It’s the classic dilemma. An MBA degree offers business education, career prospects and contacts that promise to pay dividends years down the road, but it comes at a heavy price: steep tuition and the sacrifice of two years on the workforce.
Business schools have been responding by offering MBA programs with increasing flexibility, and the last few years have seen a spate of new online MBA programs. Early next year, Maryland University’s Smith School of Business will join their ranks. Its new Online MBA aims to give working professionals all the advantages of a traditional MBA–on their own time.
“This is a major step forward for the university and for business professionals who need flexible access to academic excellence,” said UMD’s President Wallace Loh in a recent school press release. “The Smith School is combining a state-of-the-art online platform with the academic rigor that makes it a leader.”
Smith officials assure applicants that the courses will be taught by the same faculty and adhere to the academic standards as the full MBA program.
Aside from two short residencies at beginning and end of the program, all program requirements can be completed online, in as few as 21 months.
Worried about getting accepted to Maryland? Good news. Although the full-time MBA program accepts fewer than half its applicants and has an average GMAT score of 666, admissions to online MBA programs in recent years have typically been more lenient.
Hoping to save money? There you might not be so lucky. Courses run at $1,481 per credit hour–only slightly below the rate for the full-time MBA.
If you’re considering getting an online MBA, we recommend that you try out some free online courses first. Read some of MetroMBA’s extensive coverage of free online courses, including ones offered by Harvard, Wharton, and Fox.