees

The Master of Business Administration, commonly referred to as an MBA, is 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.

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

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.

Specializations range from healthcare management to entrepreneurship to international business. However, because this degree offers 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.

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.

Graduates can advance to leadership roles in accounting, finance, human resources, organizational administration, and more.

Learn more about what you can do with an MBA.

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.

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.

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The Best Online MBA Degree Programs in 2025 Ranked for Students

Key Takeaways

10 Best Online MBA Programs in 2025

2025 Ranking Update

Featured Programs

50 Best Online Master of Business Administration MBA Degree Programs

Last Year’s Ranking:

Career Outlook for MBA degree at Johns Hopkins University

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