Incoming MBA students are introduced to the Kelley Direct program during Kelley on Campus in-person residency at the beginning of the program. This is the fourth time The Kelley Direct Online MBA has topped P&Q’s ranking of the Best Online MBA Programs in the U.S.
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business has done it again. The Kelley Direct Online MBA returns to the very top of Poets&Quants’ ranking of the best online MBA programs in the U.S. – a position Kelley knows well. This marks the program’s fourth time leading our ranking, after first claiming the top spot in 2021 and repeating the feat in both 2023 and 2024.
Even last year’s brief slip — to a tie for second in 2025 — now looks more like a pause than a reversal for the Kelley Direct Online MBA. No program has been more consistently dominant. Since Poets&Quants launched its online MBA ranking, Kelley has finished in the top five every single year.
For students, that consistency translates into something far more tangible. “The experience at Kelley was full of meaningful connections, and real ways to put impact into practice,” says a 2025 Kelley graduate.
“Our motto—moment to momentum—isn’t just a slogan. It shows up everywhere, from how you’re taught to lead change to how you’re encouraged to make an impact in the business world and the communities around you. It’s a stellar program, with incredibly supportive professors and staff—and relationships with classmates that last well beyond the MBA.”
POETS&QUANTS’ BEST ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS
Less than a point separates the final scores of 2026’s top three finishers. Nipping at Kelley’s heels is the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management, slipping one spot to No. 2. And just as close behind is Michigan Ross School of Business, finishing at No. 3, one slot lower than the previous cycle.
Top 10 Online MBA Programs For 2026 |
|||||
2026 RANK |
School |
Final Score |
2025 Rank |
YOY Change |
Total Program Tuition |
| 1 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 100.00 | 2 | 1 | $94,944 |
| 2 | University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) | 99.93 | 1 | -1 |
$58,198 (In-state); $95,697 (Out-of-state)
|
| 3 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 99.37 | 2 | -1 |
$120,000 (In-state); $130,000 (Out-of-state)
|
| 4 | University of Washington (Foster) | 98.01 | 4 | 0 | $99,000 |
| 5 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 93.28 | 9 | 4 | $65,390 |
| 6 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 91.59 | 7 | 1 | $149,088 |
| 7 | Auburn University (Harbert) | 87.56 | 11 | 4 | $39,250 |
| 8 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 86.67 | 6 | -2 | $140,000 |
| 9 | Jack Welch Management Institute | 86.56 | 8 | -1 | $47,450 |
| 10 | University of Florida (Warrington) | 85.51 | 10 | 0 |
$49,205 (One-year accelerated); $59,808 Two-year)
|
UT Dallas Jindal debuted at No. 10 in our first online MBA ranking in 2019, but slipped the next three years: to No. 13, No. 18, and then all the way to No. 45 in 2022. What followed was a remarkable rebound: a 38-spot leap to No. 7 in 2023, and another four-spot rise to No. 3 a year later. 2025 was its first No. 1 finish.
This is the fourth appearance for Michigan Ross, landing at No. 4 the first two cycles and tying for No. 2 last year. Ross is buoyed by particularly high career scores (as reported by its most recent graduates). In fact, 56.2% of its 2025 grads that responded to our survey reported getting a promotion during the program or just after and 65.6% reported getting a pay raise. All respondents reported that they formed strong professional networks that they can use well into their careers.
The online MBA programs at University of Washington Foster School of Business and Hofstra University Frank G. Zarb School of Business rounded out the top five.
Online MBA students from University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management on a global immersion in Japan. Jindal ranked No. 2 in P&Q’s ranking of online MBA programs.
2026 METHODOLOGY
P&Q’s ranking of online MBA programs has always been based on three equally weighted categories — Admissions Standards, Academic Experience, and Career Outcomes.
Admissions data is collected from a survey sent directly to schools. For 2026, 61 schools submitted surveys to be ranked, four more than the previous cycle and the most we’ve ever evaluated.
We use six metrics to calculate the Admissions score which, in turn, accounts for 33.3% of the overall ranking score. These include the incoming class’ average undergraduate GPA, average years of work experience, program acceptance rate, average adjusted GMAT/GRE scores, six-year graduation rate, and one-year retention rate.
Academic Experience and Career Outcomes data is gathered from an alumni survey. Both surveys took place between July and October 2025. This year, we surveyed alumni graduating between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
We included alumni data from the previous two alumni classes whenever it was available. The most recent data (Class of 2025) was weighted 50% of the alumni scores while data from the Classes of 2024 and 2023 were weighted 25% each. (Schools that did not previously participate and, hence, did not have alumni data for the past two years, were given the same scores for all three years.) Over the years, we’ve noticed the alumni survey can create wild swings if a single class of graduates was happy or unhappy. While there are still swings from the alumni survey, averaging scores from multiple classes helps cut down on the most dramatic shifts.
We also require a 10% response rate on the alumni surveys in order to get a statistically relevant result. Schools that don’t reach this threshold are not given full credit for their alumni scores.
Because our ranking is a composite of three categories, a school can technically win overall without topping any of the categories. That didn’t happen this year. Indiana Kelley (No. 1 overall) topped the Admission category, while placing fourth in Career Outcomes, and third in Academic Experience.
See: The Methodology Behind P&Q’s 2026 Online MBA Ranking
NEXT PAGE: 2026’s Biggest Ranking Climbers and Kelley’s OMBA Dominance