International Business is a highly desirable career path for many professionals. Learning the skills, acquiring the educational knowledge, and grasping the hands on experiences needed to effectively lead in today’s global business market is vital and necessary. Finding programs that are flexible, accessible, and of high quality is often a challenging process as students juggle all aspects of their lives in addition to their education. As with any industry, employers in international business want their employees to be both highly skilled and well-educated, which is why we have hand-picked the Top Ten Best Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs. After all, finding a MBA program that will help students to succeed in both their career and their life is essential in today’s global economy. The following programs have rigorous coursework ensuring that students will have a strong understanding of international business, and are still available in a flexible and customizable format. This rigor and flexibility will provide students with the high-quality education needed to advance to employment.
Since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2016-17 Occupational Outlook Handbook states that the business growth and outlook for international business is higher than the national averages, establishing an education is the first step to ensuring career success. Typical employers of international business graduates include banks, import/export corporations, multinational manufacturers, consulting firms, international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), electronics/technology companies and transportation industries such as shipping and airlines. These professionals are the forerunners of the field and obtaining an International Business Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree qualifies to work in these industries. Our comparisons of the hundreds of Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs will help you find a quality program that will fit into your busy schedule while still ensuring that you are fully equipped to take on the career of your dreams. We hope that these top ten rankings will guide you to a school that will help you to become a highly successful industry leader in the ever-growing international business markets.
Methodology
We have ranked the following schools based on the following criteria:
50% Quality of the Education Provided
50% Ease of Access and Flexibility
To help you select and secure your educational path, here are
The Top Ten Best Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs:
1. Northeastern University
Northeastern University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts, and was established in 1898. It is categorized as R1 Doctoral Universities: Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university offers undergraduate and graduate programs leading to doctoral degrees on its main campus in the Fenway-Kenmore, Roxbury, South End, and Back Bay neighborhoods, as well as advanced degrees at graduate campuses in Charlotte, North Carolina, Seattle, Washington, and Silicon Valley, California. Northeastern will soon be opening its first international graduate campus located in Toronto, Canada. Northeastern features a cooperative education program that integrates classroom study with professional experience and experiential learning opportunities on seven continents and a comprehensive, dynamic study abroad program. Northeastern University is a large, highly residential university, and most attending students choose to live on campus. More than 75% of Northeastern University students receive one or more forms of financial aid provided by the school or government. In 2015-16, the university will offer $239 million in grant and scholarship assistance to qualifying students.
The online MBA program at Northeastern University is offered through Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. This school is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, which is the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. The school is also regionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. D’Amore-McKim is celebrating ten years of providing high-quality online MBA programs to attending students. The online MBA program is ranked as the 4th best Online MBA in the nation and 7th best globally by the Financial Times. This online MBA program is not only very flexible, but it can be specialized by choosing one of eight core areas of study. These areas are: Finance, Healthcare Management, High Technology Management, Innovation Entrepreneurship, International Management, Marketing, Supply Chain Management and Sustainability. This program is taught by Northeastern University’s highly qualified and experienced faculty, and is the same high-quality education that is provided to the school’s on-campus students. The great amount of flexibility this program provides with its intuitive interface and easy-to-pick-up material and with the ability to specialize in one of eight highly in-demand concentrations, the program’s rigor and ability to produce dynamic industry leaders and the outstanding previously awarded accolades and rankings have led us to rank Northeastern University as our top pick for an online international MBA program provider.
Tuition: $47,250
Learn more about Northeastern University’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
2. Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in Tempe, Arizona and downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The 2016 university ratings provided by U.S. News & World Report rank Arizona State University as being 1st among the “Most Innovative Schools in America.” The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching defines the school as a research university with very high research activity, and the school achieved its first classification as a Research I institute in 1994, making it one of the youngest major research universities in the nation, counting both public and private schools. Since 2005 ASU has been ranked as being among the top research universities, both public and private, in the United States based on the amount and quality of research output, discipline innovation, development, research expenditures and the number of awarded patents and awarded research grant proposals. The Center for Measuring University Performance currently ranks ASU 31st among top public research universities located in the United States.
The online MBA program offered at Arizona State University is offered through the school’s W.P. Carey School of Business, an AACSB-accredited business school, and the program was ranked as the 5th best Online MBA by U.S. News & World Report. This online MBA program has a strong internationally-focused foundation, giving enrolled students all of the skills and knowledge needed to become outstanding and conscientious leaders in the industry of their choosing. This online MBA program, along with providing excellent education in national and international business acumen, can be specialized with many electives in the following areas: Finance, International Business, Marketing and Supply Chain Management. With the flexibility of taking your classes whenever and wherever and the added benefit of being able to customize the education you will receive, the online internationally-focused MBA offered at Arizona State University is firmly ranked as our top two pick for working professionals and students seeking to start a career in international business.
Tuition: $40,342
Learn more about Arizona State University’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
3. University of Nebraska – Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. UN Lincoln is the state’s oldest university and is the largest in the University of Nebraska system. The state legislature chartered the university in 1869 as a land-grant university under the 1862 Morrill Act, two years after Nebraska’s statehood into the United States. Around the turn of the 20th century, the university began to expand rapidly, hiring professors from multiple eastern schools to teach in the newly organized professional colleges, while also producing groundbreaking research in the agricultural sciences. The “Nebraska method” of ecological study developed here during this time pioneered grassland ecology and laid the foundation for research in theoretical ecology for the rest of the 20th century. The university is organized into eight colleges on two different campuses in Lincoln with over 100 classroom buildings and research facilities.
The online MBA programs offered at UN Lincoln are a fully online program and a online / on-campus hybrid. The fully online program is a highly flexible and intuitive program that grants students the ability to customize their education to suit their career needs and goals. The backbone of these MBA programs are a strong emphasis on not only national business theories and practices, but business theories and practices on a global scale. This MBA program is ranked 12th in the world by the Financial Times, 2nd in the “Big Ten” for veterans by U.S. News and World Report, 15th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report and 17th in the nation by The Princeton Review. These excellent rankings and the fact that the online MBA program will provide students with the same high-quality education that the school’s on-campus receives but with added flexibility and customization make UN Lincoln a dynamic school for students who wish to further their careers with a internationally-focused MBA degree.
Tuition: $18,676.50 per year
Learn more about the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
4. University of Scranton
The University of Scranton is a private, co-educational Catholic and Jesuit university located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1888 by the Most Revered William O’Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. It was elevated to its current university status in 1938, taking up the name University of Scranton. The institution was operated by the Diocese of Scranton, and later the Lasallian Christian Brothers, from 1888 to 1942. In 1942, Bishop William Joseph Hafey invited the Society of Jesus to take charge of the university. Today, The University of Scranton is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is served by and in return serves the Scranton Jesuit Community. The university is composed of three colleges: The College of Arts and Sciences, The Kania School of Management, and The Panuska College of Professional Studies. The general studies school was folded into these three other colleges, helping to centralize studies.
There two online international MBA programs offered at the University of Scranton. The first is a standard online MBA program with an emphasis on international and national business practices and theories. The second is a MBA program that specializes solely in international business, giving students an even stronger foundation of international business practices, theories, global economics and how all of these affect one another. All of the online MBA programs offered at Scranton University will also provide students with the core tenets of the Jesuit beliefs. Instilling these beliefs helps to produce more ethical and mindful professionals who are prepared and equipped to make a positive impact not only in their respective communities, but also worldwide. The flexibility these programs afford students and the excellence the school produces make Scranton University an excellent choice for students, regardless of their religious affiliation.
Tuition: $41,762 per year
Learn more about the University of Scranton’s Online Internation Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
5. Marist College
Marist College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college, located in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. Marist’s main campus overlooks the Hudson River, and is situated along its east banks. Marist has a branch campus in Florence, Italy and maintains study sites in 26 different countries worldwide. The school was founded in 1905, and was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic Religious Institute of Brothers, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 1929, Marist became fully accredited by the state allowing it to offer a wider range of degrees in both the arts and the sciences. Marist offers a very comprehensive liberal arts education, and the school offers 56 different undergraduate and graduate degree programs and 21 certificate programs.
The online MBA program offered at Marist College is an internationally-focused degree program. This program is offered through the AACSB-accredited Marist School of Management. Highly ranked by both the U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review for its exceptional business programs, the Marist Master’s in Business Administration online graduate degree program is one of the top recognized online MBA programs in the nation. Students can specialize their education with Marist College by choosing a specialization for their MBA program. These specializations are: Ethical Leadership, Financial Management and Healthcare Administration. At the heart of these specializations and at the heart of the core MBA program is the emphasis on international business practices and global economics. With a MBA from Marist College, students will be more than prepared to take the international business world by storm and will have a solid understanding of both national and international business acumen. Students enrolled in one of these course will receive the same high-quality education as their on-campus counterparts, and will be able to obtain one-on-one assistance from the school’s distinguished faculty.
Tuition: $32,590 per year
Learn more about Marist College’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
6. University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public research university located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, University of North Dakota is the oldest and largest university in the state. UND was founded as a university with a strong liberal arts foundation and is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as high research activity institution. UND is also ranked among the top 100 public universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report. UND offers a variety of professional and specialized programs, including the only schools of law and medicine in the state. Several research institutions are located on the UND campus including the Energy and Environmental Research Center, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center.
The online MBA program offered at the University of North Dakota is a fully online, flexible course that is ranked #1 by the site thesimpledollar.com for the “Affordable Online MBA Programs in 2016.” Due to the program’s flexible and highly affordable nature, students that graduate from this program will be able to see a large return on their investment in a short amount of time. This excellent return on investment (known as ROI) coupled with the courses high-quality nature and flexibility lead to the University of North Dakota being a very desireable school to attend. Students that are enrolled in this online program will have access to all of the school’s resources such as its business research and the school’s large network of working professional alumni, which will give students not only a greater understanding of international and national business practices but will also help them to forge a lasting business network made up of accomplished industry leaders worldwide.
Tuition: $19,291 per year
Learn more the University of North Dakota’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
7. Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, Washington State University is the state’s land-grant university, and is well known for its programs in chemical engineering, veterinary medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, neuroscience, food science, plant science, business, architecture, and communications. It is ranked in the top 140 universities in America with high research activity, as determined by the U.S. News & World Report. The university also operates campuses across Washington, and these campuses are known as WSU Spokane, WSU Tri-Cities, and WSU Vancouver, which were all founded in 1989. In 1992, WSU launched an internet-based Global Campus, which includes the school’s online degree program, WSU Online. These campuses award primarily bachelor’s and master’s degrees in various disciplines.
The online MBA program offered at Washington State University is a highly flexible, top ranked MBA program. This online program offered by WSU’s Carson College of Business strives to address a broad range of contemporary business issues and theories from an international viewpoint. The program draws on an expansive and dynamic network of relationships that the Carson College of Business has formed with various international institutions such as Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China, the University of St. Gallen, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, and the César Ritz Colleges Switzerland in Brig, Switzerland. Additionally, students may also choose to participate in an optional international field study, even further broadening their understanding of international business acumen. Students enrolled in this program will receive the same high-quality education as their on-campus counterparts and will have access to the same libraries of business research and resources. Students of Washington State University will also gain access to the school’s network of alumni, giving them even more of an edge by helping to forge new business contacts.
Tuition: $24,500 per year
Learn more about Washington State University’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
8. University of Colorado
The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. It is governed by an elected, nine-member Board of Regents of the University of Colorado. CU’s four campuses feature top-tier faculty and hands-on learning opportunities in an environment where students thrive. Students and faculty at CU’s four campuses are involved with research and learning that advances communities in Colorado and around the globe. Established in 1886, the school has more than 200 years of experience in providing a top-notch education to its attending students and in providing the world with top-notch professionals that have graduated from the school.
The online Master’s of Business Administration program offered at the University of Colorado is a highly flexible fully online internationally-focused course with the option of attending standard classes on-campus if one so chooses. The University of Colorado’s Denver Business School is accredited in both Business and Accounting by AACSB, putting the school in the top 5% of universities worldwide. The school’s Professional MBA is also among the top 40% of MBA programs nationally, based on the recent U.S. News and World Report’s analysis of MBA programs. The school was also ranked 29th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in their annual “Best Online Graduate Education Programs” list. Due to the program’s flexibility that it provides while still retaining all of the rigor and quality of the on-campus courses and due to the business research, resources and network of alumni that are available to students enrolled in the program, this internationally-focused MBA program is a great choice for many students who are looking to further their careers.
Tuition: $51,413 per year
Learn more about the University of Colorado’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
9. Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state’s land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified as a Carnegie Doctoral/RU/VH: Research Universities with a Very High Research Activity. CSU was founded as Colorado Agricultural College in 1870, six years before the Colorado Territory gained statehood. It was one of 68 land-grant colleges established under the Morrill Act of 1862. Doors opened to a freshman class of 1 student in 1879.The university has eight colleges and 55 academic departments. Bachelor’s degrees are offered in 65 fields of study, with master’s degrees in 55 fields. Colorado State confers doctoral degrees in 40 fields of study, in addition to a professional degree in veterinary medicine.
The online MBA program offered at Colorado State University is a Professional MBA program with an emphasis on international business acumen. This course is available in a 2.5-year track all the way up to a 4.5 year track, allowing both full-time students and full-time professional part-time students to attend this highly flexible course. With 42 credits (36 core, 6 elective) required to graduate, students will come away from this experience with a solid understanding of national and international business practices, theories and global economics. Students enrolled in this program can also spend 7-10 days in the school’s optional international business study trip as an elective, where they will meet with business leaders, learn even more about international business culture, and become acclimated to environments different from their own. This elective will serve as a powerful asset in becoming accustomed to dealing with international business topics in a real-world setting. Students enrolled in this course will also have access to Colorado State University’s business research and resources along with the school’s large network of professional alumni who work worldwide in various industries.
Tuition: $41,235 per year
Learn more about Colorado State University’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
10. Florida Institute of Technology
The Florida Institute of Technology–also known as Florida Tech–is a private doctoral/research university located in Melbourne, Florida. The university was founded in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College and has been known by its present name since 1966. Florida Tech has six different academic divisions with emphases on science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and aviation. The university is divided into five colleges: College of Aeronautics, College of Engineering, Nathan Bisk College of Business, College of Psychology and Liberal Arts, and College of Science. In addition to the university’s main campus, Florida Tech also offers specialized graduate degree programs through sites in Huntsville, Alabama, Fort Eustis, Virginia, Fort Lee, Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia, Quantico, Virginia, Dover, New Jersey, Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, Lexington Park, Maryland, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Kennedy Space Center, Rockledge, Florida and Orlando, Florida.
There are eleven different MBA programs with different specializations offered by Florida Tech. Among these is the highly-esteemed online International MBA program. This program can be completed in two years or less and is 100% online with no on-campus meetings required. At the core of Florida Tech’s MBA in International Business is an innovative two-course sequence. These courses are Essentials of Business Development 1 and 2 and are led by expert and highly qualified faculty. The courses also provide a dynamic insight into real business situations by actively engaging students in case study analysis and experiential learning opportunities, while giving students the ability to exercise their leadership and teamwork abilities. Barron’s ranks Florida Tech a “best buy” in college education and Florida Tech is also listed as a top technical institution in the Fiske Guide to Colleges. With the flexibility of Florida Tech’s online programs, the innovative two-course intro classes and their committed faculty, students will leave this MBA program ready to become top industry leaders worldwide.
Tuition: $39,696 per year
Learn more about the Florida Institute of Technology’s Online International Business Master’s Degree Programs here.
We would like to thank you for reading our rankings and we wish you good fortune in your future academic endeavours!