Top Online MBA

Everyday, there are more than 300 people around the world who use the internet to search for the term Top Online MBA. If you are one of those who are considering of earning your MBA online by enrolling in an Online MBA Course, then probably you would have searched for the term Top Online MBA yourself.

Other related terms searched include:

Accredited online mba
Best online mba
Best online mba programs
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Compare online mba

With so many universities offering online MBA courses, nowadays, how do you know which of these courses are considered the top online MBA? While there is no authority to establish which of the so many programs fit the criteria of a top online MBA, there are many resources to help you gage. Publication such as Financial Times or Princeton Review are some examples.

We like to offer some tips and suggestions on how you should gauge if the programs offered are considered one of the top in online MBA courses.

The first of these criteria is the salary of the graduates from these universities that claimed to offer the top online MBA courses. The salary should be adjusted for variations between industry sectors.

The followings are the weighted salary of graduates of some of the top MBA course provider, extracted from the Financial Times:

Indian School of Business USD169355
Stanford University GSB USD167225
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton USD165859
Columbia Business School USD165123
Harvard Business School USD162316
MIT: Sloan U.S.A. USD155160
Ceibs China USD154144
Dartmouth College: Tuck U.S.A. USD151673
IMD Switzerland USD150775
University of Chicago GSB U.S.A. USD148978
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business South Africa USD148975
Insead France / Singapore USD146878
London Business School U.K. USD144918
UCLA: Anderson U.S.A. USD140058
University of Oxford: Saïd U.K. USD139684
New York University: Stern U.S.A. USD137548
Yale School of Management U.S.A. USD136318
Northwestern University: Kellogg USD135646
Cranfield School of Management USD134125
UC Berkeley: Haas U.S.A. USD131830

Another factor that you can use to find your top online MBA course is the percentage of salary increase of the graduates. This refers to the comparision of salary difference from pre-MBA as compared to post-MBA.

The followings are percentage salary increase within the first 3 years of graduation from some top online MBA courses:

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China - 177%
IE Business School Spain - 158%
Ceibs China - 157%
Ipade Mexico - 145%
Columbia Business School U.S.A. - 144%
Iese Business School Spain - 144%
University of Strathclyde Business School U.K. - 143%
Yale School of Management U.S.A. - 140%
MIT: Sloan U.S.A. - 133%
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton U.S.A. - 132%
University of Cambridge: Judge U.K. - 130%
Emory University: Goizueta U.S.A. - 130%
University of Iowa: Tippie U.S.A. - 130%
Indian School of Business India - 129%
University of Chicago GSB U.S.A. - 128%
New York University: Stern U.S.A. - 128%
Lancaster University Management School U.K. - 127%
London Business School U.K. - 126%
HEC Paris France - 126%
Esade Business School Spain - 126%

You should also ask if the top online MBA provides you with good value of money. What is meant by good value for money is if the online MBA course provides good return on your investment in terms of salary earned, the course duration, other fees and cost. There is also the opportunity cost of not working or sacrificing other lifestyle during the duration of your online MBA study.

Another aspect to judge if the top online MBA course is a good one is to assess the career progress of graduates. A top online MBA university should also provide career placement services. Some online MBA universities continue to enjoy success with the career placement of their graduates. This show that the industry has high regards for their graduates.


Graduates from a top online MBA should also be able to find employment within three months upon graduation. In fact, this is a standard gauge. Needless to say, this also depends on other factor such as economic health of the industry.

Another way to decide if it is a good or one of the top online MBA is to speak to alumni from the program and ask if they will recommend other people to pursue the online MBA course.

Another factor to help you determine if the online MBA course is one of the top is to check if the online MBA program is accredited. There are many established accrediting agencies, such as AMBA and AACSB. It is not uncommon for students to look for AACSB accredited online MBA programs.

While different accrediting agencies will have different accrediting process and criteria, they usually look at the faculty that offer the top online MBA course. The faculty should have adequate resources for all its activities. A top online MBA course can only be found in faculty with good national or international standing.

A top online MBA course will also have a comprehensive and good curriculum that trained their students to be all-rounder and skilled in management. All core business skills should be covered by their curriculum. A good curriculum from a top online MBA course would include marketing, economic, accounting, finance, organisational theory subjects.