MBA@UNC, the online MBA program at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, has created an in-depth infographic to help demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of the MBA degree generally – as well as some specific benefits offered by online programs.
The infographic notes that 96 percent of MBA graduates rate the value of their degree as outstanding, excellent or good and would recommend a graduate management education to others, citing data from the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Three out of four of those surveyed by GMAC said they could not have obtained their current job without their degree.
To determine ROI of the MBA degree, MBA@UNC compared total compensation in the first five years after graduation (salary, bonuses, exercised stock options) to the total cost of earning the degree (tuition, fees, two years of foregone earnings).
The infographic then ranked the top 15 business schools according to five-year MBA gain, namely the net cumulative amount typical alumni from each school would have earned five years after getting their MBA versus remaining in their pre-MBA career. It also noted how long it would take graduates of each school to reach this ROI.
Stanford Graduate School of Business topped the list, with a total five-year MBA gain of $99,700. At Stanford, graduates can expect to begin realizing ROI after 4.1 years. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business came in second, with a five-year gain of $92,600 and graduates recouping their investment after 3.7 years. Harvard Business School came in third, with a five-year gain of $79,600 and 4.0 years to pay back. Kenan-Flagler, for its part, ranked 11th on the list, providing a five-year gain of $67,100 and 3.7 years to pay back.
