Business management is one of the most versatile degrees a person can earn. Whether a person's interest lies in an existing company, or in starting up a new business as an entrepreneur, the wide-ranging education an online business management degree program is designed to provide can make it a valuable place to start. Data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests that many high-paying business careers require at least a bachelor's degree, with some requiring advanced degrees. The benefit of online degree programs in business management is their flexibility, which can be crucial to those who are interested in advancing their careers while working full time or raising families.
To help guide the search for programs best suited to students' needs and interests, we've collected data on online colleges for business management, including graduation rate, number of programs offered, tuition costs and more. Our methodology, which is detailed at the bottom of this page, utilizes data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Using this data, here is our list of the 10 best online colleges for business management in the country.
Founded in 1889 in Florida, Saint Leo University offers an online Bachelor of Arts in business administration degree program with a specialization in business management. This program is designed for students who want to learn about topics such as international business, labor relations and strategic management. The curriculum is comprised of 42 credit hours in general education, 36 credit hours in business and 24 to 36 credit hours in student's chosen area of specialization. Moreover, students in the program can choose not just one, but two areas of specialization. The program is offered through Saint Leo's Online Learning Center, which has student services coordinators, enrollment counselors and student advisors to assist online learners.
Accreditation:
A Bachelor of Science in business degree program with a specialization in management can be completed online through Regis University, a Catholic Jesuit college located in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The curriculum includes coursework in business law, business finance and ethical decision making, as well as completion of a capstone project.
Additionally, students enrolled in the program can choose a minor or a second specialization to further customize their focus on management. These other specializations are offered in areas such as finance, marketing, project management and public administration. Finally, a joint program featuring graduate coursework can be pursued through the school's College of Business and Economics.
Accreditation:
Champlain College, a private nonprofit college founded in 1878 overlooking Vermont's gorgeous Lake Champlain, offers online associate and bachelor's degree programs in business management. The associate degree program consists of seven-week-long courses, and up to 45 credits can be transferred into the program from professional experience and/or training. Work experience can also be transferred into the bachelor's program, which has six start dates throughout the year.
Graduate and undergraduate certificate programs in the subject are available as well, either as stand-alone programs or as part of a larger degree program at the same degree level. The undergraduate certificate can be earned as part of either the associate or bachelor's program, while the graduate certificate can be earned as part of Champlain's online master's in accounting program.
Accreditation:
There are multiple ways to approach online learning in business management at the University of Phoenix. The most straightforward is the Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM) program. Up to 90 approved credits can be transferred into this program, from previous academic, work, life or military experience.
An alternate path is that of the Bachelor of Science in Management with an Associate of Arts concentrated in business fundamentals. This path starts with the associate program in business fundamentals, allowing students to concentrate on establishing a foundation of business skills, then transitions into greater depth through the BSM program.
Finally, there is the Bachelor of Science in Business with a general management certificate option. This track begins with a certificate curriculum, frontloading the program's core courses in order to cover career-oriented topics more quickly.
Accreditation:
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, a public research school, offers an online Bachelor of Science in Management degree program that can help students learn more about strategic management, organizational behavior, financial accounting and similar topics. Although the coursework for this business management program is offered 100 percent online, students also need to complete an internship as part of the program.
Additionally, students can complete a major in another area and use coursework in the business management field for a minor. This option enables students to complete 24 credit hours of business management classwork entirely online or through a blended option that includes on-campus learning. In addition, students who want to double major in business may be interested in related online programs in marketing or entrepreneurship.
Accreditation:
Students looking to continue a previously-started education business management might be interested by the online degree completion option available at Temple University. The university was started in 1884 by a reverend who was looking for night classes due to his day job. Considering why it was founded, it's probably little surprise that the university hosts Temple Online, a portal to assist working students everywhere through online, distance and hybrid courses.
Temple University's online Bachelor of Business Administration program is divided into multiple majors, such as accounting, human resources, marketing and business management. The business management major is specifically offered as a degree completion program. The curriculum is designed to be broad, helping adult students to better understand the professional environment as a whole.
Accreditation:
*NOTE: Kaplan University has merged with Purdue University Global since this list was made. Please contact Purdue Global University-Omaha to learn whether the merged school can still fulfill your needs.
The 56-credit online Master of Science in management degree offered offered through Kaplan University has multiple start dates throughout the year and focuses on leadership, managerial functions and decision making. The core curriculum includes 10 courses, in areas such as strategic financial analysis, applied research and organizational excellence. Students can also choose a concentration in one of six areas, such as health care management.
Accreditation:
The nonprofit Davenport University has quite the portfolio of online business management programs for distance learners interested in the field. At the undergraduate level, students can enroll in the Bachelor of Business Administration in management or the Bachelor of Science in leadership and organizational performance. The BBA delves into planning, leadership and problem solving, while the BS focuses on project management, quality management and contract negotiation.
Graduate students have even more options available to them. Davenport's Master of Management (MM) program approaches management as a universal skill, and as such does not require prior business education or experience. Graduate certificates in leadership strategies, sales leadership and strategic management can also be pursued.
Accreditation:
Bay Path University, founded in 1897 in Massachusetts, features an online Bachelor of Arts degree program in leadership & organizational studies (LOS) that is available solely to female learners. This undergraduate program is designed for women with work experience, and it is possible to complete it in as few as 12 months. Enrolled students are expected to learn how to design and change management strategies, optimize their communications skills, negotiate conflict resolution, perform data analysis and more.
Accreditation:
A private Catholic school located in Texas, the University of the Incarnate Word hosts a Bachelor of Science in leadership studies that can be taken 100 percent online. The program requires students to add a minor to their studies in a related field such as business administration, health care management, nonprofit management or project management. Speaking of business administration, the university's Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program also features an online concentration in management.
Graduate students may decide to pursue the Master of Science in organizational development and leadership, an accelerated program organized into six eight-week sessions with two courses per session.
Accreditation:
James W. Bronson, Ph.D.
Chair of the Management Department
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
James W. Bronson, Ph.D.
Chair of the Management Department
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Q: What are the qualities that make the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's online business management major an outstanding program?
A: There are several qualities that make our program outstanding:
Quality: All instructors in the program have to go through training before they can teach. All new courses are subject to an outside review by Quality Matters. Instructors whose course evaluations fall into the bottom 25 percent every semester have their courses reviewed by a committee and receive instructions for improvement.
Support: The College of Business and Economics (CoBE) maintains a technical support office (CoBE Tech) overseen by an Assistant Dean. This office supports both students and faculty. Faculty support is provided by a learning management system expert, web course designer, media specialist and other IT specialists. This office also maintains a high-end recording studio and a rapid turnaround computer repair facility.
Expertise: Courses are taught by faculty and staff that teach the same courses in the classroom. The UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics is large, with over 4,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs including a DBA, doctorate in business administration program. Many of us teach in a specialized field and we simply have the size to permit relatively narrow areas of specialization.
Programs: At this time, the online business programs consist of a general business major BBA and an MBA. We will have online marketing and finance majors in the BBA program in the near future. Our programs are offered by a state university that is accredited by the HLC and AACSB and should not be confused with programs offered by private for profit colleges and universities.
Q: What support does the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater offer their online student body?
A: ICoBE Tech offers in call-in support for technical issues related to course access and navigation. Walk-in support is available for both technical and hardware issues. Walk-in support might appear to be non-relevant for online students, but we find that a lot of students are trying to balance work and child care issues. These students take a mix of classroom and online classes. Having walk-in hardware support can be important for these students.
Q: How does the online business management program differ from the on-campus program?
A: From a subject content experience, I don't believe that the online program differs materially from the campus program. The required courses are the same. At the margin, the elective courses are more limited for the online degrees. Many courses simply aren't offered online. A course may be offered in the classroom once a year to 30 to 35 students. That same course will not be offered online as the enrollment doesn't warrant the resource commitment. That certainly may change as the online program continues to grow.
I'm going to conclude with a few general observations. Online programs are not for every student. It takes self-discipline and motivation to stick with the coursework. It can be very rewarding for the instructor when you realize that you are helping a stay-at-home mom, or someone in a dead-end job, improve their life. It is also common to find that a student accepted a job before they finished their coursework and that you are helping them finish up their degree. Not every faculty or staff member makes a good online instructor. Anyone who tends to put things off to the last minute has no business teaching an online course. Online courses need to be 100 percent complete before the class even starts and many instructors just can't seem to achieve that timeline.
Business management is a diverse field, providing many different career opportunities in many different companies across many different industries. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau reports there are more than 7.4 million businesses in existence in the United States. Online business management degrees are available from the certificate to doctoral level, enabling graduates to build skills to seek employment in businesses as different as health care, telecommunications, information technology and others.
The types of courses students are required to take during online programs for business management varies greatly depending on the program level and type. Most undergraduate business management programs are broad in scope, offering students the chance to build essential business skills. As students progress upward in their education, they usually begin to address more advanced and concentrated subjects as they decide upon and begin working towards their career goals. Below are details about some of the courses students may take in online colleges for business management.
Online colleges for business management can help students to build numerous skill sets. As students work their way through a business management program, they may want to think about whether they are improving in the following skills.
Online business management degree programs can provide a solid foundation for students who want to pursue a variety of leadership positions. These programs also aim to provide a business education that can be applied to many different fields. The following are examples of professions that business management graduates can purse, as well as an explanation of how an in-depth managerial education may be helpful in these jobs.
If business management wasn't quite what you were looking for, maybe one of these other programs can be more aligned to your goals: