A Master's in Business Administration, or MBA, is a degree that many people feel familiar with or have heard of, even in casual conversation. Many of the most successful and powerful business professionals in the world have started their management careers with an MBA program. This ranking looks at online degree programs that provide students with maximum flexibility, and which happen to be located in one of the tech hubs of the United States. The state of Oregon is a popular destination for outdoor companies like Nike and Columbia Sportswear, as well as technology companies such as Precision and StarCorp. This ripe business environment and the advantages of online education help lead to our focus on the 10 Best Online MBAs in Oregon!
FINDING AN MBA DEGREE
MBA degrees are often lumped together or generalized in such a way that makes one degree seem the same as all the others. In reality, MBA programs have a diverse cross-section of structures and focuses which are deeply important to employers in the job market. Specializations in Business Management or Human Resources Management focus on developing students' leadership and team-management abilities. While subjects such as Finance or Accounting center around the mathematical and monetary aspects of the business world. Because these degrees are so versatile, students have a wide range of potential careers that they may plan on pursuing. These could include general Business Consultant positions or more specialized roles such as a Health Service Manager. And not only are these jobs geared specifically toward graduates' interests, but they are also consistent and well-paid. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Health Service Managers have a median salary of $98,350 per year, and the job market is projected to grow by 20 percent over the next decade!
But even once students know what specific topic they might like to pursue, there are still career path options they must consider with an MBA. Some programs are structured to be the starting point for a student's business career, giving them an academic perspective toward industry and preparing them to enter the job market with a wealth of knowledge. Other programs are geared more toward working with students who began working full-time after getting their baccalaureate degree and who will bring three to five years of real-world business experience into the program. The classes students take often build upon the basic business experience that students already have. There are also programs called Executive MBA programs which are designed for professionals with around 10 years of experience in their given field and who have plans to continue pursuing management-level corporate positions after getting their MBA.\
RANKING THE 10 BEST ONLINE MBAs in OREGON
Online MBA Today uses eight metrics to grade each school: Quality of Online Programs from U.S. News, Mid Career Pay from Payscale, Student Review Score from Rate My Professor, aggregate reputation score from other ranking sites, and Percentage of Online Programs, SAT Scores, Average Net Price, and Retention Rate from the National Center for Education Statistics. For a comprehensive breakdown of how we categorize and source data, please visit our
methodology page.
#10. OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Oregon State is a public university located in Corvallis, OR. It offers an online Master's in Business Administration degree program, which allows students to pick from one of four available specializations. Students may choose to focus on Organizational Leadership, Business Analytics, Marketing, or Supply Chain and Logistics. Each of these program specialties requires 60 credit hours of coursework which includes core coursework that is tailored to a student's specialization. For example, there are courses in Markets and Valuation and Managerial Decision Tools for the Organizational Leadership Path. Each of the degree plans then concludes with a two-part capstone course that includes real-world problem solving within a student's employing organization. The capstone concludes with a thorough written report and an in-person presentation of the student's experience.
Oregon State offers an accelerated version of the online MBA program, which can be completed in 21 months. The traditional version of the program can be completed in 30 months. Some specializations, such as Business Analytics, also allow students to pursue elective courses approved by their advisor. Specializations may also provide access to on-campus resources such as OSU's Close to the Customer (C2C) Marketing Lab. Oregon State's business programs have produced a number of well-known and successful entrepreneurs such as Bernie Newcomb and Leonard Shoen, founders of E*TRADE and U-Haul, respectively. Oregon State's sports teams compete under the nickname "The Beavers". The Beavers have won four Division I National Championships, in baseball and track and field.
Format: Online
#9. EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
Eastern Oregon University is a public university located in La Grande, OR. EOU offers a Master's in Business Administration program that requires 45 credit hours of coursework to complete. Online students can take anywhere between one to three courses per semester, depending on their preference. Courses are worth three credits each and are divided between 30 hours of core courses and 15 hours of elective coursework. Elective courses include offerings such as Business and the Environment, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity, as well as Advanced Accounting Theory. The final two courses in the program are an Operational Decision Making course and an MBA Capstone Simulations course. These are both designed to give students the opportunity to practice decision-making skills that they will need to be successful after they graduate.
Students from East Oregon's business program were recently selected to compete in the Invent Oregon State Finals which is a statewide entrepreneurial competition. These students were awarded grants to produce prototypes of their ideas which were centered around a specifically male yoga regimen and a healthy snack business. While students may choose either a part-time or full-time course load, only students who are enrolled full-time may qualify for financial aid. Applicants to the program are recommended to have a baccalaureate degree in business or a related degree (such as Finance or Economics). Students who do not hold a degree in a relevant field will be asked to demonstrate competency in 13 key areas, including areas such as management and finance.
Format: Online
#8. PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Portland State University is a public university located in Portland, OR. It offers an online Healthcare Master's in Business Administration program. The program is 80 percent online and typically takes students around 33 months to complete. The coursework includes 72 total credit hours, divided between six key content areas including Marketing, Financial Management, and Leadership, among others. As a part of their hybrid model, students complete the majority of their coursework online and then attend in-person classes that take place two Fridays and Saturdays per term. These classes are held at Oregon Health & Sciences University. Students pursuing the online Healthcare MBA degree program are eligible for institutional financial aid.
Portland State originally began in 1946 as a postsecondary school for veterans returning home from WWII. The Princeton Review now ranks them within the top 15 percent of American Universities. The school is a community partner with Oregon Health & Sciences University and is ranked as an R2-High Research Activity level university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning. In addition to the online MBA program, Oregon State also offers a traditional, on-campus MBA program that requires 62 credit hours of study, and which can be completed full or part-time. They recently introduced a CO-OP experience the adds career experience with Portland-area business as part of the program curriculum.
Format: Online
#7. NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Northwest Christian University is a private university located in Eugene, OR. NCU offers an online Master's in Business Administration program, which can be completed in as few as 12 months. Students are given the option to choose between a concentration in either management or non-profit leadership. It is a 36 credit hour degree program with core courses such as Business Ethics and Managerial Economics. There are then five courses to complete from within a student's given concentration, for example, the Management concentration leads to courses including Corporate Sustainability and Leadership Strategies. The program ends with a Business Portfolio course which aggregates materials and experiences from all 12 of the student's courses.
NCU is Christian liberal arts university specifically affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Christian churches and churches of Christ. They were originally founded as the Eugene Divinity School before eventually becoming Northwest Christian University in 2008. The program director is Dr. Peter Diffenderfer who received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and who has now been working in higher education for more than 25 years. He emphasizes learning about decision-making rooted in one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Students are not required to have a degree in a business field but they should be able to provide evidence of business or management experience.
Format: Online
#6. SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
Southern Oregon University is a public liberal arts college located in Ashland, OR. SOU offers an online Master's in Business Administration program which includes a number of different concentration options. Students may choose to pursue a specialization in Accounting, Business Analytics, Marketing, Finance, or the General Track. All of these programs require 45 credit hours of coursework and can be completed in as few as 16 months. Each program is divided between 33 credits of core courses and 12 hours of elective coursework. The capstone course that ends the program uses business cases and analysis to integrate professional experience with the student's previous MBA coursework.
SOU offers six different start dates for the program each term, to give applicants the maximum flexibility in deciding when the right time is to start their graduate studies. Applicants to the program are expected to have a minimum baccalaureate GPA of at least 3.0 (or 2.75 if the student possesses at least three years of relevant work experience) to receive full-admission status. Graduates from the program have a median annual salary of over $76,000 per year, while some of the highest earning graduates make more than $124,000 per year. In addition to SOU's business programs, they also have a number of celebrated arts and communications programs and are also the headquarters for the Jefferson Public Radio station and the Rogue Valley Television public access station.
Format: Online
#5. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY
George Fox University is a private university located in Newberg, OR. George Fox offers a part-time Master's in Business Administration program that includes a small online component. It is a two-year program that requires 42 credit hours of study. Core courses are divided into two main parts. In their first year, they begin the business core which includes fundamental courses in economics, management, and finance. During their second year, students then also choose a concentration to pursue, that decides which three elective courses they will complete. Concentrations available in the program include Finance, Strategic Management, Strategic Human Resource Management, as well as Management and Leadership. Students do not complete a general capstone as a part of the degree program and instead complete their studies with their specifically tailored elective courses.
Applicants to the program are not required to have a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and they do not have to submit GMAT scores. Students are required to have professional work experience, however. Students interested in the weeknight format, which includes one evening class per week and an occasional Saturday, should apply for admission in the Fall. Students interested in the weekend format, where students meet every other Saturday throughout the semester, should apply for admission in the Spring. In addition to the part-time program, George Fox also offers a full-time MBA program which can be completed in just one year. On-campus students must sign a lifestyle agreement which includes required chapel/current-events gatherings and participation in service projects.
Format: Residential
#4. CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY
Concordia University is a private university located in Portland, OR. It offers an online Master's in Business Administration program. The program includes 38 credit hours of coursework which can be completed in either 18 months or 24 months, depending on if classes are taken concurrently or individually. In addition to the fundamental components in finance and management, Concordia's program also stresses the importance of ethical leadership, global awareness, and innovation. Students who have earned a professional degree or certification may also qualify for a Professional Practice concentration which allows them to put nine credits of their professional degree toward the MBA core. For their final capstone project, students have the option of choosing between a structured or independent capstone. This capstone project focuses on preparing entrepreneurial opportunities from conception all the way through initial investment.
Concordia offers a general MBA concentration for the degree, as well as specializations in Finance, Healthcare Administration, and Project Management. One of the main focuses of the program is getting students real-world business experience, which is why many students pursue an MBA internship during the program. The internship experience credit may also be used to replace one of the student's elective course requirements. Concordia is a Lutheran University specifically associated with the Missouri Synod. Concordia's MBA program was ranked one of the three best MBA Programs in Oregon according to Oregon Business Magazine's 2019 ranking. Students entering the program are eligible to transfer in up to 12 credit hours of graduate coursework either into a student's elective or specialization area.
Format: Online
#3. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, OR. Oregon offers a part-time Flex Master's in Business Administration program that can be completed in two, three, or four years. The program requires a minimum of 45 credit hours of coursework which includes a mixture of specialization courses and electives. Specialization courses are chosen by the student and can relate to topic areas such as Marketing Research and Marketing Strategy. The main core that all MBA students must take is the fundamental Business Law and Ethics course. Students also are encouraged to take courses outside of the Lundquist College of Business to help encourage their independent development and networking skills.
Applicants to the program are expected to possess an undergraduate degree in business, economics, or a STEM field which includes science, technology, engineering, or math. Applicants are also expected to possess significant work experience however students with a strong academic record and at least five years of work experience may not be required to submit GMAT/GRE scores. The Princeton Review ranked Oregon as one of the Top 10 Green MBA programs in 2018. These rankings focus on how well students feel their program has prepared them to address issues relating to the environment and sustainability. In addition to its Flex MBA program, Oregon also offers a nine-month accelerated MBA program, as well as a traditional program and a joint MBA/MSF degree program.
Format: Residential
#2. UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND
The University of Portland often referred to as UP, is a private university located in Portland, OR. It offers a Master's in Business Administration program which offers a broad curriculum and a focus on entrepreneurship. The Flexible MBA program is made up of 39 semester hours of coursework, which is divided between 13 courses. There are six areas of concentration that students may choose to pursue such as Entrepreneurship, Finance, Marketing, Operations and Technology Management, Strategy, and Sustainability. The evening course in the program is taught once a week to try and balance the commitments students have to both work and school. UP tries to provide students with international experiences and a cross-cultural curriculum to prepare them to enter the modern international business environment. The program ends with a capstone course which involves an interdisciplinary look at business problem-solving and solution innovation.
UP is a Roman Catholic University and is affiliated with the Congregation of the Holy Cross who also helped to found the University of Notre Dame. Students may test out of the required introductory statistics course which reduces the course requirements down to 36 credit hours. The University of Portland is one of five business schools in Oregon that is accredited by the Association of Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business. Students may pursue a graduate internship while they are in the program and may be able to register for a Graduate Internship course if that is a requirement of the internship. UP is a part of the Jesuit Transfer Agreement, which allows students who have completed at least 50 percent of their credits at the University of Portland to attend another participating university and transfer their credits back to UP to complete their MBA.
Format: Residential
#1. WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
Willamette University is a private university located in Salem, OR. Willamette has two Master's in Business Administration programs. The first program is an Early Career and Career Change MBA and then there is also the MBA for Professionals. Both programs are structured to last around two years. The Early Career MBA is a full-time residential program that includes ten different concentration options in fields such as finance or non-profit management. The MBA for Professionals program involves two weeknight classes per week and is structured in a small cohort format. The program's courses are designed to cover core management principles and special supporting topics that delve deeply into the issues facing managers across business fields.
Students applying to the MBA for Professionals should have a minimum of three years of post-bachelor full-time professional work experience. Students with less experience are encouraged to pursue the Early Career and Career Change MBA program. Willamette is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In 2018 Businessweek ranked the Willamette MBA as one of the "Best Business Schools in the U.S." They have also received similar accolades from Forbes and Poets & Quants. Willamette supplements students' in-class learning with professional opportunities including bringing in experienced professionals and speakers. Recently students were able to meet with Warren Buffett who is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and the third-richest person in the world.
Format: Residential