University Headquarters (HQ) is an industry-leading, independent educational organization that provides independent college rankings using a proprietary formula to create first class, unbiased rankings. The team at University HQ strives to provide accurate and trustworthy rankings that highlight the best programs for an MBA.
Pursing your Master of Business Management or a degree in strategic leadership or organizational leadership program is not a decision to be taken lightly. However, with diligent study and the right academic education in business that offers organizational leadership development, you can gain success and a great payoff with an MBA with a leadership specialization. Prospective students can find online master's of business administration (MBA) programs that offer this graduate degree, as well as in-person options, though both will likely require a GMAT or GRE, as well as years of experience in your field - such as human resources or international business - and an undergraduate business degree. The average GMAT score of accepted students can tell you how difficult it will be to get into a particular online MBA program if you're uncertain of your chance of success.
In leadership roles, an MBA is the entry point for more and more positions for business leaders. Between the curriculum and the chance to gain practical skills in real-world scenarios that you get in the best online MBA programs and traditional MBA programs with high academic quality and rigorous curriculum, the education that incoming students will receive in Organizational Leadership MBA programs from business schools prepare graduates to take hold of domestic and international business teams, departments, and organizations like never before. They can work at the highest levels as human resources managers, in executive coaching, and more. There are a variety of schools across the US that will allow incoming students to choose leadership as a main focus of their classes in graduate programs to prepare them for managerial positions and organizational leadership. By completing the core required courses in this concentration, in-person and online MBA students will learn to apply real solutions and understanding to multiple areas of any potential industry and will gain practical skills throughout the program. Graduates from online MBA programs in strategic leadership will have experience with strategic management styles, critical thinking, organizational behavior, organizational development and organizational dynamics, organizational leadership, organizational behavior, leadership theory, managing human capital, project management, business analytics, corporate social responsibility, leading organizational change, and other MBA courses offered by their chosen school of business.
Business leader salaries vary considerably at all levels, though you can definitely expect to earn more with a graduate degree. Entering a management role at a large company can lead to higher wages than working for a small firm, or you could pursue entrepreneurship for a great return.
That said, take a look at the median salaries by education and experience level for MBA earners versus those with a bachelor’s degree:
Featured Online MBA Programs
Top 25 Best MBA in Leadership Programs
Stanford University
Score: 94.45
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $58,746
- Out-of-State:$58,746
- Net Price: $18,279
- Acceptance Rate: 4%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
- Total Enrollment: 18,283
- Undergrad Students: 8,049
- Graduate Students: 10,234
- Grads Salary: $116,000
- Student-to-faculty: 5:1
University of California-Berkeley
Score: 84.05
- 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
Cornell University
Score: 82.86
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $29,500
- Out-of-State:$29,500
- Net Price: $26,060
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
- Total Enrollment: 25,898
- Undergrad Students: 15,735
- Graduate Students: 10,163
- Grads Salary: $93,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
Claremont McKenna College
Score: 80.52
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $68,525
- Out-of-State:$68,525
- Net Price: $28,701
- Acceptance Rate: 10%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 91%
- Total Enrollment: 1,389
- Undergrad Students: 1,386
- Graduate Students: 3
- Grads Salary: $92,000
- Student-to-faculty: 8:1
University of Notre Dame
Score: 79.93
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $62,030
- Out-of-State:$62,030
- Net Price: $28,474
- Acceptance Rate: 13%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
- Total Enrollment: 13,105
- Undergrad Students: 8,971
- Graduate Students: 4,134
- Grads Salary: $87,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
Boston University
Score: 76.9
- 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
Binghamton University
Score: 76.56
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $11,310
- Out-of-State:$23,790
- Net Price: $19,535
- Acceptance Rate: 42%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
- Total Enrollment: 18,312
- Undergrad Students: 14,402
- Graduate Students: 3,910
- Grads Salary: $90,000
- Student-to-faculty: 19:1
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Score: 76.36
- 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: 75.47
- 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
Virginia Tech
Score: 74.61
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $15,234
- Out-of-State:$30,702
- Net Price: $19,301
- Acceptance Rate: 57%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
- Total Enrollment: 38,170
- Undergrad Students: 30,434
- Graduate Students: 7,736
- Grads Salary: $83,000
- Student-to-faculty: 17:1
Capitol Technology University
Score: 74.53
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $11,340
- Out-of-State:$11,340
- Net Price: $25,445
- Acceptance Rate: 64%
- Retention Rate: 73%
- Graduation Rate: 55%
- Total Enrollment: 823
- Undergrad Students: 301
- Graduate Students: 522
- Grads Salary: $114,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
The College of New Jersey
Score: 71.84
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $16,167
- Out-of-State:$16,167
- Net Price: $22,273
- Acceptance Rate: 64%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
- Total Enrollment: 7,629
- Undergrad Students: 7,039
- Graduate Students: 590
- Grads Salary: $77,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
California State University-Fullerton
Score: 70.62
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $7,176
- Out-of-State:$16,680
- Net Price: $7,925
- Acceptance Rate: 67%
- Retention Rate: 86%
- Graduation Rate: 69%
- Total Enrollment: 40,386
- Undergrad Students: 35,432
- Graduate Students: 4,954
- Grads Salary: $80,000
- Student-to-faculty: 24:1
University of South Florida
Score: 70.45
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $8,350
- Out-of-State:$19,048
- Net Price: $11,004
- Acceptance Rate: 44%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 74%
- Total Enrollment: 49,600
- Undergrad Students: 38,047
- Graduate Students: 11,553
- Grads Salary: $73,000
- Student-to-faculty: 22:1
Bentley University
Score: 70.38
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $44,720
- Out-of-State:$44,720
- Net Price: $44,233
- Acceptance Rate: 58%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
- Total Enrollment: 5,165
- Undergrad Students: 4,131
- Graduate Students: 1,034
- Grads Salary: $91,000
- Student-to-faculty: 12:1
University of Washington-Bothell
Score: 69.87
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $17,514
- Out-of-State:$31,392
- Net Price: $9,357
- Acceptance Rate: 88%
- Retention Rate: 85%
- Graduation Rate: 69%
- Total Enrollment: 5,735
- Undergrad Students: 5,192
- Graduate Students: 543
- Grads Salary: $81,000
- Student-to-faculty: 21:1
University of San Diego
Score: 69.76
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $28,854
- Out-of-State:$28,854
- Net Price: $36,008
- Acceptance Rate: 53%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
- Total Enrollment: 8,815
- Undergrad Students: 5,669
- Graduate Students: 3,146
- Grads Salary: $85,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Score: 69.49
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $22,878
- Out-of-State:$22,878
- Net Price: $25,661
- Acceptance Rate: 63%
- Retention Rate: 82%
- Graduation Rate: 71%
- Total Enrollment: 2,729
- Undergrad Students: 2,575
- Graduate Students: 154
- Grads Salary: $87,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Score: 69.23
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $13,200
- Out-of-State:$24,000
- Net Price: $14,023
- Acceptance Rate: 81%
- Retention Rate: 86%
- Graduation Rate: 62%
- Total Enrollment: 7,080
- Undergrad Students: 5,498
- Graduate Students: 1,582
- Grads Salary: $86,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
Miami University-Oxford
Score: 68.2
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $13,932
- Out-of-State:$34,006
- Net Price: $23,031
- Acceptance Rate: 88%
- Retention Rate: 89%
- Graduation Rate: 81%
- Total Enrollment: 19,107
- Undergrad Students: 16,864
- Graduate Students: 2,243
- Grads Salary: $76,000
- Student-to-faculty: 15:1
Regis University
Score: 67.99
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $14,573
- Out-of-State:$14,573
- Net Price: $26,377
- Acceptance Rate: 76%
- Retention Rate: 72%
- Graduation Rate: 67%
- Total Enrollment: 4,668
- Undergrad Students: 2,398
- Graduate Students: 2,270
- Grads Salary: $89,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
The University of Texas at Dallas
Score: 67.91
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $15,088
- Out-of-State:$29,468
- Net Price: $13,555
- Acceptance Rate: 85%
- Retention Rate: 87%
- Graduation Rate: 70%
- Total Enrollment: 31,570
- Undergrad Students: 21,617
- Graduate Students: 9,953
- Grads Salary: $81,000
- Student-to-faculty: 27:1
Thomas Jefferson University
Score: 67.91
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $23,202
- Out-of-State:$23,202
- Net Price: $28,110
- Acceptance Rate: 89%
- Retention Rate: 82%
- Graduation Rate: 68%
- Total Enrollment: 8,286
- Undergrad Students: 3,771
- Graduate Students: 4,515
- Grads Salary: $91,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
Marquette University
Score: 67.82
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $23,845
- Out-of-State:$23,845
- Net Price: $33,136
- Acceptance Rate: 87%
- Retention Rate: 89%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
- Total Enrollment: 11,167
- Undergrad Students: 7,528
- Graduate Students: 3,639
- Grads Salary: $82,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Score: 67.52
- Graduate Tuition
- In-State: $20,444
- Out-of-State:$20,444
- Net Price: $16,262
- Acceptance Rate: 70%
- Retention Rate: 84%
- Graduation Rate: 70%
- Total Enrollment: 5,478
- Undergrad Students: 4,932
- Graduate Students: 546
- Grads Salary: $75,000
- Student-to-faculty: 16:1
