Online MBA Program Proves Elite Worth in New Rankings

The online MBA program at The University of Texas at Dallas has continued to outpace its peers with rankings from a pair of publications that solidify what many of its alumni already know - that the program offers top-notch value.

The Naveen Jindal School of Management program, named by Poets&Quants as the best for 2025, ranks No. 9 in the country among public schools (2024) and No. 11 overall in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Online Program rankings, released Jan. 21.

Adam Berry MBA'24, MS'24, a senior data analyst for the Texas State Auditor's Office, said that applying to the program was the best decision he ever made.

"I feel like I received the best education possible," he said. "It is an honor to be a graduate of the best online MBA program in the United States. I already knew my degree would be valuable to my career. Now it is even more valuable to have the prestige as the No. 1 online MBA program."

Kristen Nemeth MBA'24, who is a senior product manager at GoHealth, said the UTD program sets itself apart from other universities' offerings by catering to the needs of professionals seeking an education while continuing to work.

"The program structure met my needs as a professional in a way that most programs do not, allowing me to work on my courseload after work and during the weekends," she said. "As an additional benefit, my peers brought an abundance of diverse and timely business experience to class discussions and projects, which made the application of our studies that much more relevant."

Lisa Shatz, assistant dean and director of MBA programs, said the high quality of the faculty members who teach the MBA courses also makes a difference.

"Our faculty for the online MBA program also teach in the full-time MBA program and the in-person professional MBA program," she said. "These are the same faculty whose research has brought us to the No. 5 position in the Financial Times' research rankings (2024), which measures faculty research productivity in 50 top academic business journals."

Four other Jindal School programs placed in the top 10 in their respective lists in the latest U.S. News rankings. The school ranked No. 8 for best online MBA programs for veterans, up from No. 12 last year, and is No. 12 among public schools (2024) and No. 16 overall for best online master's in business programs (non-MBA). It ranks No. 8 in the student-veteran category for those programs. Two MBA specialty programs also earned recognition. The business analytics program ranked No. 5, and general management is No. 10.

Nemeth was impressed by the accolades.

"It's incredible to see UTD's online MBA program receive such recognition and to have been part of the student body to contribute to the growth and progress of the program," she said.

Berry said the program vastly exceeded his expectations.

"The classes were well structured and delivered; my professors were always available for questions," he said. "I felt like I was able to interact and get to know my classmates in many of my classes through group projects and online discussions."

Shatz said the Jindal School's location is a major benefit even for online students.

"Even though our online MBA students are from all over and aren't required to come to Dallas at all, they still benefit from the dynamic and growing business environment where companies are regularly interacting with our students through webinars, class projects and, of course, hiring," she said.