Not every prospective business student is looking for a traditional, in-person experience, whether because of finances, life and family obligations, or a desire to pivot to a new industry or role. Some students prefer (or need) to work while pursuing their degrees, others can’t justify relocating to a college campus.
For these students, online undergraduate business degrees offer flexibility and the ability to advance at one’s own pace.
Intelligent.com, an online magazine centered around helping students make informed choices about their college education, recently released its rankings of the Best Online Degrees.
Included is its ranking of the 36 Best Online Business Degree Programs of 2022.
In its analysis, Intelligent.com noted that the business and financial jobs are expected to grow 8% in the next decade, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting 750,800 new business and financial jobs by 2030. Further, the average salary in the industry is $72,250 per year – with financial advisors earning an average salary of nearly $90,000 – making it an attractive pivot for a non-traditional student.
INTELLIGENT.COM’S TOP 5
Oregon State University’s College of Business earned the website’s No. 1 spot with a score of 99.69 out of a possible 100 points. (See methodology below). In addition to its online degree options in BA/BS Business Administration and BA/BS in Economics, it also offers several online MBAs with concentrations in business analytics, innovation management, marketing, organizational leadership and more. (For the purposes of this story, Poets&Quants focused on the ranked schools’ undergraduate online degrees.)
Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, Kennesaw State University in Georgia, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Portland State University rounded out the top 5.
Intelligent.com also gave special recognition to Arizona State University for having the best options in online business degrees and Bryan College (No. 11) in Tennessee for being the best for adult learners. Northwood University (No. 13) in Michigan was awarded best for marketing while Kansas’ Wichita State University (No. 17) was recognized best for international business.
METHODOLOGY
“Our list focuses on programs that offer degrees in Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Information Technology, Management, and Marketing ― fields that have expanding job markets and tend to pay well,” the website says in its report.
For its ranking, Intelligent.com considered non-profit universities that were accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). It then based its ranking on three criteria:
- Department strength: Intelligent.com certified that AACSB met or exceeded standards for business and accounting education as well as how much the business degree is respected by prospective employers. Next, it looked at how the program ranked in U.S. News and other leading college evaluators.
- Programs available: Intelligent.com gave more weight to programs that offered the most well-rounded offering of online business degrees, honing in on degrees estimated to be growing faster than average by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Comparative cost: Finally, the website evaluated the schools by cost, including the number of credits required and the cost of those credits.
Some schools didn’t have enough online business degrees to make the ranking. These included Cleveland State University, Nicholls State University, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, University of Arizona, University of Arkansas, University of Delaware, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and Villanova University.
Intelligent.com’s full ranking of its 36 top online business schools can be found in the chart below. If you’re looking for a more traditional business school program, check out Poets&Quants’ 2021 ranking of the best undergraduate business schools. (Keep watch for our 2022 undergraduate b-school ranking coming later this month.)
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