Is An Online Masters Degree Worth Anything?
The worth of an Online masters degree for an MBA depends entirely upon the online school’s reputation. An MBA from the University of Phoenix probably isn’t much but an MBA from Thunderbird is something that a potential employer will recognize and hold in high esteem.
The point to keep in mind is that many MBA employers are highly education sensitive. They do very much care about the reputation of the school you attended. The school should at least be decent, if you really want to use the MBA to advance your career. It doesn’t have to be elite (although that’d be lovely, wouldn’t it?) but it must be reputable. No matter where you get your MBA, make sure that it is AACSB accredited, or some employers will refuse to look at you, and make sure it has a good name even beyond that.
So some decent MBA programs that do offer MBAs online include:
Duke University
Drexel
Carnegie Mellon
Penn State
Ball State
U Nebraska – Lincoln
Thunderbird (really intriguing program, and well ranked)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic (an up and coming program)
I’m sure there are others as well. The easiest way to find them is not to search for “online MBA” as most of the ones that come up are crappy for profit schools. Instead, find an MBA program that you like, offline (perhaps use US News & World Report’s MBA rankings lists as a starter) and then check each of their websites to see if they also offer the MBA online. And don’t forget to check schools in Florida – going to a fairly localish school online can be a nice way to blur that “online” bit on your resume. From a glance, an employer need not know that you did it online at all, if it’s in any sort of commutable distance.
Another option for you may be to find an in-person weekend MBA program, such as the ones offered by Kellogg, Michigan State, Johns Hopkins, and U Cal Berkeley. Perhaps U of F offers one? Or even your current school? If not, and you have the cash and time, people actually fly to, say, Berkeley for the weekend, take their courses, then fly back. Shocking, but true; but when you consider the very strong rep of that school, Kellogg, and Michigan State, I can understand it.