8 Of The Most Flexible Online MBA Programs

An Online MBA is the perfect option if you want to continue to work alongside your MBA studies, 

Distance learning MBA programs give you the chance to study the same MBA syllabus as a full-time program, but balance it with your career, family, and other commitments. 

The flexibility of the Online MBA is one of its major appeals, but what are the most flexible Online MBA programs on the market?

These flexible Online MBA programs allow you to complete your studies over several years, choose between 100%-online or hybrid learning, and/or pay for your degree one credit at a time.

1. Alliance Manchester Business School

Online MBA Cost: $37,800

Ranking: 6 (QS)

Alliance Manchester Business School’s Online MBA is delivered in partnership with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and offers a blend of in-person and online teaching. 

What sets it apart are the in-person MBA workshops. There’s a six-day residency in Bloomington, Indiana, and the remaining two in-person workshops can be taken at any of Manchester’s campuses in Dubai, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, or Washington. 

It’s perfect for those who travel regularly for work, or who want to combine their Online MBA with seeing the world and gaining invaluable international business experience.

2. Warwick Business School

Online MBA Cost: $43,500

Ranking: 1 (Financial Times), 3 (QS)

Warwick’s Distance Learning MBA has been ranked the best in the world by the Financial Times for four years in a row.

It’s not 100% online, but the two-year program has only two weeks of in-person teaching. The Online MBA course materials are also available 24/7 on the school’s online learning platform. You can also choose to extend your studies into a third year at no additional cost.

3. AGSM @ UNSW

Online MBA Cost: $41,500

Ranking: 8(FT), 4 (QS)

AGSM’s Online MBAX program can be studied between two and six years and has three different intakes throughout the year, perfect for students who want to spread their education over a number of years. 

Unlike other Online MBAs, students can also specialize in one of five different areas—technology, law, social impact, finance, and change—and the asynchronous course format means students can fit lectures around their schedule at any time during the week. 

4. Oxford Brookes Business School

Online MBA Cost: $22,700

Ranking: 15 (QS)

Oxford Brookes’ distance learning MBA is one of the most affordable programs on this list, and can be completed either 100% online or with some face-to-face teaching. 

The flexibility on this course comes from the fact that the in-person workshops (two separate three-day workshops and a six-day campus module) can be taken anytime during the program’s two years—so you can take them all in one 12-day block or separate them depending on your schedule. 

5. Washington University's Olin Business School

Online MBA Cost: $75,000

Olin Business School’s Online MBA consists of 54 credits and is 100% online, with no compulsory residential component. While the standard timeline is 30 months, students can take up to five years to complete the program. On average, you’ll spend just 5-7 hours on each three-credit course, so you can tailor your schedule each year around your work. 

6. Maastricht School of Management

Online MBA Cost: $34,000

Maastricht’s Online MBA is another 100% online program—there are also no exams during the degree. You also have the option of transferring to one of Maastricht’s in-person MBA programs at any time during the two-year degree, so you’re covered if your circumstances change and you want to transition to an on campus MBA program. 

7. The Open University

Online MBA Cost: $27,300

Ranking: 46 (QS)

Another affordable option for an Online MBA program, The Open University’s course is one of the most flexible around, with the option to spend up to seven years studying. 

The program is taught entirely online and comprises of 180 credits, which can be picked up over a number of compulsory modules and electives. You can also transfer credits from previous relevant postgraduate study to get ahead with your studies before you’ve even begun the course.

8. Vlerick Business School

Online MBA Cost: $39,200

Ranking: 12 (QS)

Vlerick’s Online MBA program benefits from a range of timetables—the average time taken to complete the degree is 26 months, but there’s also a fast-track option which takes a year and an option to extend your studies to a maximum of five years.

There’s no residential component to the Vlerick distance learning MBA, and each course features just three, three-hour workshops, with the other parts of the program made up of discussion groups, simulations, and videos. Vlerick's Online MBA students can pay per module.

This article was first published in June 2021 and updated in June 2022.