Elite Business Schools with Online Programs

I know this is not the normal thread for DI as many are looking for the best bang for their buck in terms of tuition. However, I wanted to start a running thread of what I could only deem as “Elite” B-Schools and their degree programs they offer through remote instruction. Below is the list I have compiled so far with their US News Ranking (let’s not let this go the ranking discussion route because we all know how that goes) and the degree they offer:

NYU Stern (#10) - MS Quantitative Management
Duke Fuqua (#12) - MS Quantitative Management
Michigan Ross (#13) - MBA
Cornell Johnson (#15) - MSBA
CMU Tepper (#16) - MSBA
USC Marshall (#16) - Master Taxation, SCM, MBA
UNC Kenan-Flagler (#20) - MBA, MAcc
Georgetown McDonough (#21) - MSF, MSBA
Washington Foster (#22) - MBA
Indiana Kelley (#23) - MBA, MSF, MSBA
Rice Jones (#25) - MBA

Since most college sports rankings stop at #25 I figured I would as well. If I missed anything, or if you would like the like to go further than the #25 spot, let me know. This gives folks a list of (11) extremely well-known universities with online graduate business degree offerings.

 

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign (#2 accounting) - MS in Accountancy
Indiana University (#11 accounting, #23 business) - MS in Accounting

 

I remember looking into the Gies MS Accounting. I still get emails to this day from them.

 

UCLA Anderson (#18 overall and #5 part-time) offers a hybrid online with occasional on-campus meetings

https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/degrees/fully-employed-mba/flexible-options/hybrid

 

but if you get an 'Elite school' degree completely online, how would your employers think?

When I say it's an online degree, people would laugh at it lol

 

Who needs to know that it was online? If they don't ask, do not volunteer any information. Of the 30+ interviews I've had in the last few months, only one person referenced my Liberty Ph.D. being online. This was during dinner when I went for a campus visit. They were talking about grad school experiences. So, the chair asked what was my experience like pursuing my Ph.D. online.

 

firstly why r u telling ur employers you have an 'online degree' ?

did they explicitly ask 'Is your degree taken online ?' because if they do, u need to ask yourself what kind of employer are you even trying to work for... and if you really want to work for that company.

secondly, who are these 'people' who laugh at it ? again, back to Qn 1 - are u going around telling the whole world you have an online degree ?

I did a U of Derby degree via DL not too long ago, and I've used that to apply for jobs at fortune 500 companies (UX/UI and Front End jobs). I've gotten interviews and job offers.

practically NONE of them asked me if my degree was 'an online degree'. All the interviews started the same, we went right into the crux of the job itself, what they want, what I can offer, which languages am I most comfortable with, etc.

 

I mean, I have yet have a person laugh at my pursuit of a MS in Quantitative Management at Duke University even though it is online. There are on-campus components (I'll be in Durham next month). I interact more with my professors and classmates in this program than I did in undergrad and my MBA it seems.

 

And I don't think that will happen, EVER, Josh, because, as you and most of us here know:

(1) Duke does not offer "laughable" degrees - online or on campus. Period.
(2) I can't imagine anyone who would laugh at a sought-after degree from a VERY high-ranking school, that cost $70K or anywhere near. Except, possibly, a person with severe mental challenges.

Sorry Nomaduser. You've come up with some good ideas in the past, and I'm sure we'll hear more. But the idea of a "laughable" Duke degree -of any kind - is NOT one of them.

 

I don't like the idea of having to 'not tell people if it's online degree' ...

I was doing an online degree at top 100th-200th school in US. People didn't take it very seriously so I transferred to other program that is on-campus equivalent.

I think the online program should be better if it has some on-campus courses...so at least you can say you have 'attended' the school.

It's much more difficult to get into UPenn's on-campus BS in Computer Science than UPenn's online MCIT.

They'll never be seen as the same students. Period.
Students in UPenn's on-campus BS in computer science are generally more talented and they won't have any issue getting a job at Facebook, Google, IBM, and Amazon right after graduation. They had very high GPA in high school, AP exams, SAT, etc. Students in MCIT? well some of them maybe did well in different majors but not all of them.

 

They're not the same program or even the same level of education so why would they be seen as the same students? Prestige is prestige. Above a certain level, it all blends together. If you get into a UPenn program you're a smart person and a good student.

People always come up with meaningless distinctions to establish a hierarchy. If you're attending a state school, people say the Ivies are better. If you're attending an Ivy, people say that Harvard is better than Cornell. If you're attending Harvard, people will look down on the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and say the business school is harder to get into. At the end of the day, you get a degree from a good school and hopefully the skills you need to pursue a career that is meaningful.

I tell people all my degrees since my Associates have been earned online. Nobody's expressed negativity but lots of employers and interviewers have commented positively over the years on the time management required to pull that off.

 

While it is true online programs have a higher acceptance rate due to no cap on seats, it is a false assumption to make that online students are lesser than.

In my program alone, I have classmates from Cornell, Duke, UMich, and other elite undergraduate programs. Gone are the days where online modes of teaching are frowned upon.

 

I still cannot comprehend why you would even bring it up that you earned your degree online. It's nobody's business if I earned my degree online, locally, moved across the country, or finished over the course of 10 or 15 years because degrees are insanely expensive to earn in person. It's a degree. It's properly accredited. End of story. That's all anyone needs to know.

 

Here's a quick trick for you all:
Finish 95% of your degree online or via CLEP exams, take the remaining 3 to 5 courses on campus.
Then you become a traditional graduate and you can say you attended the actual school LOL

 

Attending online is still attending the actual school. My degree from Duke will look identical to the students who complete it on-campus. Absolutely zero difference whatsoever. None. Zip. Zilch. In fact, I have the same professors they do on-campus and the professors actually teach my courses. We have live lectures. We have assignments, we have meetings during the week. The same components the on-campus students have, I have.

Why uproot my family and my career when I could get the same education online?

 

Kogod School of Business and the School of International Service both at American University jointly offer the MS in International Relations and Business online. School of International Service is Foreign Policy Magazine Inside the Ivory Tower #8 worldwide master's in international relations (most recent publication, 2018). Kogod is US News #16 graduate international business, #76 graduate business.

 

I think, on the contrary, students taking online degree programs should be appreciated for their time management skills, financial balance (maybe), and self-discipline.

 

Gee, I forgot the main topic of this thread.
JoshD, is it possible to include DBA programs on the list as well?

 

Absolutely!