MBA Programs That Don’t Require Work Experience

Welcome to MetroMBA’s MBA Without Work Experience Guide.

Business school is designed to give students knowledge and frameworks that they can apply to real-world professional situations. Because of this, many MBA programs require that applicants have a certain amount of full-time work experience before they enroll in graduate school. The reasoning is it’s easier for students to grasp and integrate the concepts they’ll learn in b-school if they have some firsthand experience as context. 

If you’re interested in earning an MBA without work experience under your belt, there is some good news. While schools may strongly prefer applicants with established professional experience, some will accept those without full-time work histories – if they show promise in other areas of their applications.

Below is a list of schools that accept MBA applicants without experience. These programs may accept students with internship experience, community service hours, or high academic performance. 

Applicants are encouraged to contact their preferred programs to ensure that no requirements have changed.

Top MBA Programs Without Work Experience Requirements

University of Washington: The Foster School of Business’s full-time MBA.

Stanford University: The Graduate School of Business at Stanford University does not require full-time MBA applicants to have professional experience.

New York University: The Stern School of Business full-time MBA program does not require experience. However, two years is strongly preferred.

Yale School of Management: Full-time MBA applicants are not required to have work experience.

MBA Programs That Don’t Require Work Experience

Atlanta

Georgia Institute of Technology: The Scheller College of Business does not require experience for its full-time and evening MBA program. However, the admissions committee prefers that full-time applicants have at least two or three years of experience. 

Mercer University: There is no professional history requirement for the full-time or evening MBA programs; though, the average professional experience for full-time MBA students is three years. 

 

Baltimore

Loyola University at Maryland: The Sellinger School of Business’ full-time MBA program does not require work experience.

Salisbury University: Professional experience is not required for its full-time and online MBA program at Salisbury University’s Perdue School of Business.

University of Baltimore: Work experience is not a requirement for admission to either its full-time or part-time MBA programs. However, the majority of accepted students are full-time working professionals with an average of five years of professional experience.

University of Maryland: The R.H. Smith School of Business does not require full-time, online, and part-time MBA applicants to have work experience to gain admission.

 

Boston

Babson College:  Applicants to the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business don’t need previous professional history to apply for its MBA programs.

Boston College: The Carroll School of Management full-time and part-time MBA programs do not explicitly require work experience, but the admissions committee prefers to see at least two years of experience on an applicant’s resume.

Boston University: The Questrom School of Business’ full-time MBA program does not require work experience for admission.

Dartmouth College: Work experience is not required for admittance into the full-time MBA program at the Darden School of Business.

Northeastern University: The admission committee does not mention any work experience requirement for its full-time and part-time MBA program.

 

Chicago

DePaul University: Kellstadt Graduate School of Business’ full-time, evening, and weekend MBA program does not require work experience.

Notre Dame University: The Mendoza College of Business does not require work experience for full-time MBA applicants.

Northern Illinois University: Online MBA applicants are not required to have professional history to gain admission into the College of Business.

Loyola University: The full-time and part-time MBA programs at the Quinlan School of Business do not require work experience as part of its admission process.

 

Dallas

Baylor University: The Hankamer School of Business does not require work experience for admission into its full-time MBA program.

Texas Christian University: The Neeley School of Business does not mention professional history for admission into its full-time MBA program.

Southern Methodist University: Full-time and online MBA applicants to the Cox School of Business are not required to have work experience; however, two years of experience is strongly preferred for full-time applicants.

University of Dallas: Prospective clients to the MBA program at the University of Dallas Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business are not required to submit work experience.

University of North Texas: The University of North Texas’ College of Business does not require professional history to gain admission into its full-time MBA program.

University of Texas: Applicants are not required to have work experience to get accepted into the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s full-time MBA program.

 

Denver

University of Colorado: The MBA admissions process at the Denver Business School does not require full-time applicants to have professional history

 

Houston

Texas A&M Commerce: The College of Business at Texas A&M does not ask for work experience from full-time MBA applicants.

Texas A&M University:  The MBA admissions at the Mays School of Business does not require professional history for full-time applicants.

Texas Southern University: Full-time MBA applicants are not required to have work experience to gain admission into the Jesse H. Jones School of Business.

University of Houston: Applicants are not required to have work experience to get accepted into the C.T. Bauer College of Business’ full-time and part-time MBA program.

University of Houston (Downtown): At the University of Houston, students can receive an MBA with no experience. Applicants are not required to have work experience to get accepted into the Davies College of Business’ full-time MBA program.

University of St. Thomas: Part-time MBA applicants are not required to have professional history to gain admission into the Cameron School of Business.

Rice University: The Jones Graduate School of Business’ admission committee does not require full-time and online MBA applicants to have work experience.

 

Indianapolis

Indiana University: The admission committee does not require work experience to gain admittance into the full-time or online MBA program at the Kelley School of Business.

Ohio State University: The MBA admissions process at the Fisher College of Business does not require full-time applicants to have previous professional experience to gain admittance into the program.

Purdue University: The Krannert School of Management’s admission committee does not ask applicants to have previous work for the weekend and full-time MBA program.

 

London

London Business School: The London Business School does require work experience. However, full-time MBA applicants with less than two years of work experience are welcome to apply, if they can prove superior academic credentials and outstanding evidence of leadership.

 

Los Angeles

California State University: Work experience is not a requirement to gain admittance into the part-time MBA program at the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics.

Claremont Graduate University: The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School admission committee has no work requirement for its full-time and part-time MBA program. However, the committee strongly prefers that applicants have at least three years of work experience.

Loyola Marymount University: The admission committee does not ask full-time MBA applicants to provide professional history. Yet, two years is strongly preferred.

Mount Saint Mary’s University: The admission committee does not ask weekend MBA applicants to provide work experience.

University of California (Irvine): The Paul Merage School of Business’s full-time MBA program has no work experience requirement.

UCLA: The Anderson School of Management’s full-time MBA program does not require work experience.

 

Miami

Dayton University: The online MBA program at Dayton University has no work experience requirement.

Florida State University: The online and part-time MBA program at FSU does not require work experience to gain admittance.

University of South Florida: The Muma College of Business does not require work experience to gain admittance into the online and full-time MBA program. However, most accepted full-time MBA students have at least five years of experience.

 

Minneapolis 

University of Minnesota: At the Carlson School of Management, the admission committee does not ask for full-time MBA applicants to submit a previous work history with their application.

 

Nashville

Vanderbilt University: The full-time MBA program at the Owen Graduate School of Management does not require applicants to have a previous work history. However, most accepted students have at least two years.

 

New York City

Cornell: The SC Johnson College of Business does not require full-time MBA applicants to have work experience.

Columbia Business School:  Work experience is not mentioned in the admission requirements for full-time MBA applicants.

Fordham University: The Gabelli School of Business’ full-time MBA program does not require work experience.

Hofstra University: The Zarb School of Business full-time MBA program does not ask for previous professional experience with an application. 

Metropolitan College of New York:  The admission committee does not ask full-time MBA applicants for previous professional experience with an application.

Pace University: The Lubin School of Business’ full-time MBA program does not require work experience.

Rutgers Business School: Full-time MBA applicants are not required to have work experience.

Sacred Heart University: The Jack Welch College of Business’ full-time MBA program does not require applicants to have work experience.

St. John’s University: The Tobin College of Business’ admission committee does not require full-time MBA applicants to have professional history. However, two years is strongly preferred. 

Stevens Institute of Technology: Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business’ full-time MBA program does not require work history.

Syracuse University: Work experience is not completely required to apply to the full-time MBA program at the Whitman School of Management. However, the admission committee does prefer that applicants have at least two years of experience.

University of Rochester: The Simon Business School does not require full-time MBA applicants to have work experience to gain admission.

 

Philadelphia

Drexel University: LeBow College of Business’ admission committee does not ask full-time and online MBA applicants to have previous work experience.

La Salle University: The full-time and online MBA program does not require applicants to have professional history to gain admission into the School of Business.

Rowan University: The full-time and online MBA program does not require applicants to have professional history to gain admission into the Rohrer College of Business.

Villanova University: The admission committee does not require online MBA applicants to have professional history to gain admittance in the School of Business.

Widener University: The admission committee does not require online MBA applicants to have professional history to gain admittance in the School of Business.

 

Phoenix

Arizona State University: ASU has no professional history requirement for the online and full-time MBA program. Yet, the admission committee does strongly prefer that candidates have at least three years of experience before applying to the full-time program.

University of Arizona: The full-time MBA admissions process at the University of Arizona does not require any work experience.

 

Pittsburgh

Penn State: The admission committee does not require full-time and online MBA applicants to have professional history to gain admittance in the Smeal College of Business.

Robert Morris University: The admission committee does not require full-time applicants to have work experience to gain admittance.

University of Pittsburgh: The Katz Graduate School of Business full-time MBA applicants do not have to have prior professional history. Yet, it is highly suggested for prospective applicants.

 

Research Triangle

NC State: The full-time MBA program at the Poole College of Management does not require applicants to have previous work exp.

University of North Carolina: The admission committee does not ask for previous work experience for the full-time MBA program at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

 

Saint Louis

Washington University: The admission committee does not ask for previous work experience for the full-time MBA program at the Olin Business School.

 

San Antonio

Schreiner University: Work experience is not required to be admitted to the Online MBA.

 

San Diego

California International Business University (CIBU): CIBU does not require full-time MBA applicants to have work ex for admittance.

Point Loma University: Fermanian School of Business’ full-time MBA applicants do not have to have prior professional history.

San Diego State University: The full-time and part-time MBA program at SDSU is an MBA program that does not require work experience. However, the admission committee strongly prefers students with at least two years of experience.

UC San Diego: Rady School of Management’s full-time MBA applicants are not required to have prior work experience.

 

San Francisco

Golden Gate University: The Edward S. Ageno School of Business does not require professional experience for the full-time MBA program.

Chapman University: The admission committee does not ask for previous professional history for the full-time MBA program at the Argyros School of Business.

Santa Clara University: The Leavey School of Business does not require professional experience for the evening MBA program.

San Jose State University: The part-time MBA at the Lucas Graduate School of Business does not ask applicants to have a previous work history.

UC Davis: UC Davis Graduate School of Management full-time and part-time MBA applicants do not need to have professional experience to gain admittance.

University of San Francisco: Work experience is not required for full-time and part-time MBA applicants to get admitted into the School of Management.

 

Seattle

Seattle University: Professional history is not required for full-time MBA applicants to get admitted into Albers School of Business and Economics.

 

Toronto

Queen’s University: The full-time MBA program at the Smith School of Business does not require professional history.

University of Toronto: The Rotman School of Management’s full-time and evening MBA program does not require applicants to have previous professional history.

 

Washington DC

American University: The online MBA program.

Georgetown University: Full-time MBA 

George Washington University: The online MBA 

University of Virginia: The Darden School of Business’ full-time MBA 

Virginia Tech: The evening MBA