2024 OMBA RANKING: What It Costs To Get An Online MBA

By Benjamin.Stevenin, 30 December, 2024

MOST EXPENSIVE ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS FOR 2024

Not surprisingly, the most expensive online MBAs tend to be highly ranked or offered by prestigious business schools.

The highest priced online MBA for 2024 was at Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business (ranked No. 5) at $146,916. Tuition at University of Southern California Marshall School of Business (ranked No. 9) is now $125,723. No one can argue that both schools have highly regarded business schools with full-time MBAs ranked in the top 25 in the country in P&Q’s latest composite ranking.

Both also ranked highly in P&Q’s previous OMBA rankings: Tepper has topped the ranking two times in seven years (2018 and 2020) and came in second in last year’s ranking. Marshall ranked No. 3 last year and first the year before that.

The table below shows schools where it costs more than $100,000 to get an online MBA.

Most Expensive Online MBAs From Ranked Programs

2024 P&Q RankSchoolTotal Tuition (In State)Total Tuition (Out of State)
5Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)$146,916$146,916
9University of Southern California (Marshall)$125,723$125,723
7University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)$125,589$125,589
4University of Michigan (Ross)$118,000$128,000
6Rice University (Jones)$115,020$115,020
39Pepperdine University (Graziadio)$109,980$109,980
19University of California, Davis$105,480$105,480
29Syracuse University (Whitman)$101,088$101,088

CMU Tepper’s program had the fourth highest career impact score in our ranking, with nearly 53% of its 2023 graduates reporting getting promotions as a result of their degree. Further, 69% reported getting raises. USC Marshall, meanwhile, was seventh in academic experience with alumni rating the program’s in-person and class trips a 9.85 out of 10.

GEMS UNDER $100K

There are notable exceptions: The top two schools in the 2024 ranking both have price tags under $100,000. Tuition at No. 2 University of Washington Foster School of Business was $93,000. Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, ranked No. 1 for the second straight year, was priced at $88,320.

The least expensive top ten online MBA offering is from the Auburn University Harbert College of Business (No. 10) at a cost of $37,325. Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business (No. 11) comes in at $45,972.

ONLINE MBAS UNDER $30K

At the other end of the spectrum, the cost of an online degree (in some cases) is a reflection of the kind of experience a student may want.

In other words: You get an online education with fewer bells and whistles. Rogers State University’s (No. 42 overall) $10,880 online MBA is 100% asynchronous with no live classes, virtual or otherwise. It doesn’t offer a capstone consulting project, international trips, or student clubs or organizations. But, it appears that’s exactly what its students want: 2023 alumni rated it a perfect 10 on the likelihood that they would recommend the program to others, the highest of our ranking. They gave the same rating to the responsiveness of its professors, even though their relationships were built solely online.

Least Expensive Online MBAs From Ranked Programs

2024 P&Q RankName of school:Total Tuition (In State)Total Tuition (Out of State)
42Rogers State University$10,880$10,880
33Bowling Green State University$17,850$17,850
37University of Massachusetts-Lowell$19,650$19,650
50University of North Texas (Ryan)$22,603$22,603
47Kennesaw State University$22,970$22,970
24Bryant University$23,115$23,115
45SUNY Oswego$23,904$28,405
14University of Tennessee at Chattanooga$24,492$26,184
23University of South Florida (Muma)$24,750$24,750
46University of Delaware (Lerner)$27,500$27,500
21University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium$29,700$29,700

FIVE YEAR TUTION COMPARISON AT RANKED SCHOOLS

In-state and out-of-state tuition is different at a handful of schools in our ranking. When doing your school research, be sure to check the difference to see if you’re one of the lucky few to catch a break.

The table below shows total tuition over the last five years (based on out-of-state tuition.)

5-Year Tuition Comparison at Ranked Schools

2024 P&Q RankName of school:Total Tuition (2024)Tuition (2023)Tution (2022)Tutition (2021)Tutition (2020)
1Indiana University (Kelley)$88,320$82,158$78,246$74,520$74,520
2University of Washington (Foster)$93,000$90,000$78,000$78,000NA
3University of Texas at Dallas (Naveen Jindal)$85,983$85,983$95,052$93,179NA
4University of Michigan (Ross)$128,000$131,000NANANA
5Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)$146,916$145,600$146,867$141,320$137,200
6Rice University (Jones)$115,020$113,400$109,930NANA
7University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)$125,589$125,589$125,589$125,589$125,589
8Jack Welch Management Institute$47,450$47,450$48,695$48,695$48,695
9University of Southern California (Marshall)$125,723$119,822$113,833$111,663$106,197
10Auburn University (Harbert)$37,325$35,375$35,375$35,375$35,100
11Santa Clara University$89,390$89,390$83,860$83,510NA
12University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg)$37,183$37,062$35,983$35,983$35,983
13Baylor University (Hankamer)$51,264$60,624$60,624$60,724$60,624
14University of Tennessee at Chattanooga$26,184$25,572$25,572$25,212$23,520
15University of Florida (Warrington)$59,808$59,808$49,205$59,808NA
16Lehigh University$46,995$44,835$42,855$41,595$39,600
17University of Utah (Eccles)$67,200$64,800$62,400$58,000NA
18Hofstra University (Zarb)$60,955$58,390$56,220$54,502$65,320
19University of California, Davis$105,480$105,480NANANA
20Southern Methodist University (Cox)$45,528$91,624NANANA
21University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium$29,700$29,700$28,870$28,800$23,250
22William & Mary (Mason)$70,575$67,635$63,700$64,300NA
23University of South Florida (Muma)$24,750$24,750$24,750$24,750$20,000
24Bryant University$23,115NANANANA
25University of Nebraska-Lincoln$32,400$31,200$31,200$31,200$30,240
26Villanova University$60,000$60,000$67,632$66,000$64,800
27North Carolina State University (Jenkins)$57,298NANANANA
28University of Michigan-Dearborn$35,088$34,500$33,060$32,580$30,234
29Syracuse University (Whitman)$101,088$97,308$93,636NANA
30University of Denver (Daniels)$82,980$82,980$82,980$83,220NA
31Washington State University$32,328$45,552$46,656$43,368$43,368
32University of Maryland (Smith)$93,582$93,563$91,746$88,776$88,776
33Bowling Green State University$17,850NANANANA
34University of Iowa$33,750NANANANA
35University of Cincinnati (Lindner)$36,444$48,720$49,605$44,640$32,883
36Florida International University$42,000$42,000$42,000$42,000$42,000
37University of Massachusetts-Lowell$19,650$19,650$19,650$19,650$19,650
38Ohio University$36,785$36,785$36,785$36,785$35,980
39Pepperdine University (Graziadio)$109,980$103,740$99,840NANA
40Creighton University$32,406$32,076$31,752$30,821NA
41Worcester Polytechnic Institute$45,030$45,000NANANA
42Rogers State University$10,880$10,880$10,880$10,880NA
43Drexel University (LeBow)$64,244$63,994$63,994$63,994NA
44San Jose State University (Lucas)$39,270NANANANA
45SUNY Oswego$28,405$28,405$28,196$27,764$23,603
46University of Delaware (Lerner)$41,800$41,800$41,800$41,800NA
47Kennesaw State University$22,970$22,970$24,470$24,470$24,470
48American University (Kogod)$92,256$89,568$88,788$78,288NA
49Louisiana State University (Ourso)$39,960$19,980$39,960$39,960NA
50University of North Texas (Ryan)$22,603$21,994$15,625NANA
51Clemson University$58,000$15,720NANANA
Section
Standfirst

Not so long ago, many believed that online MBAs and other digitally-delivered degrees would democratize graduate business education, making it more accessible and affordable than their in-person counterparts.

While those assumptions have played out in some disruptively priced programs, the cost of premium programs often tops six figures.

In Poets&Quants’ seventh annual ranking of the best OMBAs, eight of 51 ranked programs charged tuition of $100,000. Just five schools charged that much in our two previous rankings.

Business schools will argue that the curriculum, electives and even faculty are nearly identical to their full-time, in-person MBAs. Many also require in-person modules and residencies, and some offer trips around the country and abroad to supplement online learning.

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2024-12-30T14:28:57+0000

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