How Online MBA Graduates Rated The Degree's Career Impact In 2023

How does the online MBA progress your career?

It might be the most core and central question to someone considering the degree. So each year as part of our ranking of online MBA programs, we ask recent graduates eight questions about their career results from the program and their satisfaction with the career services and resources offered to them through the online MBA program.

The answers to these questions are revealing. At only 12 of 50 ranked programs, for example, did 50% or more of the graduates gain promotions as a direct result of studying for their MBA online. Three business schools really delivered on this front: Graduates of the online offerings at the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Maryland, and Santa Clara University recorded the highest likelihood of promotion: In excess of 70%, with UT-Dallas at the 91% level, well above the 41% average for the programs.

Salary increases were more prevalent, with half or more of the graduates from 34 programs reporting that they received a salary bump as a result of their online MBA degrees. Some 100% of online MBAs from the University of Michigan-Dearborn reported earning a salary raise. The University of Maryland and UT-Dallas followed, each with 91%. The average was 59% for all participating schools.

GRADUATES OF ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS REPORT ACHIEVING THEIR PRIMARY CAREER GOALS

Career impact, of course, goes beyond a promotion or a raise. An MBA can also result in increased self-confidence on the job, greater respect and admiration from colleagues, or a change that leads to a more fulfilling job. That’s why we also ask graduates of online MBA programs if they achieved their primary goal of getting the degree without being overly specific.

Graduates at Wisconsin’s Consortium MBA reported the highest rating for achieving their primary career-related reason for obtaining an online MBA degree. On a ten-point scale, with ten reflecting the highest possible score, they gave Wisconsin’s Consortium a score of 9.8. Following Wisconsin was the University of Maryland, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Santa Clara University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Overall, the schools fared relatively well. The average score on this question for all the online MBA programs whose graduates were surveyed was an impressive 8.83.

Some 50 schools were included in this year’s ranking — down from 52 last year. The previous year, 47 schools participated, up from 35 three years earlier, and 25 in the inaugural year. Click through the questions and pages below to see how each of the 47 schools that met the minimum response rate did this year.