Lerner College Among Top 25 Online MBA Programs

UD’s Lerner College Online MBA Program was ranked 24th by Fortune Magazine and 48th, a Tier One program, by CEO Magazine.

This month, the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics’s Online MBA Program was ranked 24th of online MBA programs in the nation by Fortune Magazine and as a Tier One program by CEO Magazine.

In its first-ever ranking of online MBA programs, Fortune surveyed over 100 programs, along with companies, hiring managers and executives, in order to determine their rankings. The Lerner Online MBA was ranked 24th based on four components including: Program Score, Fortune 1000 Score, Brand Score and Prestige Score.

CEO Magazine determines its Global MBA Rankings based on the Return on Investment (ROI) of each business school. The UD Lerner Online MBA was ranked 48th globally based on several factors including: quality of faculty, international diversity, class size, accreditation, faculty-to-student ratio, price, international exposure, work experience, professional exposure, gender parity and delivery methods.

“While a transformative, multi-disciplinary program such as the Lerner MBA cannot be boiled down to a single ranking number, we are pleased that the methodologies used by Fortune and CEO magazines capture the unique attributes of our program,” said Dean of the Lerner College Bruce Weber. “These include high academic standards, choice and flexibility, attractive class sizes, access to faculty and staff professionals and the size of the alumni network you join on graduation. Placing in the top tier shows prospective students and stakeholders that the Lerner Online MBA is a first-rate learning opportunity that opens rewarding career paths for its graduates.”

All five departments in the Lerner College contribute core and elective courses to the Online MBA program, which features intensive 7-week terms, access to personal career coaching, and five concentrations including finance, business analytics and healthcare.

The Lerner Online MBA is one component of the UD MBA program, which also offers on campus and hybrid models. 54% of our MBA students changed careers, received a promotion or received a raise while pursuing their degree and the average salary of Lerner MBA graduates is $88,632 and the median salary is $79,500.

“Most of our students are mid-career and have busy jobs and an active family life making the fully online asynchronous modality of our online MBA program very appealing,” said Jack Baroudi, professor of MIS and senior associate dean of academic programs at the Lerner College.

“Recognizing this reality we have designed our online MBA to provide a high quality educational experience for the busy adult learner,” Baroudi continued. “Our students can listen to a lecture, write papers and take exams at 4 am or 4 pm or whatever time works best for them. Having the ability to leave your profession and return to school full-time is just not an option for most adults anymore. We are very proud that our efforts to provide a quality online business education are being recognized by the top rankings our program is receiving.”

Recent News

Outstanding Lifelong Lerner: Jason Christie

Jason Christie, a Wilmington, Del. native and 2025 Ph.D. graduate in economics from the Lerner College of Business and Economics, is a digital fraud innovation strategist at Bank of America. As a graduate student, he chose Lerner for its strong economics faculty and...

Lerner Students Utilize Emerging Software in AI Boot Camp

As a sophomore living off campus and responsible for cooking her own meals, University of Delaware marketing major Tara LaMantia looked for recipe apps to help improve her skills, but found they didn’t include a lot of features she was looking for, especially when she...

Lerner Hosts 2026 Carol A. Ammon Case Competition

The University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics continued its tradition of experiential learning this spring with the Carol A. Ammon Case Competition, an annual event that challenges graduate students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world...

UD alum leads Wrexham AFC’s rise as global force

University of Delaware alumnus Michael Williamson, Class of 1999, is guiding Wrexham AFC through a period of unprecedented growth and global attention. As CEO, Williamson draws on a career defined by international experiences and strategic leadership to help the...

Lerner Welcomes New Faculty: Avery Haviv

This year, the UD Alfred Lerner College welcomed several new faculty members into its community. Avery Haviv is an associate professor of marketing; he spoke with Lerner about his research focus and how he got into this career field.   Lerner: What is your...

Lerner Celebrates Students at 2026 Honors & Achievements Day

The Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics celebrated numerous outstanding students for their academic successes during the 2026 Honors and Achievements Day ceremony on April 24 in Purnell Hall. Lerner’s mission is to facilitate our students’ success and...