Our 2020 rankings of the Top Online MBA Programs in Massachusetts. For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | Amherst |
| 2 | Northeastern University | Boston |
| 3 | Babson College | Wellesley |
| 4 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | Lowell |
| 5 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester |
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass-Amherst) houses the tallest research library on any college campus in the country and the second tallest library in the world. At 28 stories, Du Bois Library is home to thousands of books and other resources on any subject. In addition to Du Bois, UMass houses Isenberg School of Management, which opened its doors in 1947 with just 10 faculty members and 15 students. Today, the school has a faculty of 133 educators and 124 staff-members serving more than 5,300 students.
Isenberg School of Management offers a 45 credit hour online MBA that offers six focus areas including Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Healthcare Administration, Marketing, and Sport Management. Fully accredited by the AACSB, the Isenberg MBA also offers a unique opportunity for students to “try before you buy.” Potential MBA students can take up to two classes before applying to learn why the program is a good fit.
Besides several focus areas and the opportunity to experience the program before committing, students have an additional delivery option available to them. The Blended Option Part-Time MBA allows students to take some classes online and others at a conveniently located satellite campus in Boston, Shrewsbury, or Springfield, Massachusetts.
Northeastern University has campuses in Boston, Charlotte, the San Francisco Bay Area, Vancouver, Seattle, and Toronto—all designed to “expand learning and research opportunities to meet regional and global demand for talent and innovation,” says the school.
Serving more than 5,500 students, Northeastern University’s D'Amore-McKim School of Business offers an AACSB-accredited online MBA program that can be completed 100% online in as few as two years. Coursework for the 50 credit hour program is divided into 13 core courses and five electives. Eight in-demand specialization options are offered including Finance, Healthcare Management, High Technology Management, Innovation Entrepreneurship, International Management, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and Sustainability.
D'Amore-McKim Online MBA students also have the option to earn a Dual Masters in Finance/MBA by taking "as few as four to seven additional finance electives," says the school. Both the single and dual online programs utilize interactive multimedia tools such as virtual class discussions, and discussion boards, as well as team projects and individual assignments for a well-rounded academic experience.
An optional residency is offered to online MBA students who have (or will have) completed at least three courses (nine credits). The campus-based residency is an intensive one-week course equivalent to a three-credit elective. An International Field Study Residency is offered to online MBA students in good standing who have (or will have) completed the first year core courses (26 credits) with a GPA of 3.0 prior to the start of the field study trip. Recent locations include China, Russia, Greece/Turkey, and Chile/Peru.
Established in 1919, Babson College opened with just 27 students. Today, the school serves more than 2,350 undergraduate and nearly 1,000 graduate students representing more than 80 countries.
The F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson grants highly ranked MBA and MS degrees, as well as Certificates. The school also offers an Executive Education program for professionals looking to grow in today’s rapidly evolving business environment and Babson Global works with corporate, university, government, and foundation partners to advance entrepreneurship education and Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® worldwide.
The F.W Olin MBA has a blended learning option that combines online classes, face-to-face sessions at Babson’s campus in Wellesley, MA, Miami, San Francisco, and Dubai, and virtual collaboration with students from around the world. Students in the program will develop the skills and knowledge needed to “understand how to take action, learn, and build in the ever-changing global business landscape,” says the school.
Students will also learn how to apply “classroom knowledge to real-world business problems in leading organizations of all types and sizes,” before they graduate.
The Olin Online MBA takes just 21 months to complete, full-time. The program is AACSB-accredited.
Founded in 1894, University of Massachusetts at Lowell (UMass Lowell) is a top 200 national public research university serving 18,000 students enrolled in 175+ bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in six colleges. The Robert J. Manning School of Business offers an online MBA with nine concentrations. Concentrations are optional and include Accounting Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Healthcare, Information Technology, International Business, Managerial Leadership, and Marketing. If a student does not select a concentration, they will earn the General MBA.
The Manning MBA program consists of 12 credit hours of prerequisites (six courses – two credits each – eight weeks), the required advanced core 21 credit hours (seven courses at three credit hours each), and nine credit hours of electives (three courses at three credit hours each) for a total of 42 credit hours. Course highlights include Accounting Information for Management Decisions, Analysis of Customers and Markets, Global Enterprise and Competition, Managing Organization Design and Change, and Strategy Formulation and Implementation.
Courses for this AACSB-accredited program are offered in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. A minimum of nine credits is considered a full-time course load. Full-time students usually complete their degree requirements in two years. Part-time students must complete their degree requirements within five years. Graduates of the program enjoy a high ROI. University of Massachusetts at Lowell ranks 29th in ROI in the nation among public research universities.
In 2020, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is observing the semi-centennial of the WPI Plan, the university's groundbreaking project-based curriculum that was approved on May 29, 1970. In addition to being project-based, the university’s curriculum is globally engaged “aimed at quality experience and a positive impact for the communities it partners with,” says the school.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute houses Foisie Business School, which offers an MBA for STEM professionals. This unique program “combines WPI’s signature project-based learning approach with a blended, cohort-style format,” says the school. Classes are fully online with two required in-person classes each semester on Friday and/or Saturday during the middle and end of the course. Students begin the program with “a group of like-minded peers, work through the program and projects together, and finish with a ready-made network.”
Graduates of this AACSB-accredited program have gone on to successful careers in business or acceptance into the PhD in Business Administration program at WPI.
