RANKING: Poets&Quants’ Best Online MBA Programs For 2024

METHODOLOGY REMAINS UNCHANGED FROM LAST YEAR

P&Q’s ranking of online MBA programs has always been based on three equally weighted categories — admissions standards, academic experience, and career outcomes (see a full explanation of our methodology).

Admissions standards data is collected from a survey sent directly to schools – 51 schools to be exact. Academic experience and career outcomes data is gathered from an alumni survey. Both surveys took place between July and October 2023. This year, we surveyed alumni graduating between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

The methodology remained virtually identical to last year’s methodology, except for one change: We included alumni data from the previous two alumni classes, rather than just one, whenever it was available. The most recent data (Class of 2023) was weighted 50% of the alumni scores while data from the Classes of 2022 and 2021 were weighted 25% each. (Schools that did not previously participate and, hence, did not have alumni data, were given the same scores for all three years.)

While beneficial to our readers and the ranking itself, we’ve noticed the alumni survey can create wild swings if a single class of graduates was happy or unhappy. While there are still swings from the alumni survey, it helps cut down on the most dramatic shifts.

We also required a 10% response rate on the alumni surveys in order to get a statistically relevant result. Schools that don’t reach this threshold are not given full credit for their alumni scores.

Because our ranking is a composite of three categories, a school can technically win overall without topping any of the categories. That didn’t happen this year. Indiana Kelley (No. 1 overall) came in first in the admissions category for the third straight year. Kelley also placed second in academic experience and 10th in career outcomes.

In admissions, Kelley was followed by University of Texas at Dallas (Naveen Jindal) in second and Jack Welch Management Institute in third.

In career outcomes, calculated with the alumni survey, Santa Clara’s Leavey School had the highest score for the third straight year. Rice University (Jones) finished second followed by Michigan Ross.

In academic experience, also calculated with the alumni survey, University of Washington (Foster) (ranked No. 2 overall) came out on top followed by Indiana Kelley and William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

DIRECT KELLEY’S OMBA DIFFERENTIATORS

At $88,320, Kelley’s online program should be considered a bargain considering what students get and compared to higher priced programs from legacy schools. In terms of price, it is sandwiched between two mid-ranked programs: American University Kogod School of Business (ranked 48th overall) is priced a smidge higher at $92,256 while University of Denver Daniels College of Business (ranked 30th overall) is priced a smidge less at $82,980. (Check out our full breakdown of tuition at all 51 ranked online MBA programs in our support stories package)

Kelley was also the most selective program in our ranking, with an acceptance rate of 28% – down 19% from last year’s 34.6% acceptance rate. It enrolled 453 students in all 2022-2023 intakes and had 591 Class of 2023 graduates.

Kelley developed its learning platform in house and uses its $10 million Jellison Studios to connect students to live classrooms with the same faculty that teach in its in-person MBA programs – including the schools last two deans. But if the hallmarks of a great online MBA (compared to a good one) are opportunities to get out of the virtual classroom, Kelley’s in-person immersive experiences set it apart.

First, there’s Kelley on Campus which brings all first-year students to Bloomington for a week of face-to-face learning, including a live case study with a real-world client. Kelley On Location in the program’s second year takes students on an industry deep-dive to various cities. In Chicago, for example, students learned how business intersects with the arts, and in Milwaukee they focused on the “Business of Fun.” In 2024, students will travel to New Orleans to learn about placemaking and the design of businesses that serve communities for the greater good. They will work on a community-focused service project and learn from local business leaders about their efforts to rebuild two decades after Hurricane Katrina.

Also in their second year, Kelley Direct students can choose from more than a dozen optional global and/or domestic trips. Past classes recently traveled to Ireland to study high performance organizations – including Google, Guinness and Meta – and to Greece, where they consulted with governmental officials repurposing the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens.

“Students also make connections through their involvement in student clubs and organizations – another unique feature of our program that most other schools don’t offer – which feature regular in-person meetups around the globe plus virtual professional development opportunities,” Geoghegan says.

TWO DECADES OF INNOVATION AT KELLEY

Indiana University was an early mover in the online MBA space. In 1999, when dial-up internet was still the norm, Kelley School of Business became the first top-ranked business school to offer an online MBA. Now it is gearing up to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2024.

“Throughout our 25-year history, and in an ever increasingly competitive market, we’ve always worked to be at the forefront in online education, as acknowledged by numerous No. 1 rankings by Poets&Quants, U.S. News & World Report, and other measurements of success,” says Sarah Wanger, executive director of Kelley Direct Programs. “We believed then, and still do so today, that an online MBA should be delivered as a first-class preference and not a second-rate alternative.”

One recent innovation is the creation of its new course, Creating Inclusive Organizations, developed by Professor Carolyn Goerner. It offers a practice-based approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), fostering in-depth discussions in a supportive, small-class setting. And, in 2024, the program will introduce Kelley on Innovation, a new immersion opportunity focused on entrepreneurship. It is led by professors Greg Fisher and Regan Stevenson, part of Kelley’s award-winning entrepreneurship program.

 

AT FOSTER, AN ONLINE MBA BUILT ON CONNECTION

Foster has designed its Hybrid MBA around connection. It is a lockstep program with a small cohort that advances through the program together. While about 95% is online through its live virtual classrooms, it has in-person immersions at the start of each quarter on its Seattle campus. After a pandemic pause, it returned to making these immersions a requirement last year.

It also offers opportunities for company immersions, international study tours, and alumni and networking events.

“The deep friendships and collegiality we have at Foster are unique. We work together just like in the real world and this helps us to become stronger leaders. The time we share with one another during our quarterly immersions is something that attracted me to this program, and it delivers,” says Stewart Kerr, a Class 2024 online MBA student.

“The rigorous academics are taught by world-class professors that prioritize our education. The Foster Business Network, that I will forever be a part of, inspires daily. It’s refreshing.”

Foster faculty are actively working to create more relevant case studies to be used in classrooms this year, Farwell says. They will focus on current trends, diversity, climate change, sustainability, mental health and more.

“We will continue to focus on practical experiential learning and company engagement in our curriculum design. We are implementing more peer and team evaluations in our classes (Feedback Fruits) to maintain our focus on ethics, fairness, and conflict resolution,” she tells Poets&Quants.

“I am sure we will see AI also have a major impact on everything from recruiting/admissions, course curriculum, student services, professional development, to alumni management. It’s an exciting time for educational technology.”

Continue reading:

PAGE 3: Full Ranking- The Best Online MBA Programs of 2024

PAGE 4: How Schools Ranked on Admissions Standards

PAGE 5: How Schools Ranked on Career Impact

PAGE 6: How Schools Ranked on Academic Experience