The Best Houston Part-Time MBA Programs

Not every MBA candidate can manage the schedule of pursuing full-time degree. Many business school students continue to work throughout their studies, balancing a job and graduate school through a part-time MBA program. Many of these programs take place in the evenings and on weekends, allowing for flexibility along with continued professional growth.In the Houston metro, many business schools offer the flexibility of a part-time program to prospective MBAs. Here is a rundown of some of the best Houston part-time MBA programs.

C.T. Bauer College of Business – University of Houston

Established in 1942, the C.T. Bauer College of Business was was originally named the College of Business Administration. In 1958, the Houston Endowment Fund gave the school a large financial gift that would create a separate building for the College of Business and Administration. The college was renamed to the C.T. Bauer College of Business in 2000 after receiving a $40 million gift from Ted Bauer, co-founder of AIM Investments.

The school offers three MBA programs, a full-time MBA, a Professional or Flexible MBA program and an Executive MBA program. All of the MBA programs offered at Bauer are AACSB-accredited. The part-time program at Bauer is known as the Professional MBA. The flexible program takes 22 months to complete, beginning in either the fall or the spring semesters. The program consists of 48 credit hours and students must complete 21 core credit hours and 27 elective credit hours throughout fall, spring and summer sessions.

Students who start in the fall participate in a cohort lockstep structure, while students starting in the spring participate in a more flexible scheduling structure. During the fall and spring semesters, each course meets once a week from 6 to 9 p.m. Class held over the summer session meet twice a week from 6 to 10 p.m. for about six weeks.

Cameron School of Business – University of St. Thomas

The Cameron School of Business is part of the University of St. Thomas, which is the only Catholic university in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Founded by Basilian Fathers in 1947, these holy folks continue to ensure that the university provides a Catholic liberal arts education to its students. The Cameron School of Business was founded in 1979, and focuses on ethically-oriented business education that will provide the school’s graduates with the skills necessary to serve as leaders of faith in a global economy.

Cameron offers two different part-time programs—the Saturday and the Evening MBA. Students in these programs are required to complete 36 academic hours—27 hours are in core course and nine hours are elective courses. Elective courses can be taken to complete a concentration, such as: accounting, ethics, finance, health care administration, international business, marketing and management information systems.

Cameron offers options to students who enter the program without a sufficient undergraduate business background as well. These students are required to complete up to eight MBA Academic Proficiency courses, which can be taken in the Bridge to Business Program for non-business undergraduates. These courses allow for students with non-business degrees to enter the program in August, January or May before the traditional semester begins.

Jesse H. Jones School of Business – Texas Southern University

Founded in 1955, Jesse H. Jones School of Business is part of Texas Southern University, one of the country’s largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The business school was founded in response to a growing interest in business among students in the city of Houston.

The school offers full-time, part-time and Executive MBA program options. The part-time program is especially flexible, as courses revolve around the availability of individual students. All students complete courses over the fall, spring and summer semesters. Both full-time and part-time students at Jones have the option to either complete the general MBA program, or pursue an MBA with a concentration in Health Care Administration, Accounting or Management Information Systems.

Mays Business School – Texas A&M University

Texas A&M first offered a general MBA degree in 1951 and has been American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited since 1972. Mays Business School is located on the west campus of the sprawling A&M University in College Station, Texas, just one hour and 44 minutes outside of Houston. Mays also has a facility located in Houston, dubbed the CITYCENTRE facility, which opened in 2012. The CITYCENTRE campus encompasses 30,000 square feet of space located on the first and second floors of the CITYCENTRE THREE building.

The school’s part-time program is known as the Professional MBA, and is a 22-month program built on Texas A&M’s established MBA curriculum. The 45-credit hour program is composed of 39-credit hours in the major disciplines of business, leadership and communication, and six credit hours of electives. Classes meet on alternating weekends, from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday evening and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the CITYCENTRE.

Students in the Professional MBA program must also complete a Capstone Project, which is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their cumulative business knowledge and leadership skills by tackling an important challenge facing an organization. Students identify and define a problem or issue, develop an approach that utilizes their learning and produce actionable results with the potential for significant impact for a real organization.

Students are also required to participate in the International Business Policy course during the summer between their first and second year. The course is delivered via classroom sessions along with a one-week study abroad experience.

McCombs School of Business – University of Texas at Austin

Founded in 1922, the McCombs School of Business is an AACSB accredited institution that offers students everything from undergraduate to terminal degrees. The school’s MBA offerings include a traditional full-time MBA degree, the Texas Executive MBA, a part-time Texas Evening MBA, the Texas Weekend MBA and a dual-degree executive MBA program in Mexico City.

McCombs offers a Working Professional Evening MBA Program at its Austin campus, which is a 48-credit curriculum that is completed over 2.5 years. Classes are held Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. In Houston, McCombs offers a part-time Weekend MBA Program option in Houston. The 48-credit curriculum can be completed over two years at the Houston campus, located at UT Health & Science Center School of Nursing. Classes are held on alternating weekends from 4-8 p.m. Fridays, and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m.

Rice University – Jones Graduate School of Business

Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business offers three MBA programs: Full-Time MBA, MBA for Executives and MBA for Professionals. The Rice MBA Program is accredited by AACSB International.

While the Rice MBA for Professionals is technically a part-time program, it’s strenuous curriculum is similar to that of a full-time program. The flexible program offers evening and weekend options: The evening program holds classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 9:30 p.m., approximately two Thursdays, five Fridays and nine Saturdays over the course of the program, and the weekend structure classes are held on alternating weekends. Friday classes are held from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday classes are held from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Students following either of the program structures must complete 54 credit hours and will complete their MBA degree in 22 months. Both program structures also feature two mandatory six-day Immersions, a series of academic boot camps, career and professional development workshops and team-building workshops and activities.

University of Houston – Downtown

Founded in 1974 when the University of Houston acquired the assets of South Texas Junior College, the University of Houston-Downtown comprises five buildings on 24 acres near the Buffalo and White Oak bayous on the north end of downtown Houston. UHD’s College of Business was founded in 1991, and in January 2012, UHD College of Business enrolled its first class of MBA students. The UHD School of Business received accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 1994.

The UHD part-time MBA can be completed in two or three years and classes are offered in a hybrid form, with some classes taking place on campus and others online. Students have even more options within the part-time program: They may elect to pursue a “soft start” to their MBA, where, in the first year of a two-year path, they pursue their concentration, or they can select a “traditional-start” and take core classes the first year, followed by concentration classes in the second year.

regions: Houston

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