Our goal with these rankings is to give potential MBA candidates access to ample, comprehensive information so they can make an informed decision about the online MBA program they choose to pursue. Like any lists, ours are imperfect and therefore open for debate. There is no single opinion that trumps all when it comes to which school is the “best”. Ultimately every MBA candidate has different needs regarding the type and academic rigor of an MBA program, school culture, as well as cost, lifestyle, and career track considerations. Our hope is that our rankings are a starting point for MBA candidates to discover the schools that are the best fit for them and that the rankings not be used as a deciding factor in choosing a program.

We evaluated over 400 US-based online MBA programs for our rankings and gathered our information via surveys whereby we asked schools offering online MBA programs for their input as to which schools they view as the “best”. Our rankings therefore explicitly reflect the collective view of colleges and universities offering online MBAs as to which programs are the "best". 

Note: In years prior our ranking criteria included factors such as admissions selectivity, value as it pertains to tuition, and enrollment. Starting in 2022 we changed our criteria such that the only ranking factor considered is reputation, which we derive from the survey data received from colleges offering online MBAs. After much scrutiny and analyses, we feel our rankings best reflect the overall quality and value of online MBA programs and give prospective students the most accurate insight into which programs should make their short list.