Our 2020 rankings of the Top Online MBA Programs in Maryland. For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Maryland | College Park |
| 2 | Frostburg State University | Frostburg |
| 3 | University of Baltimore | Baltimore |
Founded in 1856, University of Maryland (UMD) is the flagship campus of the University System of Maryland. UMD is the original land-grant institution in the state and it is one of only 62 members of the Association of American Universities, an organization composed of the leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
Serving 41,000 students and employing 14,000 faculty and staff members, University of Maryland has 350,000 alumni including famous graduates such as Co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin, Jim Henson, founder of The Muppets, and Seinfeld co-writer, Larry David.
The school also houses Robert H. Smith School of Business (est. 1920), which offers an AACSB-accredited online MBA program with six career-focused specializations. Options include Accounting, General Track, Finance, Information Systems and Business Analytics, Marketing, and Supply Chain Management. The program is largely asynchronous, which allows students to continue to meet personal and professional obligations during their course of study.
The school says “a small number of live online classes presented via the state-of-the-art video conferencing tool, Adobe Connect, provide the benefit of “attending” class and interacting with professors and peers in real time.” Students will also benefit from audio and video messaging, integrated multimedia, collaborative online workspaces, and career coaching. Smith’s Office of Career Services (OCS) takes students through “a phased approach” to creating their “core career portfolio, complemented with next-level learning and capstone experiences.” This entire career development protocol repeats each year so students can “get what [they] need when [they] need it.”
The UMD Smith Online MBA may be completed in as few as 24 months, while still providing “the same academic rigor and top faculty” as is offered in the campus-based programs.
Founded in 1898, Frostburg State University (FSU) opened its doors in 1902 to just 57 students. Today, the school serves more than 5,600 students enrolled in 47 undergraduate majors and over 80 specialized programs of study, 16 graduate degree programs, and a doctorate in education. Programs are offered through three colleges: Business, Education, and Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The College of Business houses the Management Department, which offers an AACSB-accredited online MBA than can completed in as few as 12 months, full-time. Designed for both business and non-business majors, the program consists of 36-42 credit hours and a 7-week course model that offers six sessions per year to allow students to begin the program throughout the year.
Students have three concentration options: Business Analytics, Health Care Management, and Management. Business Analytics provides “a series of four courses focused on developing critical analytical skills and understanding of using data for business improvement and decision-making,” says the school. Health Care Management “complements the core business courses through four courses that focus on preparing students with the requisite knowledge to enter management level positions” in hospitals, outpatient facilities, physician practices, and other areas in the health care sector.
The Management concentration is designed for those “not focused on a specific industry but who want to develop a strong, well-rounded foundation that will prepare students to move into nearly any management level position.”
Merrick School of Business launched the UB Online MBA in 1999, becoming the first AACSB-accredited school to pioneer a web-based MBA program that was available to students fully online. The program “offers the same content, rigor and collaboration between faculty and students as you would find in our face-to-face classes,” says the school.
The 36-48 credit hour program highlights courses that fit into one of more of six themes: Managing Innovation and Strategy, Leading and Managing People, Interfacing with External Stakeholders, Managing the Value Chain, Managing Performance and Risk, and Leveraging Technology and Business Intelligence. A Strategic Management Capstone is also part of the program as well as a choice three specialization areas including Data Analytics, Financial Performance, or Leadership and Marketing. Students may also build their own specialization to fit their career goals.
Course highlights for the UB Online MBA include Business and Public Policy in a Global Economy, Collaboration, Negotiation and Conflict Management, Creativity and the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Customers and Markets, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Innovation and Project Management, Leading with Integrity, and Managing in a Dynamic Environment.
Merrick School of Business offers Virtual Information Sessions for all Graduate Business Programs.
