Highest Ranked Online MBA in New England by Fortune

Fortune Best Online MBA logo

Fortune Education highly acclaims UMass Lowell’s online MBA, ranking it the best program in New England and the #9 best in the country for 2023. This year, the media group evaluated 100 business schools to help prospective students navigate the business school landscape.

Fortune’s recognition of the UMass Lowell online MBA program among the top 10 in the nation reflects the efforts of our high-quality faculty and the experience of our MBA students,” said Steve Tello, UMass Lowell’s Vice Provost for Graduate, Online & Professional Studies. “Our faculty bring research knowledge and professional experience to our online instruction, while our students can apply what they learn in their classes to real-world challenges in their workplaces.”

Of the top 10 universities on Fortune’s list, UMass Lowell’s online MBA is by far the most affordable. At most schools on the top 10 list, overall tuition exceeds $100K, whereas UMass Lowell’s online MBA can be completed for under $20K. In addition, UMass Lowell does not require applicants to complete the GMAT, which combined with the program’s 8-week courses, further enables working professionals to accelerate their success.

Fortune’s Top 10 Best Online MBA Programs for 2023

  1. Indiana University- Bloomington
  2. University of Florida
  3. Carnegie Mellon University
  4. University of Southern California
  5. Rochester Institute of Technology
  6. University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
  7. University of Washington
  8. University of Iowa
  9. University of Massachusetts Lowell
  10. University of Massachusetts Amherst

Fortune’s MBA Ranking Methodology

Fortune’s rankings are based on each business school’s Program Score (62.5%), Brand Score (20%) and Fortune 1000 Score (17.5%). The Program Score evaluates the student body’s academic strength, including:

  • Median GPA
  • Work experience of its existing students
  • Demand for program entry

To calculate the Brand Score, Fortune solicited the opinions of thousands of business leaders on the country’s finest MBA programs. Finally, the media group evaluated each school’s alum network to learn which institutions graduated the most C-suite level executives at Fortune 1000 companies today.

History of Fortune’s Online Rankings

Fortune first published its list of best online MBA programs in 2021, when the pandemic necessitated a shift to distance education. COVID-19 transformed the reputation of online learning by presenting students and companies with a more flexible and affordable opportunity to achieve educational development. Although COVID is no longer a national emergency, a heightened interest in online learning remains. GMAC’s Prospective Student Survey states, “The global average of prospective students reporting a preference for online or hybrid courses is about 22 percent, up from pre-pandemic 2019 levels of about 16 percent.”

The availability of high-quality online MBA programs has particularly benefited groups that require greater flexibility, including women and first-generation students. GMAC’s 2023 survey reports, “There is an opportunity for these programs to play a role in the overall equity of graduate management education, attracting candidates who rely on flexible program delivery and may not otherwise pursue graduate management education.”

UMass Lowell’s AACSB-accredited Manning School of Business has a well-established history of educating global business leaders. In addition to earning recognition as one of the best online MBA programs in the country by Fortune, the program has also been ranked among the best by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review and Poets & Quants.

“Our faculty value our students, and our students value the UMass Lowell MBA experience,” said Tello.

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