You don’t have to move halfway across the world to get your MBA from a U.S. school — flexible, high-quality online MBA programs can give international students more options.
But choosing the right one takes careful planning, beyond a Google search.
“Build a spreadsheet to track information by program. Your diligence will pay off,” says Kelly Wilson, an MBA and graduate school admissions consultant at Accepted. “There is a great deal of information available on school websites.”
Most MBA students — about 58% — are choosing online programs as of fall 2023, according to a report from higher education firm Validated Insights. From 2018 to 2023, online MBA enrollment grew steadily, while traditional on-campus enrollment dropped. Interest in online MBAs doubled during that time, with many students preferring online options, per the report.
Graduate Management Admission Council data indicates that 45% of U.S. schools saw an increase in international applications to their online MBA programs from 2023 to 2024.
Here are four steps to take when searching for the right online MBA program.
Evaluate Program and Curriculum
Consider an online MBA program and curriculum that is applicable to the region where you plan to work and matches your career goals.
Online MBA students at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University in Massachusetts take six modules over six semesters to complete the degree, says Paul Carlile, senior associate dean for innovation and professor of management and information systems.
Each module’s multidisciplinary content focuses on business problems that exist in the real world, he says, with topics ranging from a manager’s role in creating and capturing value for a business to how to develop and leverage global opportunities.
“We conducted a massive global study of the essential business capabilities that managers would need in the next decade and built our modules around those. So our offering is a generalist MBA but yet it covers all the topics deemed important in an integrated fashion,” Carlile says.
[Read: 10 Most Affordable Online MBA Programs.]
Similarly, the curriculum for the online MBA program at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business is designed to provide a comprehensive, generalist MBA education, says Leigh Tost, vice dean for MBA programs and associate professor of management and organization. The 21-month program offers students the structure, general management knowledge and professional network needed to be successful, she says.
All courses are thematic and integrate several business disciplines in each semester, such as the program’s economics, strategy and finance curriculum, which explores the issues and opportunities firms encounter when expanding globally, Tost says.
Look for a Diverse Student Body
Programs that attract a large number of international students offer opportunities for interaction with future business leaders from all parts of the globe.
“Collaborating with people from a broad range of different backgrounds gives me the opportunity to learn from them firsthand,” says Chinese national Yufan Shen, a graduate of the USC Marshall online MBA program. “It also helps me to expand my knowledge about the business world, and especially those parts of it that are not part of my own personal experience.”
Boston University’s program is 37% female and includes 19% international students, according to the school’s website.
“International students are naturally global by orientation, so our very internationalized student body appeals to them, and they feel comfortable knowing they are surrounded by peers who value an internationalized, global view of business, economies and cultures,” Carlile says.
Find Out About Course Delivery
Carefully review whether a program provides all tests, assignments, lectures and course materials completely online and if any on-campus meetings are required, experts say.
Classes may be offered in a synchronous format, where students view live lectures online and interact with fellow students, as well as an asynchronous format, in which students complete coursework on their own time.
[Read: An Online MBA: What Employers Think]
“Our courses contain live weekly virtual sessions, 75 minutes per week, per course,” says Will Geoghegan, chair of the Kelley Direct Program and clinical assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. “There is substantial value to attending the synchronous classes, including the development of a peer network, deeper engagement with our world-class faculty and the ability to share experiences with colleagues of the highest caliber.”
Students are also typically required to go to the campus in person twice for a week of activities, including a live case competition to develop a solution for a business challenge facing a real company, he says.
“Coupled with the ability to major in one of six areas, and/or use the credits from the MBA to continue and obtain a dual degree, it was the clear winner for me,” says British national Grace Atkinson, a Kelley online MBA grad.
The USC Marshall online MBA program requires a one-week residential intensive at the beginning of the program where students work face to face in teams while participating in a case competition. Although students in the program need to be legal residents of the U.S., it has a diverse student body that includes 5% who are non-U.S. citizens, says Philip Griego, assistant dean for online learning and program director for the online MBA.
The USC program curriculum is comprised of 55% asynchronous material and 45% synchronous sessions and uses a flipped classroom approach, Tost says. Students complete asynchronous content — such as prerecorded videos, team projects, discussion boards and assignments — weekly at their own pace, but also meet in two weekly live, synchronous class sessions, she says.
Synchronous class sessions are held 6 to 8 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, for students based in Asia and North America who are working full time, Tost says.
[READ: How to Decide Between a Full-Time and Part-Time MBA]
Check Career Services for International Students
In USC’s program, all students have access to career consultants dedicated to the program, Tost says.
Students can get coaching in salary and promotion negotiations, resume and cover letter reviews and career transitions across sectors and business functions, she says.
Shen found USC’s career services valuable in exploring opportunities in China and globally while helping her grow as a business leader.
“With my increasing exposure to the business world, I developed an initial understanding of management’s importance on corporate survival and came to realize that I want to grow to be a business leader,” Shen says.
Kelley School of Business has career coaches and online resource modules — which are credit- and noncredit-bearing classes with asynchronous and synchronous components — accessible to both U.S. and international students, Geoghegan says.
The resource modules cover topics like negotiation, personal branding, interview preparation and social media strategies, and may include prerecorded videos from coaches explaining different career phenomena or live sessions where students attend a workshop on a specific career component, he says.
“Students meet with their career coach one-to-one throughout their journey, while also benefiting from career onboarding modules and the integration of career services and resources directly into our curriculum,” he says.
Career advice wasn’t a must-have for Atkinson when exploring how her choice of major or a dual degree would support her career goals, “but is certainly the icing on the cake for this program,” she says.
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How International Students Can Choose an Online MBA Program in the U.S. originally appeared on usnews.com
