Is an online Masters Degree worth anything?

I'm currently enrolled at Florida State University, but due to the fact that I am working full time - I am unable to continue my schooling here (most classes are scheduled when I have to be at work). I will probably have to finish my education online, and was wondering if an online Masters degree (MBA) holds any weight in the real world. Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer my question.

Public Comments

  1. No. Even online undergraduate degrees aren't worth very much. Most of graduate school consists of small seminar classes with intensive discussion and focused, mentored writing and research. I'm not convinced you can get that from a web site.
  2. HECK YES IT IS! It doesn't come with experience of COOP but my Sister in Law got hers on line and YES it is the same. There is nothing different!!!!!! Her Salary went up about 15000 more due to her Masters Degree. Adam is right about the small discussion stuff BUT when an employee looks at your status WHO FREAKIN CARES where it came from, if your grades were A's which in Grad school they should all be A's. It really has no bearing. Many people are in your situation, and it counts 100% Grades will make a HUGE difference though. Grad students usually pull straight A's.
  3. Too bad about FSU. They're not a bad school. As for the online masters - for an MBA, it depends entirely upon the online school's reputation. I mean, an MBA from U of Phoenix isn't worth the virtual paper it's printed on, but an MBA from Thunderbird? Might be all right. Know that many MBA employers are highly education sensitive. They do very much care about the reputation of the school you attended. The school should at least be decent, if you really want to use the MBA to advance your career. It doesn't have to be elite (although that'd be lovely, wouldn't it?) but it must be reputable. No matter where you get your MBA, make sure that it is AACSB accredited, or some employers will refuse to look at you, and make sure it has a good name even beyond that. So some decent MBA programs that do offer MBAs online include: Duke University (very well ranked) Drexel Carnegie Mellon Penn State Ball State U Nebraska - Lincoln Thunderbird (really intriguing program, and well ranked) Worcester Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic (an up and coming program) I'm sure there are others as well. The easiest way to find them isn't to search for "online MBA", as the ones that come up are crappy for-profit schools. Instead, find an MBA program that you like, offline (perhaps use US News & World Report's MBA rankings lists as a starter) and then check each of their websites to see if they also offer the MBA online. And don't forget to check schools in Florida - going to a fairly localish school online can be a nice way to blur that "online" bit on your resume. From a glance, an employer need not know that you did it online at all, if it's in any sort of commutable distance. Another option for you may be to find an in-person weekend MBA program, such as the ones offered by Kellogg, Michigan State, Johns Hopkins, and U Cal Berkeley. Perhaps U of F offers one? Or even your current school? If not, and you have the cash and time, people actually fly to, say, Berkeley for the weekend, take their courses, then fly back. Shocking, but true; but when you consider the very strong rep of that school, Kellogg, and Michigan State, I can understand it.
  4. Not only does an online MBA not help you -- I believe that it will hurt you. Employers who may have considered interviewing you with just a bachelor's degree may toss your resume when they see you have an Online MBA. I would. There are some legitimate MBA programs that have distance learning components. Duke is the best.
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