Business Schools in Massachusetts (MA) with Online MBAs

Whether Massachusetts is a good state for business varies widely by criteria. In fact, the Bay State has rankings of #45 (Chief Executive’s 2018 list of Best and Worst States for Business), #19 (the Forbes 2018 list of Best States for Business) and #2 (U.S. News and World Report’s Best States for Business Environment). If judging based solely on taxation and regulation, Massachusetts falls lower on these lists since it has relatively high taxes and strict regulations. If judging based on other criteria like quality of workforce, quality of life, patent creation, and venture capital, Massachusetts’s status improves.

Industries in Massachusetts include biotech, education, health services, tourism, and computer and electronics manufacturing. Venture capital is flooding into the state at a rate that is 322 percent higher than that national average as a result of the saturation of universities and top-level, highly educated talent that comes out of the state’s many institutions of higher learning. Massachusetts is also home to 13 Fortune 500 companies, including General Electric, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Staples, Raytheon, Dell, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eversource Energy, and Biogen.

For those who want to become a part of the highly educated talent that is bringing venture capital to Massachusetts, an online MBA program based out of Massachusetts could be a good avenue to connect to business in this state. Designed for busy career professionals who cannot relocate or do not want to stop working in order to grow their business careers, online programs can provide a flexible choice for career advancement. Often offered with the same quality and accreditation as on-campus programs, online MBAs are designed to fit in the spaces between a busy business professional’s other work and life obligations.

Keep reading to learn more about online MBA programs offered in Massachusetts, distinguished professors who are the engine behind student learning, and hybrid options that give students the best of both online and on-campus learning experiences.

Featured Online MBA Programs in Massachusetts

With the number eight online MBA in the U.S. as ranked by the Financial Times in 2017, the 100 percent online MBA at Northeastern University is designed to help students apply their learning immediately to challenges in their current businesses and job positions.

Students enrolled in the experience-focused program can choose between eight different concentrations, including finance, healthcare management, high technology management, innovation entrepreneurship, international management, supply chain management, marketing, and sustainability.

Coursework in the 50 credit-hour program includes financial statement preparation and analysis, managing the global enterprise, managing ethics in the workplace and marketplace, and strategic decision making in a changing environment. While GMAT/GRE scores are not required for admission to Northeastern’s online MBA program, applicants need to be currently employed and have five years of professional and leadership experience.

Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Expected Time to Completion: Two years
Estimated Tuition: $1,600 per credit-hour

The online MBA at Simmons is focused on women’s leadership development, including the complex, hidden elements within organizational dynamics, relationship management, and team leadership that can impact success in leadership.

Courses in the 48 credit-hour program include leading individuals and groups, technology and operations management, negotiation and conflict management, and leading organizational change. All coursework is 100 percent online with the exception of two in-person immersion experiences that must be completed throughout the course of the program.

While GRE/GMAT scores can be submitted if the student wishes, they are not required for admission. Applicants to the Simmons online MBA must have at least one year of progressive work experience, exceptional academic and professional accomplishments, and leadership potential. In addition to the general MBA, Simmons offers a 50 credit-hour healthcare MBA for students who wish to develop leadership skills specific to healthcare management.

Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Expected Time to Completion: 24 months
Estimated Tuition: $1,465 per credit-hour

The online MBA at UMass Dartmouth’s Charlton School of Business provides students with an education that blends theory and and practice to promote success in business environments of all sizes and global scales.

Coursework in the 30 credit-hour program includes accounting for decision making, digital economy and commerce, corporate social responsibility and business law, and international business and multinational enterprise.

Students who do not have a BA in business may be required to to take three foundational courses, which adds nine credit-hours to the program. Applicants to UMass Dartmouth’s online MBA must submit an official GMAT score. GMAT waivers are available to those with an AACSB-accredited business BA who have earned a 3.5 or higher, a terminal graduate degree, professional license (CPA, CFP, etc.), or a 3.0 BA GPA with five years professional experience.

Location: Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Expected Time to Completion: Two years
Estimated Tuition: $1,917 per three-credit course

The part-time MBA offered by the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst can be completed online or in a hybrid online/on-campus format. Providing the quality of on-campus curriculum with the flexibility of online delivery, the MBA program at UMass amherst is designed to help professionals become leaders in their industry of choice.

Students enrolled in the program can choose between six foci, including business analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, healthcare administration, marketing, and sport management. For general MBAs, the program is 39 course-hours, and for MBAs with a focus, the program is 45 course-hours. Coursework in the program includes leadership and organization behavior, economic analysis for managers, corporate finance, and strategic information management.

GMAT/GRE equivalent scores are required to be considered for admission into the program. Waivers may be available to those with a terminal degree, a master’s degree with a 3.5 GPA and five years work experience, or a BA degree with a 3.2 GPA and ten years work experience.

Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Expected Time to Completion: Two years
Estimated Tuition: $900 per credit-hour

FSU offers three fully online MBAs in accounting, human resources management, and management. Despite the different foci, all three MBA programs are highly affordable programs designed to help professionals with relevant backgrounds advance into management and leadership in a range of industries.

Coursework in the 30 credit-hour program includes management information systems, organizational behavior and development, accounting practices for managers, and marketing management.

Admission into the FSU program does not require GMAT scores nor any letters of recommendation. The FSU program has a lower minimum GPA threshold than most other MBA programs, requiring a 2.8 GPA or higher. In addition, students with a GPA lower than 2.8 may be considered for admission based on work experience and a letter of recommendation.

Location: Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Accreditation: International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE)
Expected Time to Completion: 12 months
Estimated Tuition: $12,510

With class sizes limited to 23 and an affordable price tag, Lasell College’s online MBA program helps students to gain the skills, knowledge, and credentials needed to improve business and advance into leadership and management in a way that is both intimate and affordable.

Coursework in the 36 credit-hour program includes strategic IT alignment, entrepreneurial strategy and venture creation, global strategy for continual success, and organizational role ethics and social justice.

GRE/GMAT scores are not required and while no specific GPA threshold is stated, students must demonstrate knowledge of microeconomics and statistics prior to admission through successfully completed coursework or self-paced tutorials.

Location: Newton, Massachusetts
Accreditation: The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
Expected Time to Completion: 12 to 24 months
Estimated Tuition: $600 per credit-hour

A tier-one business school, UMass Boston offers an online MBA that prepares students to make complex and real-world business decisions through skills development. Students enrolled in the online program can choose to earn a general MBA or can specialize in business analytics or healthcare informatics. (Please note that one’s specialization must be indicated when applying.)

Students can complete the 12-course program full-time or part-time and can choose to complete a master’s thesis in order to differentiate their MBA with scholarly research. Coursework in the program includes enterprise business intelligence, information storage and management, health information exchange, and entrepreneurship.

GMAT/GRE scores are required for consideration for admission. Waivers may be available to those with a BA and a 3.3 GPA, a 3.0 BA GPA and five years experience, eight years leadership experience, a master’s or terminal degree, or a professional license (CPA, CFA, CFP, etc).

Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Expected Time to Completion: Two years
Estimated Tuition: $17,634 per semester (out-of-state)

Hybrid MBA Programs in Massachusetts

Hybrid online/on-campus MBA programs are a good choice for those looking to gain the flexibility of an online program while still getting the benefits of face-to-face interaction. In hybrid programs, most coursework is offered asynchronously online and there are minimally disruptive on-campus immersions, residences, or intensives that enable online students to network in person. If a prospective MBA students lives close to campus and is interested in a best-of-both worlds experience, hybrid programs include:

Professors to Know in Online MBA Programs in Massachusetts

  • Ruth Aguilera, PhD D’Amore McKim School of Business

    Dr. Ruth Aguilera is a distinguished professor in the international business and strategy department at the D’Amore McKim School of Business at Northeastern University.

    Dr. Aguilera’s research expertise includes international corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, corporate sustainability, firm internationalization, and global strategy. Her teaching expertise also includes economic sociology and comparative capitalism.

    Dr. Aguilera is an awarded scholar, earning the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) Best Paper Award in 2017 and is listed as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” in Economics and Business in 2014. Dr. Aguilera serves as the senior editor for Organization Science, an associate editor for Corporate Governance: An International Review, a consulting editor for the Global Strategy Journal, and is an elected board member on the Strategic Management Society, the International Corporate Governance Society, and COMPASS.

  • Janet Fink, PhD Isenberg School of Management

    Dr. Janet Fink is the department chair and a professor of sport management in the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. Dr. Fink’s research interests include sport marketing, sport consumer behavior, the marketing of female athletes, marketing of women’s sport, and diversity issues in sport.

    Dr. Fink is the lead author and co-author of dozens peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters, and has extensively presented peer-reviewed papers both domestically and abroad. Dr. Fink is also an awarded professor, earning the Distinguished Lecture Award from the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota in 2012 and the Ohio State University Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007. Dr. Fink earned her MS in higher education and student affairs in 1994, and her PhD in sport management in 1997—both from Ohio State University. Dr. Fink’s teaching interests include sport consumer behavior, sport marketing, and sport law.

  • Alice Sapienza, DBA, MBA Simmons School of Business

    Dr. Alice Sapienza is a professor in the Simmons School of Business, teaching organizational strategy in the healthcare environment.

    Dr. Sapienza is an experienced researcher who has completed peer-reviewed journal articles, case students, and book articles focused on development and strategic planning in high-technology firms.

    In addition to her research expertise, Dr. Sapienza has professional experience as a consultant with multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, scientists, and executives, working on a range of issues related to culture, strategy, and project management. A professor at Simmons since 1990, Dr. Sapienza leverages her experience in academia, business consulting, graduate teaching, and as the general manager in a Harvard teaching hospital to help students build leadership and organizational development skills.

Becca Brewer, MEd
Becca Brewer, MEd
Writer

Becca Brewer is building a better future on a thriving earth by healing herself into wholeness, divesting from separation, and walking the path of the loving heart. Previously to her journey as an adventurer for a just, meaningful, and regenerative world, Becca was a formally trained sexuality educator with a master of education.

Business Schools in Other Northeastern States