Online MBA program ranks No. 2 in nation
For the first time ever, U.S. News & World Report is issuing complete numeric rankings of the country’s best online graduate business programs. The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University comes in an impressive No. 2 on the list.
“We’re extremely happy to see U.S. News confirm we have one of the world’s best online MBA programs,” says Robert Mittelstaedt, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business. “Increasingly, students are looking for the flexibility of an online program, but they don’t want to sacrifice the high quality of a top university. The W. P. Carey School was one of the first highly respected schools to get into the online arena – more than a decade ago -- and we offer the same stellar faculty and degree in our online program as we offer in all of our other highly ranked MBA programs.”
In addition to the new online-MBA ranking, U.S. News & World Report already currently ranks the W. P. Carey School’s undergraduate business, full-time MBA and evening MBA programs among the nation’s Top 30 in their respective categories.
As far as online programs, last year, U.S. News & World Report only issued an “Honor Roll” of 14 graduate business choices and some rankings on subcategories, but the publication stopped short of giving a full, overall rankings list of the top programs. The W. P. Carey School did make the “Honor Roll,” but this year’s clear-cut No. 2 is even more definitive. The new rankings are based on important criteria: student engagement, admissions selectivity, peer reputation, and faculty credentials and training.
“This means U.S. News & World Report looked at our accomplished students, renowned faculty, small class sizes, diverse online-learning technologies, prestigious accreditation, and reputation among peer schools, and they placed us among the two best online MBA programs in the entire United States,” explains Stacey Whitecotton, associate dean for W. P. Carey MBA programs.
Students serving in the military, starting their own businesses and traveling extensively for their jobs are among those who have chosen the W. P. Carey School’s online MBA program. For example, NFL Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff completed the program, even while attending NFL training camp. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Coulson, who was awarded the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a Combat Action Badge for his service and actions while leading combat missions in Iraq, participated in the program while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
This past summer, QS, a Britain-based company that helps students select MBA programs, ranked the W. P. Carey School’s online MBA program among the Top 15 in the world. QS says there are at least 300 online MBA programs right now and that attention has boomed, going from just 4.4 percent of MBA students interested in 2008 to 15.6 percent interested in 2012.
The W. P. Carey School’s popular two-year online MBA program allows students to meet at a face-to-face orientation just once at the ASU campus, then complete the rest of the courses completely online. Students work in small, personalized teams with peers from other industries, focusing on one course at a time. This is also one of the few online MBA programs in which students can earn their degrees with an area of emphasis, such as finance, international business, marketing or supply chain management. Participants have a dedicated financial aid specialist and a career center to help them with job searches. For more information, go to www.wpcarey.asu.edu.
The W. P. Carey School also offers other online graduate business programs: a weekend/online hybrid MBA, a 16-month online Master of Science in Information Management, and a newly announced 21-month Master of Science in Supply Chain Management and Engineering.