The 50 Best Online Master’s in Management

Located in Hoboken, New Jersey, Stevens was established in 1868, making it one of the country’s oldest technical colleges. In addition to its long history of innovation, the school is now a respected provider of online education, with a strong online master of science in management program that is one year long. Unlike many programs, Stevens’ online business management degree is intended for students with limited business experience, including recent undergraduates and professionals with fewer than two years of work experience. No business background is required, and courses cover a broad selection of fundamental business topics, making it easy for online learners to familiarize themselves with key concepts.

An executive advisory board helps determine the management program curriculum, ensuring that students gain the most current and relevant business skills. The program’s 30–credit course sequence includes eight core classes in business fundamentals, along with two elective courses that allow students to develop knowledge in specialized topics, such as analytics, project management, leadership, or information systems. While all courses are available fully online, Stevens’ proximity to New York City presents a variety of hands–on learning opportunities for students in a variety of professional arenas, such as finance, media, and technology.

An optional field consulting program allows students to work with companies to solve real–world business problems, applying academic theory to business practices. The school’s career development office prepares students to find jobs after graduation, offering resume assistance, interview training, and connections to recruiters in the New York area and beyond.

One of the country’s most respected colleges, Harvard offers a prestigious business management degree online that combines both distance courses and on–campus sessions in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Available through Harvard’s extension school, the master of liberal arts in management covers major topics such as finance, accounting, and business strategy, along with elective options that allow students to earn a graduate certificate in addition to their degree. The program offers 12 unique certificate options, such as corporate sustainability and innovation, real estate investment, nonprofit management, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

Harvard provides two admission pathways for applicants: Path A requires students to complete three courses online, focusing on organizational behavior, economic theory, and either financial or managerial accounting. Path B requires students to take one course in organizational behavior or business rhetoric, along with the Harvard Business Extension CORe, a three–course primer that introduces fundamental business concepts through classes in business analytics, economics for managers, and financial accounting.

Both paths offer fully online courses which students must complete with a GPA of 3.0 or better to gain admission to the master’s program. Path A requires online learners to complete nine additional courses to earn their degree, while Path B requires 11 additional courses. While the program is offered predominately online, at least four courses must be taken on campus, with weekend options available for working students. Harvard also offers intensive on–campus courses during summer and January session that last three to seven weeks.

A private Catholic college based in Joliet, Illinois (about 35 miles outside of Chicago), USF serves around 3,900 students. The school’s smaller size allows it to hold classes of around 15 students, and online learners also benefit from USF’s intimidate education model, which offers individualized attention for students. The business management online degree is a 36–credit Master of Science in management that requires 24 credits of core courses and 12 credits of concentration courses, allowing candidates to specialize in a variety of areas, including management, health administration, training and development, or logistics.

In addition to concentration options, USF offers several graduate certificates that combine with the management degree, such as business analytics, finance, human resources management, or training specialist. Degree candidates also have the option to combine the degree with USF’s MBA program, earning a dual degree that requires fewer total credits. Other programs, such as the school’s MBA or health administration degree, lead into the training and development track, creating further dual degree options for online students.

Open to applicants with or without business backgrounds, the management program requires students to hold at least two years of professional work experience and an undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or better. USF offers three start dates throughout the year, with courses available online, on campus, or in a hybrid format. Online learners can complete the program in 15 months, and USF allows working students to earn credit for on–the–job projects, which helps them complete their degree even faster.

Based in Tuscaloosa, UA is both the oldest and largest public college in the state, with a student body of more than 38,000. UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce offers one of the best online business management degrees in the South. Available exclusively online, the school’s master of arts in management emphasizes global business management, giving students the skills to manage businesses off–site and around the world. The program’s curriculum examines the impact of globalization on management practices and the unique challenges of global management, emphasizing the role that technology and communication play in offshore management.

Students take 10 total courses, with nine dedicated to advanced topics such as international marketing, statistical methods in research, managerial economics, and effective quality management. One additional elective course allows online learners to specialize their studies, with four options available: export–import management, management science and spreadsheet modeling, statistical quality control, or new venture development. The program concludes with a global capstone course centered on business policy.

Applicants to the program must submit a statement of purpose, a resume, and either GRE or GMAT scores, with preference given to the GMAT. Once enrolled in the program, online learners receive support from a dedicated distance learning advisor, who assists with course selections and connects students to other academic resources.

A Christian college based in Longview, Texas, LETU also maintains education centers in Houston and Dallas, along with a substantial online program designed for working adult students. The school offers a professional MBA with a general management specialization, which prepares students to serve in administrative or managerial leadership positions in business, industry, government, nonprofits, and education. Requiring 36 total credits, this fully online business management degree covers major topics such as entrepreneurial leadership, leading technology and innovation, decision analysis, and cross–cultural management. Students also take three concentration courses that build advanced skills in management: managerial economics, strategic thinking and planning, and quality and operations management. The degree culminates in a strategic management capstone that ties together key program concepts.

The MBA program uses a unique cohort course sequence, in which students complete one course at a time in a designated sequence. Each course typically lasts three to seven weeks, with all course work available online. Distance learners who reside in the Houston area can also combine online courses with optional campus courses at LETU’s local education centers. Most students complete the degree in 24 months, though the school allows up to five years to finish all coursework. LETU’s management MBA emphasizes hands–on learning, and class projects often apply program learning to real–world business solutions in Texas. Past MBA classes, for example, have offered strategic analysis consultation to nonprofits and helped cities in the area create business growth plans.

The flagship institution of the Troy State University system, Troy is one of the largest public colleges in Alabama, with a student body of more than 19,000. The school offers one of the best online business management degrees in the region, with a fully asynchronous format that allows degree candidates to complete assignments whenever is most convenient for their schedules. Troy’s master of science in management emphasizes leadership theories in application to the private, nonprofit, and government sectors. Focused on practical skills, rather than research, the degree curriculum is designed to accommodate students without business backgrounds, and both non–business majors and business minors are encouraged to apply.

This 30–credit degree offers concentrations in leadership, project management, or talent development and training. Students take 21 core credits, including theories of organizational behavior, continuous improvement, and leadership of innovation and change, along with nine credits of concentration courses that allow for professional specialization. Regardless of concentration track, online learners gain the skills to manage employees and motivate teams in a variety of professional settings.

The program culminates with a three–credit capstone course in strategic management, which draws together overall skills and knowledge to explore business planning and decision–making processes. The capstone course emphasizes case analysis and computer simulation, and it must be taken during students’ final semester. Troy allows graduate degree candidates to transfer up to six credits (two courses) from another regionally accredited institution, though schools must be either ACBSP or AACSB accredited to count toward core credit requirements.

Penn State boasts a tradition of distance education dating back 125 years. From its earliest correspondence courses, the school has evolved into a major provider of online education, serving more than 18,000 students across the country and the world. Penn State offers its online MBA program through the school’s renowned World Campus distance education platform and its internationally respected Smeal College of Business, making for one of the strongest business management online degrees in the country. Offering an integrated, highly interactive curriculum through predominately online courses, the MBA includes 10 concentration options, such as corporate innovation and entrepreneurship, marketing analytics, project management, and supply chain management.

Overall, the program stresses knowledge and skills in collaborative teamwork, business strategies and decision–making, and strategic leadership, with 39 credits dedicated to core courses and nine credits to concentration courses. While most of the curriculum takes place online, one of the program’s defining experiences is a five–day introductory residency session on the school’s main campus. Focused on integration, collaboration, and engagement, the residency session allows online learners to meet and work alongside other degree candidates and faculty members, participating in campus class sessions, workshops, team activities, and lectures. Workshops offer valuable information on topics including alumni relations and networking, career planning, and time and stress management. Students also gain an overview of the school’s online learning platform and available resources, including student advising and career services.

Located just outside of Dallas proper, UTD is a public research university that’s home to more than 26,000 students. The school offers both online and hybrid options for students pursuing their business management degree online. UTD’s online program takes the form of a master of science in management science with a concentration in project management, emphasizing leadership and the strategic management of businesses, projects, and portfolios. Degree candidates can complete several levels of education, including a graduate certificate, the aforementioned master’s degree, or a dual MBA that includes the project management core curriculum.

The certificate requires students to complete a 21–credit project management core, while the master’s degree includes both the management core and an 18–credit business core. The dual MBA includes both core curricula along with the 14–credit MBA core. Regardless of program track, UTD offers a strong business curriculum designed in collaboration with local industry leaders, ensuring that degree candidates receive relevant technical and social skills applicable to positions as project managers and organizational leaders.

Online learners move through the master’s program in a cohort format that has students complete most courses together in the same sequence, building bonds through shared study and extensive collaboration. The program begins with the management core, which includes a blend of online and campus courses and requires students to integrate classwork with their professional lives. The course sequence then moves into the business core, most of which can be completed online. The management program also includes an international study trip that allows students to gain firsthand experience in the global business world.

A private Jesuit college in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton offers an online business management degree that emphasizes operations management, training students to coordinate company resources, equipment, information, and employees across many levels of business. The program curriculum focuses on decision–making skills for all aspects of business, including finance, economics, marketing, accounting, and management. Scranton’s 36–credit flex MBA includes a 12–credit foundation core, comprised of one–credit modules focused on decision–making concepts, accounting analysis and business law, economics and finance, and marketing and management.

Depending on professional and academic experience, degree candidates may be able to forego several of the foundation modules, which enables them to complete the program faster. All students take core courses, one cornerstone course, and several project management elective courses, which include supply chain management, project and change management, projection planning and control, and business forecasting models. The program ends with a business policy capstone course in which students synthesize overall learning to develop and present a business policy plan for a real company. The capstone integrates case analysis, strategic development, and business policy solution analysis, requiring students to defend their policy plan against analysis and critique from classmates and faculty. Scranton’s online MBA candidates have access to several resources specifically for distance education students, including live communication with program managers who assist online learners with making effective course selections. The school’s Business and Leadership Resource Center also offers information on career outlook trends, faculty insights, and expert career advice from industry leaders.

Though Webster is based in Webster Groves, Missouri, the college operates a significant distance education program along with satellite education centers around the country, enrolling students from all 50 U.S. states and dozens of countries internationally. The school’s business management online degree offers a broad perspective on management and leadership practices in private, nonprofit, and government environments. This master of arts in management and leadership requires 36 total credits, with 24 dedicated to core courses, such as organizational behavior, managerial leadership, and integrated studies in management. An additional 12 elective credits allow students to focus on a professional concentration area, with options including cybersecurity, health administration, organizational development, and project management. Students pursuing concentrations in cybersecurity or project management also qualify for graduate certificates in these areas.

Webster also offers an online MBA with an emphasis in leadership and management, which features a similar focus but includes an additional 12 credits in business courses, with six extra elective credits that allow students to further refine their focus. Webster’s more than 40 campus locations around the country make it possible for degree candidates in many regions to take advantage of hybrid courses. All graduate students can also benefit from the school’s Graduate Career Management Program, available through a partnership with the talent and workforce solutions company, Right Management. The program provides career resources for current students and graduates, including interview coaching, resume assistance, job search strategies, and networking opportunities.

With more than 68,000 total students, Rutgers is the largest college in New Jersey and one of the most respected schools on the East Coast. It’s also home to a comprehensive online program that enrolls thousands of students annually. Online learning at Rutgers offers small, accommodating class sizes, three start dates, year–round study, and either full–time or part–time enrollment options. Online learners also gain full access to Rutgers’ enrollment and executive coaches, who assist throughout the application and enrollment processes. These coaches help students connect to campus resources and map out educational and professional goals.

The school’s fully online MBA includes optional concentrations in business analytics, digital marketing, or investments and private wealth management. The 54–credit curriculum includes 45 credits of core courses, which build fundamental knowledge in areas including finance, marketing, organizational behavior, management, and international business. Qualified students who hold relevant professional or academic experience may be able to waive up to four core courses, which allows them to complete their degree faster. Elective courses comprise the remaining nine credits, allowing students to pursue advanced knowledge in their chosen concentration or any business area of interest, either within the MBA program or through the School of Law (with faculty approval).

For candidates interested in expanding their professional prospects, Rutgers also offers two dual degree options: a Juris Doctor/MBA and a Doctor of Nursing Practice/MBA. Students pursuing dual degree programs may be required to take some courses on campus. All degree candidates can join the MBA Association of Rutgers, a graduate student association that facilitates events including workshops, seminars, community service, and networking meetups.

Located about an hour northwest of Dallas, the city of Denton is home to UNT, a major public college that enrolls over 37,000 students annually. UNT is also a center of online education in Texas, and the school offers an accelerated online MBA that can be completed in 14 months. With paths in either strategic management or organizational behavior and human resource management, this fully online degree boasts five start dates throughout the year and an asynchronous format that allows coursework to be completed at any time. Classes are available in a flexible eight–week format, and online learners can choose to take just one or two courses each semester, depending on scheduling availability.

The strategic management track focuses on broad managerial skills for business leaders, while the organizational behavior and human resource management track takes a more specialized approach to labor relations and organizational design. Regardless of specialization, the degree requires 36 credits total, with 18 credits of core courses in topics such as accounting, business decision processes, marketing management, and financial management. Students take an additional 15 credits of concentration courses and select one three–credit elective course in their chosen track.

UNT’s College of Business Graduate Programs Office works with applicants who lack a professional or academic business background to identify and address business deficiencies in relevant areas, such as economics, calculus, statistics, or managerial accounting. Admitted applicants who need preparatory study complete modular business courses before pursuing their business management degree online.

A Christian liberal arts college associated with the Church of the Nazarene, MVNU serves around 2,200 students from a main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, several satellite locations, and a substantial online education program. Designed for aspiring leaders in any profession, the school’s master of science in management covers major principles of business and executive leadership. The program curriculum stresses topics in effective communication, organizational leadership, human resources, and global competitiveness. Students take 30 credits total, with 27 dedicated to management topics, such as ethical leadership, managerial economics, and legal issues in management. For the remaining three credits, degree candidates choose one elective course from one of the school’s four MBA concentrations: finance, human resources management, ministry leadership, or organizational management.

MVNU also offers an online MBA of human and social services leadership, which trains students to serve in leadership roles with nonprofits, social services agencies, or government organizations. The program curriculum covers similar topics to the management degree but also includes courses in program planning and evaluation, grant writing, and secondary trauma. MBA candidates have the option to take a hybrid format that combines on–campus and online courses.

Applicants to either online business management degree must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college with an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.8. (Students with a GPA below 2.8 may be admitted on a conditional basis.) MVNU allows graduate students to transfer up to six credits toward the master’s programs, through credit is evaluated on a course–by–course basis.

With an enrollment of over 80,000 students, ASU is one of the largest colleges in the U.S., and the school is also home to one of the country’s largest and most innovative online learning systems. ASU’s online master of global management emphasizes general management, regional studies, and cross–cultural studies, training students to serve as global business leaders who are equipped to manage all levels of an organization. This 40–credit program explores the nuances of international business, covering fundamental management topics along with specialized subjects, such as emerging markets and developed economies, global value creation, global marketing strategies, and communicating in a global context.

The curriculum includes a four–credit practicum experience that allows degree candidates to gain hands–on experience in a professional setting, with options for either a global field seminar abroad, a campus residency, or an experience within students’ own communities. Online learners complete the practicum twice, earning two credits each session. The program culminates in a two–credit global leadership capstone that examines the concept of leadership across different global business perspectives and explores how leaders manage organizational change.

ASU’s online courses are divided into six–week blocks, and degree candidates have the option to complete the program in an accelerated format that lasts either 12 or 16 months. Online students receive varied and extensive support services during their time at ASU, with online resources that include the ASU Libraries, Career Services, online tutoring, and the Success Center, which pairs students with individual “success coaches” who introduce online learning practices, identify campus resources, and offer academic advising and counseling.

A Christian liberal arts college near downtown Dallas, DBU also operates multiple satellite campuses around Texas and a robust online program. Serving students of all Christian denominations, the school’s offerings include an online business management degree. DBU’s master of arts in management emphasizes effective decision–making, training students in practices including talent management, annual planning, performance management, and policy development. The 36–credit degree includes 24 credits of core courses that cover fundamental topics, such as organization change and development, marketing strategies, and business communications. The remaining 12 credits are dedicated to concentration courses, with seven available options: conflict resolution management, general management, healthcare management, human resource management, organizational communication, performance management, or professional sales and management optimization.

For students seeking additional flexibility and employment marketability, DBU also offers several dual–degree options that combine the management program with complementary master’s degrees in several areas, such as global leadership, higher education, student ministry, communication, or children’s ministry. Dual degree options may require some on–campus courses in addition to online management coursework.

Program applicants who lack an adequate business background may be required to take up to three foundational courses, which do not count toward graduate degree credit requirements: management theory, business legal environment, and marketing concepts. The three prerequisite courses are worth 1.5 credits each and can be completed simultaneously online in eight weeks. Students with equivalent credits from a regionally accredited institution may be able to waive all three of the foundational courses.

Located about 35 miles east of Los Angeles in the city of La Verne, ULV is a private college that serves more than 8,000 students. Along with its main campus, ULV operates regional education centers around California, along with a significant distance education program that includes a respected online business management degree. Offering four start dates throughout the year, the flexible master of science in leadership and management stresses organizational leadership theory, problem–solving skills, and management strategies, preparing graduates for leadership roles in professional environments of all types.

Degree candidates take 36 total credits, with a choice of three optional concentration areas to define their professional focus: organizational development, human resource management, or nonprofit management. Students take 15 credits of core courses, which emphasize a social approach to management and cover key concepts, including change management and group dynamics, ethics and decision–making, organizational theory and design, and conflict management and resolution. Elective courses comprise 12 total credits, and students can choose to follow a set concentration track or take any combination of courses from different concentrations.

The program concludes with six credits of research and culminating activity credits, including one course in organizational research and either a thesis or graduate seminar. The thesis allows students to perform original research on a relevant business topic of their choice, while the graduate seminar integrates program topics to analyze business challenges and solutions. Both culminating tracks require students to present and defend their findings to classmates and faculty.

Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Salve Regina is a private Catholic college based in Newport, Rhode Island. Home to an expansive distance education program, the school hosts a unique master of science in innovation and strategic management, training future business leaders to cultivate forward–thinking management practices. Encouraging students to develop their creativity, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility, the program emphasizes the skills necessary to identify, analyze, and manage business opportunities for organizations of all types. Admission is open to students regardless of experience, and an academic or professional business background is not required.

The curriculum includes 36 total credits, with core courses dedicated to topics, such as business law, social justice and business ethics, creative problem solving, and leading innovation. Degree candidates also choose from two elective courses from any graduate department, allowing for greater professional specialization. While students can choose from any available elective, not all courses are available online; SVU offers several online business electives, including entrepreneurial enterprise, nonprofit management, and business foresight and futuring.

Online learners also have the option to take one elective course as an internship, gaining hands–on experience under supervision in a professional work environment. Internships typically take place off campus, making it easy for online students to arrange for experiences within their own community. The program culminates with a capstone course in which students work together to design and implement an innovative solution to a real business problem. While the management degree is available entirely online, candidates can also choose a hybrid format that includes some on–campus courses.

Denver, Colorado is the home of Regis, a private Jesuit college that ranks as one of the top online schools in the region for the past 22 consecutive years, according to U.S. News & World Report. Regis offers an online MBA in strategic management, training ethical business leaders who manage organizations worldwide. Students pursuing this business management degree online have six start dates to choose from, with courses beginning in January, March, May, June, August, or October.

The program takes a holistic approach to business leadership, exploring the intersection between employee and customer needs, business resources, and organizational decision–making. The curriculum is designed with working students in mind, and online learners are encouraged to draw connections between course material and their own professional experience. Students work throughout the program to build their own personal framework for ethical business leadership and decision–making.

The basic degree curriculum requires 36 credits, including 30 credits of core courses and six credits of elective courses. Degree candidates also have the option to specialize in one of five areas, requiring an additional six concentration credits. Available concentrations include accounting, finance, health industry leadership, marketing, and strategic management. Online business students can take advantage of Regis’ Center for Career and Professional Development, which offers comprehensive training, resources, and advice for job seekers. Career advisors assist with most elements of the professional development process, including effective academic course selection, finding internships, job searching, resume building, interview training, and networking skills. The Center also hosts several online workshops on topics such as federal job hunting, e–networking, and interviewing strategies.

A private Christian liberal arts college in Searcy, Arkansas (about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock), Harding is home to a student body of more than 5,900, making it the largest private school in the state. Students interested in pursuing a business management degree online are often drawn to the school’s master of business administration in management and business ethics, which requires no visits to campus. The degree curriculum includes 36 total credits, with 30 credits allocated to core business courses covering fundamentals, such as ethics, financial management, accounting, quantitative analysis, and marketing. Six additional elective credits allow students to advance knowledge in international business, healthcare management, or organizational management. Regardless of subject area, all courses center on overall program themes of critical thinking, communication skills, problem–solving, and ethical business practices.

Harding arranges online courses into six to eight–week blocks, and requires students to log in five out of seven days each week. While courses are delivered asynchronously, many courses feature optional synchronous sessions that allow students to interact with faculty through video chat. Most candidates complete the program within 18–24 months, though Harding allows up to seven years to complete all coursework. The school also offers an accelerated format for business majors or experienced professionals that takes four semesters to complete. For candidates who lack adequate business experience, Harding offers a readiness program that introduces foundational concepts in finance, accounting, and quantitative business analytics. The readiness courses are all self–directed, fully online, self–paced, and must be completed before beginning graduate courses.

Though it’s based in Irvine, California, Brandman operates several campuses around the state, along with a distance education program that includes an online business management degree. The MBA in eBusiness strategic management emphasizes information technology (IT) developments and their effect on business practices, training students to identify, analyze, and implement effective management solutions for global business. Combining skills in leadership, innovation development, and general business, the degree examines the use of technologies such as cloud computing, database management, and omni–channel communications.

The program curriculum requires 36–48 credits, depending on each student’s prior business experience. Core business courses comprise 24–36 credits, covering varied topics, such as human resources, organizational dynamics, marketing management, and economic analysis for managers. Degree candidates with significant professional or academic business experience may be able to waive up to 12 credits worth of core courses, allowing them to complete the program much faster. Four concentration courses build deeper skills in IT and strategic management, fulfilling the remaining 12 credits: risk management, IT development and innovation, project management, and internet–based systems analysis and development.

Brandman offers significant support for adult and working students, and applicants to the MBA program have several options for admission. Along with standard processes that consider undergraduate GPA and graduate exam scores, the school also offers a nontraditional admissions pathway for applicants with significant business experience who demonstrate adequate preparation for graduate–level work. This application process requires the submission of a portfolio that includes writing samples, a detailed resume indicating professional experience and achievement, letters of references, and a letter of explanation detailing the applicant’s readiness for graduate education.

Located just west of Jackson in the city of Clinton, MC was founded in 1826, making it the second–oldest Baptist–affiliated college in the country and the oldest college in Mississippi. Today, the school has grown into a top provider of online education, including an AACSB–accredited online business management degree. The online MBA examines business from a global perspective. Available entirely online, the degree offers concentrations in general business, finance, accounting, and management information systems. For students interested in both business and law, MC also offers a dual JD/MBA degree that combines the two fields to make graduates more professionally marketable.

The basic degree curriculum comprises 10 classes and 30 total credits, with 24 credits dedicated to general business courses, such as quantitative management, law and ethics in the business environment, and policy formulation and administration. Students take six additional elective credits in the concentration area of their choice, building deeper knowledge and developing specialized skills. An asynchronous delivery format allows classes to be completed at any time, and online learners can take a heavier or lighter course load as their schedules dictate.

MC also offers an accelerated MBA that arranges courses into rigorous eight–week blocks, making it possible for students to complete the degree in one year. For degree candidates who lack a business background, the school offers three foundational courses that prepare students for graduate level work: survey of financial accounting, business finance, and marketing. All courses are available online or through night classes on campus.

Located just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the town of Arden Hills is home to Bethel, a private, evangelical Christian college. The school’s business management online degree prepares students for roles in business leadership, driving students to develop their own ethics alongside business skills. Bethel’s online MBA offers two relevant concentrations: management and global management. The management path focuses on decision making and project leadership, while the global path emphasizes the same skills in a global financial context.

Both degree paths require 42 total credits and share courses, including leadership theory and personal agency, organizational diagnostics and health, and managerial accounting. The global management track also requires a 10–day international business trip that introduces students to businesses operations in other cultures. Degree candidates conclude either track with an integrative team capstone course that synthesizes overall program learning and results in the development of a leadership project for a real business.

For students interested in building greater knowledge and increased marketability after graduation, Bethel also offers a dual MBA/MA in strategic leadership, which combines day–to–day management skills with big picture business theory for an organization’s future. The two degrees share six of the same courses, allowing students to combine credits and complete both programs simultaneously.

Bethel offers a generous selection of support services for MBA candidates, including networking opportunities, career services, writing tutoring, and one–on–one career coaching. Online learners can attend up to six personal coaching sessions to determine professional goals, develop career strategies, and receive expert advice from professional career coaches.

A private Christian college based in the Los Angeles suburb of Azusa, APU offers an online master of business management program that emphasizes variety and versatility, with seven available concentration options: entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business, marketing, organizational development and change, organizational science, and sports management. While concentrations like marketing and human resource management address conventional areas of business, others offer more unique curricula; sports management focuses on organizational issues concerning athletic enterprises of all levels, while organizational science allows students to design their own concentration based on academic and professional interests.

The program curriculum requires 39 total credits and begins with a foundational course in ethical leadership, which allows degree candidates to outline their own ethical business framework and builds perspective for subsequent coursework. The 30–credit program core builds broad knowledge in general business theory through courses such as managing human capital, global business management, and applied research and analysis. Students also complete nine credits worth of courses in their chosen concentration, building specialized knowledge and refining their skill set. Many concentration tracks, such as sport management and international business, give candidates the option to complete an intensive field experience observing the inner workings of a professional organization of their choice. The field experience can be performed in any city or country, making it easy for online learners to arrange field work that accommodates their scheduling needs. APU’s business management degree online can be completed in one year, though the average completion time is about 2.5 years.

Though technically based in Salt Lake City, Utah, WGU operates as a fully online college, offering distance education to adult students around the country. Course delivery format isn’t the only unique aspect of WGU’s educational model, as the school arranges its courses into “competency units” rather than credits, and students who demonstrate equivalent experience can waive course components or entire classes. Online learners also pay by enrollment period, rather than by course, allowing them to complete as many courses as they choose during each academic term. While degree candidates are expected to complete at least eight credits during each six–month term, WGU‘s unique curriculum arrangement makes it possible to complete the business management degree online in six months, though most students complete the degree within 18 months.

The school’s master of science in management and leadership stresses skills in general business, organizational management, and people leadership, preparing graduates for management roles in businesses, startups, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Developed in coordination with business leaders and industry experts, the program curriculum emphasizes four main areas: management, leadership, business acumen, and strategy. The 33–credit course sequence also covers major topics such as management communication, data–driven decision making, and managing human capital. WGU’s curriculum model is designed with working students in mind, and online learners receive ample opportunity to apply class learning to their own professional lives. This intersection of academic and professional work continues throughout the program and into the final capstone course, which has students work with a real organization to offer solutions to a management issue.

A private liberal arts college associated with the Lutheran Church, CUW offers two relevant programs for students pursuing their business management degree online: an MBA in nonprofit management and leadership and a master of science in organizational leadership and administration. Both degrees are available either fully online or in a hybrid format that combines online and on–campus courses at CUW’s numerous education centers around the state. The MBA program prepares students to serve as effective leaders and administrators for nonprofit organizations of all types, combining CUW rigorous core MBA curriculum with courses related to specific nonprofit issues, including fundraising strategies, board development, volunteer recruitment, program evaluation, and publicity.

The 39–credit curriculum includes 24 credits of core MBA courses, such as corporate finance and ethical leadership, along with 15 credits of nonprofit electives. The MBA ends with a capstone course that synthesizes core program topics and includes a comprehensive business simulation. The organizational leadership and administration program concentrates on management and team leadership theories, training graduates to serve as managers in all types of organizations. This 32–credit degree includes courses in organizational communication and negotiation, ethical dimensions of leadership, and leadership in international organizations. The program includes a culminating experience that takes the form of either a literature review, an internship, or a thesis. Regardless of their chosen culminating track, all students must present and defend their findings to classmates and faculty. The management degree prepares graduates to sit for the Certified Professional Manager exam, which demonstrates ability to lead a professional team competently.