About Online School

Since online MBAs are such a hot topic right now, we decided to go back and check out four more online schools that might be worth a look.

But first, let’s go back to the basics. Why bother with an online MBA at all?

With the recession still in full swing you will find that many people are looking to go back to school in hopes of finding a better paying job, a new career, or just to higher their educations in order to climb that ladder to success. But which online school is worth the money you will put into it as well as the time it will take to complete the courses?

When it comes to going back to school there is a lot that goes into finding the very best online school for you. What kind of people attends this online school? What are the skills that I will learn? Some of the important information you will want to learn about a prospective online school is the schools’ reputation and ranking, as well as the skills you will gain and how much it actually costs. Here is a list of the top online MBAs for you to get an idea of what to look for.

• IE Business School is an online school that is located in Madrid, Spain and offers a 16 month Global MBA program. Ranked #4 by Forbes, IE offers you a perfect opportunity to study with students from 48 different countries around the world. What’s more, along with online lectures and videoconferences, there is a requirement of students to attend two residence sessions that last five days each in Madrid. So this is an online school that really takes you places. The skills you will gain here revolve around strategy, operations, Finance, and much more. Tuition is 56,000 USD. Check out their website at http://www.gmba-eng.ie.edu/ for more information.
• The Thunderbird School of Global Management is located in Arizona, USA. This online school program lasts 19 months is also considered a Global MBA. They were ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report for international programs as well as #1 for International Business by The Wall Street Journal. You will share and enjoy virtual classrooms with people not only from the USA but also from Switzerland and China. The skills you will gain at this online school revolve around cross-cultural communications, the global political economy, global strategies, and much more. Tuition here is $61,650 USD, which includes any on-site costs. Visit their website at http://www.thunderbird.edu/.
• Duke University is located in North Carolina, USA. You will enjoy a Cross-Continental MBA at this online school with a program that lasts 20 months. Also through this school you will be attending 9 residential sessions that last one week each, and all take place at their USA site, Europe, and in Asia. This top school was ranked #9 by Business Week, and you can expect to gain skills like Decision Models, Global Financial Management, Marketing, and more. Tuition costs here are $101,900 USD. To learn more about this online school visit their website at http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mba/executive/cc/.

• This final online school is the University of Florida which is located in Gainesville, Florida, USA. Their Internet MBA was raked #1 for Distance Learning by The Economist, and #6 by The Wall Street Journal. With this online school you have two choices for programs. You can either sign up for a two year MBA or their one year MBA. With either a 27month or the 16 month option both will require a certain amount of weekend visits for on-site learning. Skills gained here include Personal Finance, Corporate Finance, E-Commerce, Business law and more. Tuition is $36,000 and $41,000 depending on which course option you choose. Visit their website at http://www.floridamba.ufl.edu/ to learn more.

What you will find with each online school is the opportunity to pursue higher education without the need to quit your job. Online courses are becoming more and more popular as time goes by because they allow you to not only get a quality education and gain experiences of a lifetime, but they allow you to do so from the comfort of your own home so you can work around your job schedule, and still support your family. Choosing an online school will be the best choice you have made this year, now you only have to find one that fits your needs!

Note: Rankings and Tuition for each online school are based on figures for the 2008-2009 academic year.