U.S. News once again ranks Kelley School of Business’ online MBA program among the best in the nation
For the 10th time in 13 years, Indiana University’s Kelley Direct Online MBA program has been ranked No. 1 in U.S. News’ ranking of the best online MBA programs in the United States. This is an unprecedented record of success in a highly turbulent and competitive market.
The 2025 list, released today (February 21), ranks 355 different online MBAs out of more than 700 options that currently exist in the United States alone. A recent study found that with the explosive growth of online MBA education, average enrollment per program will drop from 215 students in 2018 to 182 students in 2023, while the average cost of a degree will be just 31,500. Down to the dollar (see “Online MBA programs have grown by leaps and bounds”)Sharks? ). Still, an estimated 58% of U.S. MBA students are currently participating in online programs.
Kenan-Flagler Business School’s MBA@UNC program ranks second this year to Kelley, which ranks second. Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business’ hybrid online MBA ranks third, with the University of Florida and the University of Washington tied for fourth. The most successful of the top 10 programs was the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Ross’ online MBA option, priced at a hefty $128,000 for non-residents, rose 10 spots to No. 6 from No. 16 last year.
Significant ranking gains by Michigan, UC Davis, and Hofstra
Other notable advances include UC Davis School of Business, which rose 22 spots to No. 20, and Hofstra University, which rose 15 spots to No. 14. Still, other business schools saw even bigger gains, with Loyola University in Maryland jumping 91 spots to No. 29 and Kennesaw State University jumping 70 spots to No. 42. Of course, these programs have little change year-over-year, so large ups and downs like this only undermine the credibility of the rankings.
What’s even more shocking about this ranking is that three online MBA programs improved by more than 100 spots in one year. Georgia Southern University ranked 117th, up from 217th last year to 100th. The University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee moved up 114 places to No. 135 from No. 249, and Ohio University moved up 105 places from No. 193 a year ago to No. 88. After seeing such a roller coaster of results, I doubt many people will believe in the validity of this ranking.
And many other online MBA programs have seen significant increases or decreases. Bentley University was ranked 55th and 92nd among online MBA programs in the Boston metropolitan area. Wake Forest University’s online MBA rose 90 spots to No. 65.
US News Online MBA Rankings Top 10 Online Options in the US in 2025
2025 Schools and Ranks 2024 Rank Year-over-year change per unit Cost Total Cost 1. Indiana (Kelly) 1 ——– $1,636 $94,944 2. North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 3 +1 $2,025 $125,589 3. Carnegie Mellon State (Tepper) 2 -1 $2,274 $149,058 4. Florida State 6 +2 $1,208 $59,807 4. Washington (Foster) 3 -1 $1,242 $96,000 6. Michigan State (Ross) 16 +10 $2,090 $128,000 7. Arizona State (Carey) 7 ——- $2,327 $66,266 7. arizona (Error) 7 ——– $1,250 $56,250 7. Kansas 9 +2 $865 $36,330 7. Southern California (Marshall) 3 -4 $2,307 $132,970
Kelly has increased online MBA enrollment by 69% in the past five years
Kelley was one of the first business schools to launch an online MBA in 1999, bucking the downward trend in online MBA education. Kelly’s acceptance rate is the lowest of any ranked online MBA at 29%. In comparison, Carnegie Mellon University’s acceptance rate is 80%, UNC’s 58%, and Michigan State’s 57%. The Kelley MBA currently costs $94,944, nearly three times the average, while Kelley Direct currently enrolls a total of 1,729 students, more than nine times the average and nearly 80 more students than last year. More than 5,500 online learners have graduated since Kelly enrolled its first 45 students 26 years ago.
But more importantly, over the past five years, Kelly has gained a strong position against Kenan-Flagler Business School’s MBA@UNC, a long-time major rival in online MBA education. Kelley’s online MBA enrollment has surged 69% since 2020 from 1,014 students, while MBA@UNC enrollment has declined 16%. Kelley has been able to scale without compromising quality. It is just one of 24 business schools in the United States with over 1,000 online MBA students (see table below).
That leadership position also lends itself to Indiana’s pricing power. Kelly has increased its offering price by 22%, or more than $20,000, while UNC’s price has remained flat for the past five years. Only two of the top five online MBA programs were able to increase the price of their programs: Kelley College and the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
Kelly Program Features
But even with the higher cost, Kelley College’s online MBA offers weekly internet classes taught by school faculty rather than part-time instructors, 10 to 14 national and international intensive classes per year, and on-campus enrichment. It’s a bargain among online MBA options with its features. Complete career support with a residency, extensive portfolio of electives, seven intensive courses, and one-on-one coaching. Most of its peers offering similar bells and whistles are still in the six-figure category, with UNC at $30,600 more, Michigan State at $33,000 and Southern California’s Marshall School at $38,000. It is high.
What’s even more surprising, given the increased competition in online MBA education, is that four of this year’s U.S. News top five programs are in the exact same order as five years ago, with one exception. Washington Foster was ranked No. 10 in 2020, and USC, which was ranked No. 5 in 2020, is now No. 7.
U.S. News’ rankings are based on unaudited data provided by “regionally accredited” business schools and what U.S. News calls a peer review survey of “high-ranking academic stakeholders in MBA programs.” Based on. For the latter study, the website populates data collected over the past three years. The ranking organization does not report how many officials were surveyed or how many responded. U.S. News does not conduct ranking surveys of students, alumni, or employers. The data and opinions provided by schools are compiled into a highly complex formula centered around nearly 50 different indicators in five measurement categories. student engagement (30% of the weight), peer assessment (25%), student excellence (15%), faculty qualifications and training (15%), and student services and technology (15%).
Differences between US news list and POETS&QUANTS online MBA rankings
Several metrics are considered in each of the five ranking categories. For example, to measure “engagement,” U.S. News assigns a 35% weight to graduation rates, defined by the two-year average of students who complete an online MBA within three years, and an additional 35% to the graduation rate, which the company says is ” We assign weight to what we call “best practices.” ” Half of the scores in this part of the rankings are based on programs that receive accreditation from the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Business Schools, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, or the International Conference on Collegiate Business Education.
Unlike Poets&Quants’ recently released 2025 Best Online MBA rankings, U.S. News did not survey graduates of the program. U.S. News’ reliance solely on school-provided data led to fraud by Temple University’s Fox School of Business several years ago. The University of Texas at Dallas took the top spot in this year’s P&Q rankings, with Indiana and Michigan tied for second place.
Online MBA program currently enrolling over 1,000 students
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))> School Admission Location US News Rank Total Cost University of Illinois (Guise) 4,898 Illinois Unranked* $24,984 Colorado Tech 2,741 Colorado 256 $29,280 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2,592 Texas 272-355 $6,016 Eastern University 2,423 Pennsylvania 272-355 $9,900 Liberty University (Overton) 2,378 Virginia 219 $22,140 Boston University (Questum) 2,316 Massachusetts Unranked $25,000 University of Southern Indiana (Rome) 1,798 Indiana 128 $13,950 DeVry University (Keller) 1,788 Illinois 272-355 $37,248 Indiana University (Kelly) 1,729 Indiana 1 $94,944 Jack Welch Institute of Management 1,700 Washington DC Unranked $46,200 Lamar University 1,649 Texas 272-355 $9,930 University of Iowa (Tippee) 1,593 Iowa 25 $33,750 Fitchburg State University 1,546 Massachusetts 272-355 $8,250 Trine University 1,504 Indiana 272-355 $17,250 University of Massachusetts Amherst (Eisenberg) 1,501 Massachusetts 16 $36,075 University of Massachusetts Lowell (Manning) 1,384 Massachusetts 33 $19,650 Washington State University (Carson) 1,309 Washington 33 $43,104 University of North Carolina at Pembroke 1,299 North Carolina 219 $35,770 Northern Kentucky University (Hile) 1,228 Kentucky 122 $17,259 Texas Woman’s University (Kick) 1,226 Texas 190 $29,268 Penn State World Campus 1,116 Pennsylvania 33 $60,480 Southern Utah University 1,052 Utah 172 $17,460 University of North Alabama 1,025 Alabama 230 $19,980 University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Moody) 1,009 Louisiana 128 $12,800
*Gice College of Business does not participate in the ranking.
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