Auburn University online MBA students. Auburn’s Raymond J. Harbert College of Business which rose four spots to No. 7 after falling out of the top 10 last year.
BIGGEST CLIMBERS
Nine of the top ten programs from last year’s ranking made it into the top 10 for 2026. The exception: Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business which fell from No. 5 to No. 20. Rice fell from third to 12th place for 2026 in Career Outcomes with fewer 2025 alumni reporting salary bumps and/or promotions as a result of their online MBAs than their predecessors. Rice also fell from No. 5 to No. 21 in Academic Experience, as reported by alumni, and from 24th to 36th in Admission Standards.
That left room for Auburn University Raymond J. Harbert College of Business which rose four spots to No. 7 after falling out of the top 10 last year, finishing at No. 11.
Hofstra Zarb maintained its top 10 finish, landing at No. 5 – its highest place ever. It rose four spots from last year, and a total of 25 spots since 2023. That’s a three year streak of climbing up the ranking, based largely on alumni responses to our alumni survey. Hofstra finished 21st in Admissions Standards, which is submitted by institutions, as well as second in Academic Experience and third in Career Outcomes, data for which comes from the alumni survey. With a full-program price tag of $65,390, it’s also the biggest deal in the top 5.
“The professors are excellent and incredibly knowledgeable. All of my classes had a solid mix of individual work and group work which helped to create real connections and a post-school network,” a Zarb alum told us in the survey. “The online program did not feel like an afterthought. It was clearly designed as a digital-first experience with additional privileges for those who wanted to use the campus.”
Because our alumni survey accounts for two-thirds of the final score there are still annual climbs and dives, especially at the middle of the ranking. (As noted, we do include three years worth of alumni data to try to smooth out year-to-year fluctuations as much as possible.)
This year’s biggest climber is Clemson University’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, which rose 26 spots to No. 28. Powers failed to meet the alumni response threshold in 2022, and so its Academic Experience and Career scores were penalized. It has since met the threshold and received full marks for the three most recent classes.
University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium rose 19 spots after falling 16 last year. Villanova School of Business and Bowling Green State University Schmidthorst College of Business each rose 13.
WHY KELLEY DIRECT STILL SETS THE BAR
Kelley Direct offers flexibility for working professionals such as Dr. Michelle Braun, a neuropsychologist and a national leader in the field of brain health and cognitive functioning, who does coursework while her daughter works on homework.
One factor in Kelley Direct’s continued dominance is likely its constant reinvention. It is an online MBA that has grown more career-focused, more connected, and more deeply integrated into the broader Kelley ecosystem.
“This achievement is a testament to the heart and expertise of our dedicated faculty and staff, who pour their energy into making this program an unparalleled experience for every working professional we serve,” Dean Pat Hopkins says. “After a quarter of a century of shaping business leaders, it is thrilling and deeply gratifying to know that Kelley Direct remains the definitive gold standard for online MBA education.”
Indiana University was an early mover in the online MBA space. In 1999, when dial-up internet was still the norm, Kelley School of Business became the first top-ranked business school to offer an online MBA. In 2021, P&Q named Kelley Direct our MBA Program of the Year, the first time the honor was awarded to an online program. Today, Kelley School of Business has over 135,000 living alumni including more than 6,000 online MBA alumni.
In a crowded online MBA market where many programs rely on third-party vendors or scaled-back academic models, Kelley Direct continues to build and rebuild its program entirely in-house. Its $10 million Jellison Studios connects students to live classrooms with the same faculty that teach in its Full-Time +Flex MBA.
KELLEY DIRECT PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT
Opa! International immersion — like this one in Greece — provide students unique learning opportunities designed and led by Kelley faculty.
One of the most consequential changes of the past two years is the launch of Kelley Direct Professional Advancement, an in-house career services team dedicated exclusively to serving Kelley Direct students and alumni. It features an alumni-driven job referral pipeline that sources opportunities directly from the Kelley network.
“It is one of the only fully customized online-MBA career services units of its kind, staffed by 17 specialized career coaches with an average of more than 25 years of industry experience across more than 20 industries and functions,” says Miki Pike Hamstra, executive director of Kelley Direct Programs.
Alumni also receive lifetime coaching. Many of the coaches are former executives and consultants themselves, offering flexible evening and weekend availability and embedded directly into the curriculum and residencies. The result is structured, progressive career development that begins before classes start and continues long after graduation.
Kelley Direct is now building just-in-time hiring platforms for experienced professionals and launching an Executive Sponsor Program pairing senior students with current or former executives, a recognition that many online MBA students are navigating complex leadership roles rather than entry-level pivots.
In the 2026 ranking, Kelley finished fourth in Career Outcomes as reported by 2025 program graduates.
In their second year, Kelley Direct students can choose from multiple in-person opportunities, including Kelley On Location, a theme-based, conference-style event held in cities such as Chicago (seen here) as well as New Orleans, Milwaukee, Louisville, or Atlanta. The experience features world-class speakers, faculty-led workshops, and networking opportunities.
AI & THE NEXT EVOLUTION OF THE ONLINE MBA
AI is another key factor in Kelley’s reinvention. It is hiring a five-person in-house consultancy that will help faculty embed AI tools into their courses, redesign curriculum, and develop new ways of teaching. In 2026, it will make ChatGPT Edu available to all students, representing the second-largest ChatGPT deployment ever in higher education. It created its very own LLM, KelleyGPT, for secure research, and it published its own AI Playbook, a best-practices guide on using AI ethically in teaching, research, and service.
Virtual Advanced Business Technologies is a brand new department within the business school with 70 faculty across 10 different business disciplines collaborating to bring AI innovations to the classroom. Kelley Direct now offers seven classes with a specific AI focus spanning AI for business leaders, agentic AI, machine learning, big data, automation, enterprise platforms, digital platforms, law an ethics, and cybersecurity. Two of these courses are new and will go live this spring.
“In addition, our Kelley Direct Student Leadership Association overhauled its former business analytics sub-association this year into the AI & Analytics Association, redesigning it to create opportunities for students to explore the evolving world of intelligent technologies, build practical and in-demand skill sets, and engage with a vibrant community passionate about the future of Gen AI,” Hamstra says.
“Rooted in its mission to build and nurture an interconnected, engaged, and empowered community of students, alumni, and professionals, the association helps members stay ahead of the curve through hands-on projects, case competitions, workshops, and conversations about emerging trends, tools, ethical considerations, and career pathways.”
Those innovations sit within a broader hybrid model that blends weekly live classes with a deep menu of electives. Kelley Direct allows students to devote up to half of their coursework to electives (choosing between more than 80 options) and pursue one of seven majors. This year, it redesigned the Kelley Direct MBA + MS dual degree pathway, allowing students to pair the MBA with a specialized master’s degree in business analytics, finance, entrepreneurship and corporate innovation, or strategic management.
“Once a student becomes part of our program, we consider them a ‘Kelley for Life,’” Hamstra says.
While Kelley Direct students complete most of their coursework online, many return to the IU Bloomington campus for commencement.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AT SCALE
And, of course, experiential learning remains one of Kelley Direct’s defining features. Every student completes two required in-person residencies: Kelley On Campus, for first-years, brings students to Bloomington for an intensive, faculty-led consulting engagement with a live client. In the second year, students choose from several options including Kelley On Location (with programming in major U.S. cities) and Kelley On Success, coordinated by the Kelley Direct Professional Advancement team.
For entrepreneurial students, Kelley On Innovation is an immersive “idea blitz” where teams generate, test, and pitch solutions to real business problems in just a few days. Online students can major in Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation or pursue a dual degree in the field, supported by foundational coursework in venture concept development, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation strategy. For those looking to push further, optional immersions can extend that learning beyond campus.
Finally, Kelley Direct offers 10 to 12 global and domestic immersions each year. These are credit-bearing electives designed and led by Kelley faculty with trips structured to expose students to business ecosystems firsthand while leveraging faculty expertise and alumni connections in the field.
More than half of 2025 graduates who responded to P&Q’s alumni survey reported that they attended at least one international immersion during their program. Of those that did attend, they rated the experience a perfect 10 out 10.
Respondents went to Costa Rica (consulting for a dental clinic and one of the country’s largest healthcare providers), to Dubai (visiting government agencies as well as corporations), and to Singapore (studying Asian financial and insurance markets).
“I participated in the Singapore immersion, which was one of the highlights of my MBA experience,” one 2025 alum told P&Q. “Equally valuable was the cultural learning. Experiencing Singapore’s unique blend of traditions and modern innovation gave me a deeper appreciation of how culture shapes business practices. The trip not only expanded my global perspective but also strengthened the connections I made with classmates and industry leaders, adding immense value to my overall MBA journey.”
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