Looking At Online MBA Programs? Start With These Three Questions

With so many online MBA options available, paralysis by analysis can be a real obstacle.

If you’re interested in continuing your education, switching careers or pursuing an entrepreneurial path, how do you find a top-ranked online MBA program that fits you?

Start with these three questions designed to help you discover the program that has the flexibility, customization and network that will transform your career.

1. Is a program flexible ― and how does it define flexibility?

The flexibility of the Working Professional MBA (WPMBA) at The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business means students have a number of educational options, including: 

• how they access curriculum
• how quickly ― or slowly ― they can progress through the program
• Balanced synchronous and asynchronous learning to accommodate their schedules
• the availability of opportunities to learn outside the classroom

“I want to move into an upper management role, and the part-time WPMBA provides me with a flexible path to achieving that dream,” says Marc Stellato, a WPMBA student and ICU nurse based in Phoenix, Arizona. “I’m able to work full-time and go to school at the same time.”

Students around the country can earn an MBA from Ohio State online, in-person or through a mixture of both. They can define how they earn their degree, as well as their pace and time to degree. Students can earn an MBA in as little as two years (2.5 is typical), to as many as six (if they choose to take semesters off to accommodate professional and/or life changes).

The flexible course delivery provides student with opportunities to complete in-person/on-campus coursework (for-credit) or take part in extracurricular activities such as the Washington Campus and one-credit workshops on topics such as Artificial Intelligence.

2. Can I customize my MBA experience?

Core courses can only take students so far. Electives, however, can open doors to new passions or can deepen interests in current ones. WPMBA students at Fisher have access to dozens of electives at the college and hundreds more at Ohio State. The result is a meaningful way to connect the dots between business learned in the classroom and specific areas of interest and industries.

“The differentiator for me was the WPMBA’s selection of coursework and its applicability to nearly any career,” says Julia Wilson (MBA ’23). “Who couldn’t benefit from having some finance, accounting, leadership, marketing and strategy under their belt? And, I was able to tailor my WPMBA to use some of my electives to get a certificate from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.” 

Customization should extend to global perspectives. WPMBA students at Fisher have access to five once-in-a-lifetime global programs that extend their learning from their living rooms, laptops and classrooms to locations around the world. 

“I couldn’t recommend this option enough,” Wilson says of Fisher’s Global Applied Projects program. “Not only did I love the learning that came from a hands-on, real business problem, but the experience of traveling abroad with a group of incredibly smart and talented MBA students is something I’ll never forget. I learned as much from them as I did from the instructor and faculty advisor.”

3. How will this program set me up for success, academically and professionally?

Networks are the lifeblood of business. Who you know and how you know them can change the trajectory of a career. Fisher’s WPMBA program attracts the best and brightest from nearly every industry imaginable. From hospitality to athletics, to military to manufacturing, the 2024-25 WPMBA cohort represents 28 different industries, each of which provides a different perspective to business.

Students build connections with classmates and learn about the solutions and challenges they face on an everyday basis at some of the most recognizable organizations in the world, including:

• Amazon
• Caterpillar
• U.S. Coast Guard
• Coca-Cola
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Reserve
• Hexion
• Honda
• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Kaiser Permanente
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
• U.S. Marine Corps
• U.S. Navy
• OhioHealth
• The Ohio State University
• U.S. Space Force
  

Upon graduation, MBA graduates join an Ohio State alumni network more than half a million Buckeyes strong that stretches to all corners of the globe. Access to this network has the potential to create and foster connections that accelerate careers and provide countless opportunities to pay forward to future generations of Business Buckeyes.

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Take the next step and explore how online offerings from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business can transform your career. View application requirements and deadlines.