Get Matched With MBA Programs
You might opt for a part-time MBA program because of your existing work and family obligations. By finding an MBA program that allows you to do more than just study, you’ll have a better chance of reaching your career goals, while still being there for your child’s milestones.
It’s a good idea to explore as many part-time MBA programs as you’re able to find near you - you may choose an online option as well. Or an evening option or weekend program may work out better for you because of work hours.
Flexibility and the final completion time should both be vital considerations for you.
Compare Popular Online MBA Programs
Top 25 Best Part-time Online MBA Programs
Carnegie Mellon University
Score: 89.65
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $48,496
- Out-of-State: $48,496
- Net Price: $33,499
- Acceptance Rate: 11%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 92%
- Total Enrollment: 16,002
- Undergrad Students: 7,059
- Graduate Students: 8,943
- Grads Salary: $108,000
- Student-to-faculty: 5:1
Rice University
Score: 88.78
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $53,712
- Out-of-State: $53,712
- Net Price: $19,902
- Acceptance Rate: 9%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 94%
- Total Enrollment: 8,672
- Undergrad Students: 4,494
- Graduate Students: 4,178
- Grads Salary: $92,000
- Student-to-faculty: 6:1
University of California-Berkeley
Score: 87.83
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,264
- Out-of-State: $27,366
- Net Price: $19,257
- Acceptance Rate: 11%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 94%
- Total Enrollment: 45,307
- Undergrad Students: 32,479
- Graduate Students: 12,828
- Grads Salary: $97,000
- Student-to-faculty: 19:1
Northwestern University
Score: 87.81
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $52,698
- Out-of-State: $52,698
- Net Price: $22,095
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 97%
- Total Enrollment: 23,161
- Undergrad Students: 8,993
- Graduate Students: 14,168
- Grads Salary: $89,000
- Student-to-faculty: 6:1
Georgia Institute of Technology
Score: 87.34
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $14,064
- Out-of-State: $29,140
- Net Price: $17,402
- Acceptance Rate: 17%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
- Total Enrollment: 45,296
- Undergrad Students: 18,415
- Graduate Students: 26,881
- Grads Salary: $95,000
- Student-to-faculty: 19:1
University of California-Los Angeles
Score: 85.52
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,264
- Out-of-State: $27,366
- Net Price: $16,999
- Acceptance Rate: 9%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 92%
- Total Enrollment: 46,430
- Undergrad Students: 32,423
- Graduate Students: 14,007
- Grads Salary: $89,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Score: 85.41
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $27,192
- Out-of-State: $54,720
- Net Price: $19,318
- Acceptance Rate: 18%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
- Total Enrollment: 51,225
- Undergrad Students: 32,695
- Graduate Students: 18,530
- Grads Salary: $88,000
- Student-to-faculty: 12:1
University of California-Irvine
Score: 83.62
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,264
- Out-of-State: $27,366
- Net Price: $14,033
- Acceptance Rate: 21%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 87%
- Total Enrollment: 35,937
- Undergrad Students: 28,662
- Graduate Students: 7,275
- Grads Salary: $88,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
University of California-San Diego
Score: 83.39
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,264
- Out-of-State: $27,366
- Net Price: $16,111
- Acceptance Rate: 24%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
- Total Enrollment: 42,006
- Undergrad Students: 33,096
- Graduate Students: 8,910
- Grads Salary: $89,000
- Student-to-faculty: 19:1
University of Florida
Score: 82.74
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $10,770
- Out-of-State: $27,335
- Net Price: $11,740
- Acceptance Rate: 23%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 90%
- Total Enrollment: 55,211
- Undergrad Students: 34,552
- Graduate Students: 20,659
- Grads Salary: $79,000
- Student-to-faculty: 16:1
University of Southern California
Score: 81.73
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $66,640
- Out-of-State: $66,640
- Net Price: $36,808
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 92%
- Total Enrollment: 48,945
- Undergrad Students: 20,699
- Graduate Students: 28,246
- Grads Salary: $92,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
Lehigh University
Score: 81.1
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $27,810
- Out-of-State: $27,810
- Net Price: $30,453
- Acceptance Rate: 37%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 91%
- Total Enrollment: 7,394
- Undergrad Students: 5,624
- Graduate Students: 1,770
- Grads Salary: $91,000
- Student-to-faculty: 10:1
New York University
Score: 81.04
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $38,826
- Out-of-State: $38,826
- Net Price: $29,499
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 87%
- Total Enrollment: 59,144
- Undergrad Students: 29,401
- Graduate Students: 29,743
- Grads Salary: $87,000
- Student-to-faculty: 8:1
Villanova University
Score: 80.87
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $21,261
- Out-of-State: $21,261
- Net Price: $34,837
- Acceptance Rate: 23%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 91%
- Total Enrollment: 10,383
- Undergrad Students: 6,989
- Graduate Students: 3,394
- Grads Salary: $91,000
- Student-to-faculty: 10:1
University of California-Davis
Score: 80.87
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,264
- Out-of-State: $27,366
- Net Price: $17,385
- Acceptance Rate: 37%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
- Total Enrollment: 39,679
- Undergrad Students: 31,532
- Graduate Students: 8,147
- Grads Salary: $88,000
- Student-to-faculty: 21:1
The University of Texas at Austin
Score: 80.76
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,012
- Out-of-State: $22,954
- Net Price: $17,434
- Acceptance Rate: 31%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
- Total Enrollment: 52,384
- Undergrad Students: 41,309
- Graduate Students: 11,075
- Grads Salary: $83,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
University of Maryland
Score: 80.69
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $16,560
- Out-of-State: $36,100
- Net Price: $16,210
- Acceptance Rate: 45%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
- Total Enrollment: 40,792
- Undergrad Students: 30,353
- Graduate Students: 10,439
- Grads Salary: $83,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
Boston University
Score: 80.54
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $63,798
- Out-of-State: $63,798
- Net Price: $27,829
- Acceptance Rate: 14%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
- Total Enrollment: 36,714
- Undergrad Students: 18,459
- Graduate Students: 18,255
- Grads Salary: $85,000
- Student-to-faculty: 11:1
University of Chicago
Score: 80.4
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $65,145
- Out-of-State: $65,145
- Net Price: $36,991
- Acceptance Rate: 5%
- Retention Rate: 99%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
- Total Enrollment: 18,339
- Undergrad Students: 7,595
- Graduate Students: 10,744
- Grads Salary: $82,000
- Student-to-faculty: 5:1
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Score: 80.22
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $10,728
- Out-of-State: $24,054
- Net Price: $13,376
- Acceptance Rate: 49%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
- Total Enrollment: 48,956
- Undergrad Students: 36,306
- Graduate Students: 12,650
- Grads Salary: $80,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Score: 79.96
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $9,459
- Out-of-State: $29,433
- Net Price: $14,852
- Acceptance Rate: 47%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
- Total Enrollment: 36,700
- Undergrad Students: 26,254
- Graduate Students: 10,446
- Grads Salary: $82,000
- Student-to-faculty: 16:1
Boston College
Score: 79.88
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $35,784
- Out-of-State: $35,784
- Net Price: $30,559
- Acceptance Rate: 17%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 91%
- Total Enrollment: 15,287
- Undergrad Students: 9,982
- Graduate Students: 5,305
- Grads Salary: $85,000
- Student-to-faculty: 12:1
Stevens Institute of Technology
Score: 79.79
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $41,380
- Out-of-State: $41,380
- Net Price: $41,689
- Acceptance Rate: 46%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
- Total Enrollment: 9,314
- Undergrad Students: 4,070
- Graduate Students: 5,244
- Grads Salary: $101,000
- Student-to-faculty: 11:1
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Score: 79.76
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $15,545
- Out-of-State: $30,348
- Net Price: $14,544
- Acceptance Rate: 45%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
- Total Enrollment: 56,916
- Undergrad Students: 35,120
- Graduate Students: 21,796
- Grads Salary: $84,000
- Student-to-faculty: 21:1
Wake Forest University
Score: 78.96
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $38,650
- Out-of-State: $38,650
- Net Price: $26,197
- Acceptance Rate: 21%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 90%
- Total Enrollment: 8,963
- Undergrad Students: 5,447
- Graduate Students: 3,516
- Grads Salary: $79,000
- Student-to-faculty: 10:1
Goals of an MBA Degree
A top-notch MBA program has one goal: to help you develop into a leader who is ready to take on business issues and challenges facing your company. The programs are designed to help satisfy a variety of student goals and objectives. Just a few are to recognize the ethical, legal, and social responsibilities of organizations.
Effective business education includes using experiential learning so you’re able to analyze and put together information across several disciplines. You’ll also learn about using strategic thinking and how to apply what you’ve learned in your strategy sessions so you can analyze business conditions. You’ll learn how the global environment affects business and how to run a business effectively in a global marketplace. You’ll also refine your leadership skills and learn about the importance of team composition and motivation.
While you already know how to communicate orally, in written format, and by using presentations, you’ll re-learn these skills so that you deliver your message in the most effective way possible.
Why Get an MBA Degree?
You’ve already spent four years in college earning a four-year degree, so why go back to school? Why earn an MBA?
Different people who return to school for their MBAs have different reasons for going back to school.
Just some of these reasons include:
- Transferring Skills:
You may choose a particular concentration, knowing that you’ll be able to transfer your skills from one field to another. For instance, you may have decided you want to transfer from a technology field into healthcare. - Increased Salary:
An MBA makes it much easier for you to earn more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says that, holders of master’s degrees eventually earn up to $80,000 more than people who only have a bachelor’s degree. - Being Challenged:
An MBA program can challenge you in many ways. If you’ve gotten yourself into a rut, an MBA program tests and pushes you beyond your current comfort zone and help you move up and move forward with your career. - Management:
You’ll be pushed to manage projects and teams you may have never tried before. Any soft skills you currently have can help you but these will also be improved over the course of earning the degree. - Becoming a Valued Asset:
Earning and holding an MBA degree means that, when a CEO, CFO, or CMO is choosing who manages the next big project, they’ll see you as an asset to the company and may choose to take a chance on you.
Jobs for MBA Graduates
- Marketing Manager:
This role is vital in every business. Whether you sell services or products, they need to be effectively marketed. The median annual wage for this position is $134,000. - Financial Manager:
This role makes sure that a company’s money is wisely spent and invested. Every business needs money so it can operate, or it goes out of business. If you hold this position, making sure that happens will be your job. The median annual salary for this position is $1278,000. - Medical and Health Services Manager:
I this position, you’ll confront the increasing need for healthcare services. No matter what type of healthcare facility you manage, you’ll provide services, keep costs down, and ensure high quality service. As of 2018, the median salary was $100,000.
Part-time MBA Concentrations
An MBA concentration is a specialty in a particular area of business in which you want to deepen your knowledge. It consists of a few courses (up to 12 credits at some schools) that give you more extensive knowledge from a business management perspective.
- MBA in Accounting:
This concentration strengthens your background and understanding of the principles of accounting. You’ll develop the skills you need to provide strong financial management. - MBA in Business Analytics and Machine Learning:
This concentration is STEM-designated and gives you a more quantitative focus. A sample course is Healthcare: Markets, Analytics and Strategies. - MBA in Entrepreneurship:
If you plan to branch out on your own, this is an excellent concentration. Courses include Managing a Growing Business and Marketing for Entrepreneurs. - MBA in Finance:
Here, you get the knowledge you need to work in a finance setting. You’ll work with financial tools and analysis in your classes, and have the chance to develop a network. - MBA in Global Management:
This concentration gives you the international focus you’re seeking. You may also have the opportunity to study abroad, which gives you even more value. A sample class is Global Strategic Management. - MBA in Human Resources:
By earning this concentration, you’ll be in high demand. You’ll know how to lead strategic initiatives and grow organizational talent. You’ll focus on training, development, employment law, techniques in recruiting, and the strategies used in managing human resources costs. - MBA in Marketing:
In this focus, you’ll work on your marketing expertise and deepen your knowledge and skills in product management, analytics, sales, and strategy. A sample course includes Consumer Behavior. - Quantitative Finance:
This concentration allows you to develop complex financial models by using finance and STEM. Sample courses include Financial Data Analysis and Practice and Managing Portfolios.
What to Look for in a Part-time MBA
If you’ve chosen a part-time MBA program, it’s likely because you have other commitments you are focusing on. You may need to keep working or you don’t want to set your family to the side while you focus on your MBA and all of these are valid reasons. Because you want a high-quality MBA program, you need to know what you should look for in a part-time offering.
Find Online MBA Schools
Accredited part-time MBA programs are really important. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredits MBA programs. While it accredits programs all over the world, it has only accredited 800 institutions, with 75% located in the U.S.
Look for a part-time MBA program that will encourage you to bring out those unseen talents and shine them. No matter what they are, your colleagues and managers will see you using new skills when you return to the workplace.
Another thing you may not have considered is employer support. Many employers these days are supporting their workers as they earn an MBA, but you might want to check with them before you choose a program. After all, if you plan to continue working in your current company, they would be the best place to go for advice on which MBA program is the best locally.
Costs/Rewards of an MBA
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Benefits:
An MBA means you can almost double your current annual salary. If you switch careers, as many MBA graduates do, your salary will increase to double what you earned in your old position. If you continue to work in either a tech or finance position, you may earn $150,000+ after you earn your MBA.If you move into energy, healthcare, media/entertainment, real estate, manufacturing or retail, your salary will remain excellent, even if you’re coming in from a completely different sector.
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Costs:
Going back to school to earn your MBA is expensive. Factors in the cost of your tuition include your school’s reputation and their location. The University of Cincinnati (for full-time students) is $44,640 each year. At the higher end of the spectrum, Columbia University charges $74,400.Another factor to consider is the ratio of an MBA graduate’s salary increase, which has not kept pace in recent years. While tuition gets higher and higher, the value-added ratio has actually fallen. This is true of Stanford, Harvard, and other well-known universities and it’s something to think about.
Supply and demand has also changed. In 1985, business schools graduated about 67,000 new MBA graduates annually. Since 2000, this number has skyrocketed and is now closer to 200,000 every year.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where can I find a part-time MBA program?
There are plenty of programs available in the US. For instance, here are just a few: Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management; Boston College Carroll School of Management; University of Southern California Marshall School of Business; etc. Obviously, this somewhat misses the point. You need an MBA that caters to your future plans. Your best bet is to ask other professionals in your area or company, look into it through any professional organization you are a part of, review offerings from local colleges, look for online options from any prestigious schools you would love to add to your resume, or just a good old-fashioned Google might get you the information you need. However, talking to people you work with or a supervisor may earn you more than a list of school names and instead give you a more nuances view of what skills company employees already have and which ones they are still looking for. - What are the drawbacks of a part-time MBA program?
For one thing, you’ll spend more time in school; it could be anywhere from two to five years before you finally earn your MBA. If your personal and home schedules allow, you might want to consider an accelerated program. In the short-term, the tuition may be easier to face, but a long-term commitment often means your tuition will be more expensive overall. - What are the advantages of a part-time MBA program?
The best part is that you don’t have to quit your job or put your career on hold as you earn your degree. You’ll also be able to put new skills to work on the job immediately as you learn them. You may even earn a promotion while you are still in school on the back of new skills you gain in your program. You’ll also continue earning an income and your employer may even help with your tuition. Also, if you’ve found yourself bored at work, going to school might help you to recharge your mental batteries and give you more motivation when you return to work.
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