Top 10 MBA Programs in Massachusetts

Where to begin? Harvard is the founder of the MBA, a degree it first pioneered in 1908. The school created the case study method of classroom teaching and students all over the globe use cases written by Harvard faculty. Harvard has been ranked top of most major rankings many times over, including those of the Financial Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. Its alumni include many of the most powerful politicians and corporate titans in the world: 22 of the world’s biggest companies by market cap are run by Harvard MBA graduates. The school receives several thousand applications each year accepts a meager portion of them. Harvard is for the super-elite. 

The Sloan School is situated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world’s top universities that is renowned for its research and teaching excellence in all things innovation and entrepreneurship. That innovative DNA runs through MIT: MBA students can take concentrations in enterprise management, plus entrepreneurship and innovation. One recent report found that MIT MBA alumni had created 418 companies that raised $8.96 billion, among them Rocket Internet and HelloFresh. 

Babson College’s business school, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, is right up there with the best of them. It too is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit, with MBA students able to specialize in exciting fields such as business analytics and entrepreneurship. Innovation is woven into all of Babson’s courses, however, including social, environmental, and economic responsibility. Babson MBA students want to do more than merely make money. 

Hult International Business School is unique in that it has campuses in major metropolises all over the world. If you choose to do the school’s Boston-based MBA, you’ll still be able to travel to diverse locations such as Dubai, London, and San Francisco to study some of your modules. That is a global experience that few other institutions can match. 

The D’Amore-McKim School of Business blends academic theory with real-world business experience. MBA students take a three, six or 12 month corporate residency, providing an in-depth, paid work placement that can lead to valuable connections. There’s also a focus on multidisciplinary teaching, with new MBA concentrations in computer science, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. 

UMass Boston offers an uber-flexible MBA that can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis, giving students the freedom to earn while they learn, making the course considerably less expensive than other options in the state. Tuition fees for the “Flex MBA” are relatively affordable, compared to other top MBA programs in Massachusetts.  

The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst runs a well-regarded full-time MBA. The school is accredited by AACSB, which ensures certain quality standards, and puts the school in a (relatively) exclusive group. So you know you’ll be getting a top-quality MBA for the price you will pay. 

BU Questrom School of Business’s MBA course may not be as well-known as others in the state, but that doesn’t mean the quality of the education is inferior. The MBA curriculum is anchored around the most pressing global challenges: healthcare, digital technology, social enterprise and sustainability. Students will come out of the course as clued-up, global and ethical leaders; many of BU’s MBA grads go into the consulting, healthcare, and technology sectors, in Massachusetts and beyond.

The MBA program at Sawyer Business School, in Boston, is only 12 months long, instead of the more popular two-year US format. That means you’ll pay less in tuition fees and also spend less time out of the workforce, forgoing less salary. Tuition fees at the school are far cheaper than many competitors. The school also offers specialized, two-year MBAs in Nonprofit Management and Health Management. 

The Carroll School of Management, based in the Chestnut Hill area of Massachusetts, boasts among the state’s best employment outcomes, so you can be sure of a good return on your MBA investment. In fact, according to recent employment data, 98 percent of the first-year MBA students secured internships and the average total compensation for fresh graduates is $108,969, with students working at world-renowned companies such as Bank of America, Dell, and Deloitte.