Our 2021 rankings of the Top Online MBA Programs in Alabama. For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn University | Auburn |
| 2 | Auburn University at Montgomery | Montgomery |
| 3 | Troy University | Troy |
| 4 | University of North Alabama | Florence |
Auburn University was chartered in 1856 as East Alabama Male College—a Methodist institution. Beginning with EAMC, the school has had four official names: Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, and Auburn University. Classes were first held for 80 students with a faculty of six in 1859. Today, the school serves approximately 30,737 students enrolled in 140 programs within 13 colleges and schools.
The Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, which has grown an impressive 50% over the last seven years, offers a video-based Distance MBA that may be completed in 2.5 years, part-time. The 36 credit hour program offers an optional three-day orientation at the beginning of the program and a three-day on campus residency on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before graduation. Otherwise, all coursework for the program is delivered through the University's online student learning platform CANVAS.
Students use CANVAS to view lectures, work with team members on group assignments, ask questions and hold discussions with professors and classmates, submit homework, and access course materials. The lock-step curriculum allows online students to watch the exact same lectures, take the same tests, and communicate with the same professors as on-campus students.
Students can live-stream classes or choose to watch at the time most convenient for them. Courses are taken at the student’s own pace, with most online students taking one or two classes each semester. The curriculum includes a mix of core business classes and business electives and the final semester includes the Capstone Course, where groups of MBA students provide consultation to a number of real businesses on various topics.
In addition to optional concentrations in Finance, Marketing, Management, Information Systems, Supply Chain, Business Analytics and Human Resource Management, this AACSB-accredited program offers dual degrees (MBA/MS) in Finance, Information Systems, and Industrial and Systems Engineering as well as graduate certificates that complement the online MBA. Certificates range from nine to 24 credit hours and include Business Analytics, Cybersecurity Management, Management Information Systems, and Supply Chain Management Innovation to name a few.
Graduate research assistantships, which are awarded annually, are also available.
Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) was established in 1967. The school serves 5,200 students enrolled in 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the Colleges of Business, Education, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Nursing & Health Sciences, and Sciences.
The College of Business (COB) offers an MBA that can be completed entirely online or a hybrid of online and on-campus learning. The 10-course program consists of core and elective courses “carefully selected based on employer demand,” says the school. Required courses include Business and Administration Communication, Data Analysis for Managers, Financial Valuation: Models and Applications, Information Resource Management, Managerial Applications of Accounting Information, Managing People, Marketing Management, and Strategic Analysis for Competitive Advantage.
For MBA candidates without a business undergraduate degree, the AUM COB allows self-paced study to meet as many as five prerequisite undergraduate courses. Alternatively, the candidate may enroll in the full courses. An undergraduate degree in any field and a GMAT score is required for admission to the program, however, a GMAT waiver may be available.
Hybrid MBA students can expect to meet just once per week, with supplemental outside assignments. While the AUM COB Online MBA may be completed in one year, completion times may vary from three semesters (if starting in Fall term) to more than two years, depending on the number of courses, students take each semester and their educational background. Students with an undergraduate degree in business are usually exempted from some (or all) prerequisite courses.
Troy University (TROY) was established in 1887 as State Normal School Troy—a training school for teachers. According to the schools most current enrollment figures, TROY serves 16,970 students enrolled in more than 170 majors and minors and over 40 graduate and professional degree programs offered in class, online or both (hybrid). Programs are available through the Graduate School and five colleges including Arts & Sciences, Business (Sorrell College of), Communication & Fine Arts, Education, and Health & Human Services.
Sorrell College of Business is one of only 189 colleges of business to hold dual AACSB accreditation. The College offers 14 undergraduate programs, 10 graduate programs, and a 93% employment rate after graduation. Offered in conjunction with TROY Online, Sorrell offers several MBA programs including General Management, Global Business/International Finance, Global Business/International Information Systems & Data Analytics, and Global Business/International Management. All options may be completed entirely online and each program requires completion of a capstone course.
Sorrell Online MBA students have access to career fairs, networking opportunities, study/work abroad experiences and more.
Founded in 1830 as LaGrange College, University of North Alabama (UNA) was the first state-chartered college in Alabama. The school serves more than 8,000 students enrolled over 100 undergraduate and graduate degrees at the historic Florence, Alabama campus.
The College of Business at UNA has two online MBA options—a regular MBA with the opportunity to specialize in one of nine concentrations, and an Executive MBA (EMBA) for individuals with significant business experience who want to improve their leadership and management skills. Both programs are also delivered in hybrid format.
The EMBA requires at least five years of work history demonstrating increasing responsibility and professional or entrepreneurial positions. There are no GMAT/GRE requirements for the program and it consists of 34 credit hours. The regular online MBA requires professional experiences or the GMAT/GRE.
Concentrations for the 34 credit hour regular MBA program include Accounting, ERP Systems Using SAP, Finance, Global Business, Health Care Management, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, Project Management, and Sales and New Business Development. The AACSB- and ACBSP-accredited UNA Online MBA also allows students to build their own MBA by choosing three electives in lieu of a concentration.
Students in all programs and concentrations have access to flexible online office hours and, should they choose, face-to-face faculty attention from the same professors that teach on campus.
UNA EMBA students have the opportunity to study abroad in China through partnerships with Pepsons Education Consulting Co. Ltd. in Suzhou and IUC Global Corporation in Taipei. Instructional materials for the study abroad program are available in Chinese and English.
