ASU's online MBA moves up in US News & World Report rankings, celebrates 9th year in top 10

By Emily Beach |
January 26, 2021

Once again this year, the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University tops the charts among several key U.S. News & World Report rankings for online business programs. The peer-reviewed rankings, which just began ranking business disciplines last year, have ranked W. P. Carey in the top 10 in every list of the top online MBA and graduate business programs. For the second year running, the school has four major business disciplines in the top three: No. 1 in general management, No. 1 in marketing, No. 2 in business analytics, and No. 2 in finance.

Additionally, the school was named the No. 6 Online MBA in the country — up four spots from last year — No. 4 Online MBA for veterans, and No. 3 for online business graduate programs. W. P. Carey also tied for No. 1 in the first-time ranking of online undergraduate business programs.

This is the ninth year in a row the degree has ranked in the top 10. The rankings are the output of several factors: student engagement (30%), expert opinion (25%), faculty credentials and training (15%), services and technologies (15%), and student excellence (15%).

“We are grateful for this recognition in such a competitive field, in particular one that consults our peer schools and alumni,” said Amy Ostrom, interim dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business and PetSmart Chair in Services Leadership. “W. P. Carey invested in online education early, and we are proud to offer valuable and flexible business degrees to an ever-growing group of students.”

The rankings come at a key time for online degrees, as students search for respected programs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The value of a W. P. Carey graduate business degree continues to rise,” said Stacey Lippert, assistant dean of graduate programs at W. P. Carey. “Whether it’s an MBA or a master’s in business analytics or information systems management, we are constantly reexamining our degrees to create maximum value for our students — and that was especially true this past year.”

The W. P. Carey School of Business ranks top 30 in U.S. News & World Report for 25 distinct undergraduate and graduate programs and fields of study, the most of any business school in the country. The Online MBA was also recently ranked No. 8 in the U.S. by The Princeton Review.