Are you interested in taking an affordable MBA online? You’re not alone.
In recent years, interest in affordable online MBAs has grown steadily. Students are drawn in by promises of salary increases and career advancement without sacrificing flexibility or breaking the bank.
Perhaps, however, you’re not sure where to start when it comes to choosing your affordable online MBA program. After all, there are a lot out there!
To help with your decision, we’ve put together this guide to affordable MBA programs that are delivered online. Read on to find out more about these degrees—their employment outcomes, curriculum, faculties and more.
Which Affordable MBA Online Programs Have We Reviewed?
Please bear in mind that this list is by no means a ranking. We’ve selected and reviewed five schools that we believe offer fantastic and affordable MBAs online. This should not be taken as a “best programs out there” list – rather a guide to some really great options.
University of Florida Warrington College of Business
Curriculum
The Warrington College of Business’s online MBA offers two tracks for its students. Both are online, with the exception of an in-person orientation event at the University of Florida at the start of the programs.
The first track is one year long, a 16-month accelerated program for students who have an undergraduate degree in business that is less than seven years old. In this track, all learning is asynchronous, structured around pre-recorded lectures and self-led coursework.
The second is two years, lasts two years and leverages the eight extra months available to provide students with remarkably more flexibility. It also incorporates more opportunities for its students, allowing them to connect with speakers, attend regional networking events, and complete group-led coursework.
Both the first and second track share a few important features. First, Warrington’s mandatory experiential learning course. This course is selected by students and can be online, on-campus, or even global.
Second, a faculty. In either track, students are taught by the same faculty that leads Warrington’s in-person program.
Third, a rigorous and in-depth curriculum, with classes developed by new technology and uniquely designed for online learning. Designed by Warrington’s renowned faculty, the MBA curriculum requires hard work and commitment and offers high reward.
The concentrations offered by Warrington, allowing students to personalize their learning, include:
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- International Business
- Marketing
- Real Estate
The school shares a sample curriculum on its site, as seen below:
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Term 5 | Term 6 | Term 7 | Term 8 |
| Economics of Business Decisions | Introduction to Managerial Statistics | Financial Management | Operations Management | Brand Management | Corporate Finance | Upper Core: International Course* | Global Strategic Management |
| Financial & Managerial Accounting | Professional Writing | Problems & Methods in Marketing Management | Organizational Behavior | Entrepreneurship & Venture Finance | Upper Core: Marketing Or Technology Course* | Upper Core: Finance Course* | – |
Career outcomes
Along with the Warrington online MBA comes a carefully curated and comprehensive set of career support features. The business school offers its students:
- Career assessments
- Remote video interviewing
- Career development webinars and events
- A dedicated MBA resume book
- Access to a job board which contains hundreds of the world’s biggest and best employers
Post gradation, 85% of Warrington’s online MBA students were employed, and their average salary was $100,000.
Cost-effectiveness
The Warrington online MBA certainly ranks highly amongst other online programs. Its faculty and program enjoy a reputation of commitment and academic excellence. The online program is also claimed by the school to offer the same opportunities and equivalent education to its students as the in-person program.
The online program is also markedly more affordable than its in-person equal. Tuition can reach $61,260 per year for on-campus tuition at the University of Florida, compared to $49,205 online.
Indiana University Kelley School of Business
Curriculum
The Kelley School of Business offers students the chance to choose from seven majors and more than 80 electives. It is, it claims, the online MBA with the highest number of electives available, splitting the electives and core teaching 50/50 and so offering a high degree of personalization.
Underlining the customizable curriculum is the Kelley 12-week Core. The core curriculum ensures that students build foundational and crucial knowledge, enabling them to emerge from their program as well-rounded and adaptable graduates. The core curriculum is designed and taught by Kelley’s highly-qualified, full-time faculty.
The program is structured around two live classes every week, in which students are able to connect with professors and peers in real-time. But that’s not all—it is also peppered with in-person events which facilitate networking, relationship building and perspective-broadening experiences.
While the customizable elements of the curriculum mean that it varies greatly from student to student, Kelley does share the following sample curriculum on their site.
| Year One | Year Two | ||||
| Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 5 | Quarters 6, 7 & 8 |
| Core 1 | Analytics And Accounting Fundamentals | Core 2 | Major Elective | Core 3 | Electives (Major/Open) |
| Kelley On Campus | – | – | Kelley On Location | – | Global, Experiential, or Professional Course Option |
Career outcomes
Kelley pairs all students with a dedicated career coach. Opportunities will arise for students on the online MBA, and career coaches are there to help navigate these. Each of Kelley’s coaches are directly employed by Kelley, certified by institutions recognized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and possess years of leadership and business experience.
Amongst students on the online MBA, 70% reported gaining a promotion, receiving a raise, or starting a new job altogether while enrolled on the program. Post-graduation, the average salary was $145,000.
Cost-effectiveness
The online MBA program at Kelley costs students $94,944.42. Is this cost effective? It certainly offers high rewards for its students.
The first of these rewards is the immediate utility of Kelley’s online MBA. Since many students on the online MBA continue to work while studying, these foundational skills can be applied directly to their current role. The online MBA program isn’t just affordable, it’s instantly applicable. “With a Kelley Direct online MBA,” the school professes, “you’re not just expanding the possibilities for your future. You’re opening new doors in your career today.”
The second is that Kelley boasts an impressive reputation. It is, says the school, the longtime leader in online education, leading the way in excellent examples of virtual instruction.
And the third is Kelley’s claim that tuition rates simply don’t get cheaper than this for a top-ranked program. Costs are kept low due to their in-house curriculum design and delivery—a structure that has the added benefit of keeping curriculum control firmly in Kelley’s hands.
Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business
Curriculum
The affordable online MBA at Carnegie Mellon Tepper is all about technology. The program is STEM-designated and future-focused, molding its curriculum around analytics, data and emerging technologies.
The format of the Online Hybrid MBA promises high levels of flexibility to its students. Live classes are conducted twice per week, scheduled in the evenings to make room for the working day. Outside of classes, self-paced asynchronous learning takes precedence, conducted via pre-recorded lectures, assignments and group-work.
Immersive Access Weekends supplement online learning. These weekends cultivate opportunities for professional development, relationship-building and networking, and take place both in Pittsburgh and online.
This flexibility by no means leads to a reduction in quality. The MBA degree is identical to the one delivered on campus. Coursework remains rigorous and rewarding, students receive the same qualification, and the exact same faculty lead the program.
Many concentrations are offered to students on the online MBA, allowing them to personalize their learning according to their goals. Those with the highest demand are:
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- Marketing
- Production/Operations Management
- Technology
Career outcomes
Tepper’s Online Hybrid MBA Program offers extensive career support to its students. Leadership coaches develop personalized plans with students to guide them to “greater empathy, self-awareness, and effectiveness,” facilitating personal growth to foster better leadership skills.
Immediately post-graduation, Tepper MBA students report an average salary of $161,474; three years after graduation this increases to $195,304.
Cost-effectiveness
Tepper’s online MBA is certainly more affordable than its full-time program. The cost of studying the MBA program online is $18,200 per semester, compared to $39,181 per semester in-person. Over eight semesters, this sets tuition price for Tepper’s online MBA at $145,600.
It’s higher than Kelley’s program, and almost double Warrington’s. Outcomes, however, are good, and Tepper’s online MBA program is regularly ranked in the top five worldwide.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
Curriculum
Like many of the best affordable online MBAs out there, Carey’s program is flexible and customizable. Classes are structured around working days, giving students the double benefits of keeping their jobs and of applying their learning immediately to their work.
Students can select from eight different specializations to ensure that their curriculum fits their specific and personal goals. These specializations include options such as:
- Business Analytics and Risk Management
- Digital Marketing
- Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology
- Health Care Management, Innovation, and Technology
- Public and Private Sector Leadership
Carey’s online MBA program mixes live classes and asynchronous learning, meaning that students get real-time interactions with peers and professors but retain control over the bulk of their schedule. Optional in-person experiences occur throughout the course, giving those who are able to join the chance to network, relationship build and partake in experiential learning. The program lasts between two and three years.
Career outcomes
John Hopkins Carey boasts impressive results for its online MBA graduates. While still in the program, a total of 81% students received a salary increase, while 66% were promoted. On leaving the program, the average salary of graduates was $161,853.
Cost-effectiveness
The high percentage of students who see immediate impact on either their position or their salary before graduation certainly appears to demonstrate a “proven return on investment.” Carey’s MBA is professed by both the school and its graduates to “pay off,” resulting in dream-jobs secured and earnings multiplied.
The online, flexible MBA at John Hopkins costs $102,060 to complete, compared to the full-time, in-person MBA, which costs a total of $144,000.
University of Washington Foster School of Business
Curriculum
The online MBA at the University of Washington Foster School of Business takes just under two years (21 months) to complete. It blends the academic rigor and prestigious faculty of its traditional, on-campus program, with the flexibility of online asynchronous learning to create the perfect program for working professionals.
The program is technically a hybrid one, operating in a 95/5 split. 95% of all learning takes place online, delivered via live classes and self-paced work, guided by faculty throughout and augmented by group projects with other students. One live session a week is mandatory and one is optional, giving students the chance to choose a workload that best fits their schedule.
The 5% offline split refers to the quarterly in-person meet up. This is an immersive, intensive, on-campus occasion, promising a packed schedule that covers social as well as professional events.
A balance of core and elective modules throughout the curriculum ensures that students build foundational skills as well as invest in their interests. Core modules focus on themes such as executive management and strategy and leadership principles. The Foster program particularly favors “evidence-based challenges,” whereby students learn practical skills that are immediately transferable to their jobs.
Career outcomes
Career outcomes for students of the Foster online MBA program are promising. 91% of graduates change roles within two years, demonstrating the utility of the degree in advancing careers.
The school helps cultivate ambition and open student eyes to industry through curated “Career Treks,” in which students travel to a city together. Once there, they visit startups, multinational giants and incubators to get to grips with business across all settings.
Cost-effectiveness
Foster’s online MBA program is one of the most affordable on this list. Tuition costs $96,000, and is charged in six quarterly installments.
As for whether this is a cost-effective option—Washington Foster’s academic rigor is acclaimed by graduates and students, who say the program fulfills its promise of quality education with extra flexibility. U.S. News agrees, ranking the program in 3rd place this year.
The regularity of their in-person meet ups and treks is another point towards cost-effectiveness for the Foster MBA program. The loss of networking opportunities or in-person relationships is one of the biggest downsides to an online MBA; a quarterly meet-up goes a long way in rectifying that.
