Best Online MBA Colleges to Advance Your Career From Anywhere

Team Kraftshala in Career Guide Sep 03 8 min

Online MBA has become a popular option for students in higher education and their jobs. Growth and success depend on the curriculum and skill development, not on whether it is distance learning or offline. This blog post talks about the 10 best online MBA colleges in India along with their overview, various specializations, eligibility criteria, and fee structure.

List of Best Online MBA Colleges in India

XLRI- Xavier School of Management (NIRF Rank- 9)
MDI- Management Development Institute (NIRF Rank- 11)
SIBM- Symbiosis Institue of Business Management (NIRF Rank- 13)
IIFT- Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (NIRF Rank- 15)
SPJIMR- S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (NIRF Rank- 20)
Amity University (NIRF Rank- 29)
GLIM- Great Lakes Institute of Management (NIRF Rank- 34)
CU- Chandigarh University (NIRF Rank- 36)
IFHE- ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (NIRF Rank- 39)
UPES (NIRF Rank- 41)

(NOTE: These rankings are according to the NIRF Management report.)

College Name	Specializations Offered	Fees
XLRI- Xavier School of Management	Business management, HRM and Finance	INR 14 Lakhs
MDI- Management Development Institute	Accounting & Finance, Operations Management, Marketing, Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource Management, Information Management, Strategic Management, Business Analytics and Energy Management.	INR 8.95 Lakhs
SIBM- Symbiosis Institue of Business Management	Marketing, Finance, Operations and Supply Chain, Analytics & Information Technology	INR 14 Lakhs
IIFT- Indian Institute of Foreign Trade	International Business	INR 10.5 Lakhs
SPJIMR- S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research	Micro specializations- Finance and markets, Marketing, Strategy, advances in the supply chain, Information management and analytics, Organizations, and leadership	INR 10 Lakhs
Amity University	HRM, HRA, Hospitality Management, ITM, DMM, DS, Global Finance Market, and more… A total of 18 specializations	INR 2 Lakhs
GLIM- Great Lakes Institute of Management	Data Science and Analytics, Marketing, Operations, and Finance	INR 3.7 Lakhs – INR 6 Lakhs
CU- Chandigarh University	HRM, IB, Finance, management, IT, Operations management, and more… (Total of 16 specializations)	INR 1.5 Lakhs – INR 2Lakhs
IFHE- ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education	Finance, Management, IT and operations, Analytics, HRM and Healthcare	INR 5.25 Lakhs
UPES – University of Petroleum and Energy Studies	Digital Business, Infrastructure Management, Operations, Marketing, IB, HR, Business Analytics, Logistics and Supply Chain, Finance, Oil and Gas, and Power Management	INR 1.75 Lakhs – INR 2.2 Lakhs

Online MBA has made its place in the universities and now there are proper degree programs offered for online MBA. There are a lot of people who want to change their field of work but also need to continue their jobs for some reason. Online MBA colleges such as Amity, MDI, CU, IIFT, SP Jain, UPEs, and others have made it easier by providing specializations in online MBA.

These online MBA colleges have earned their name over the years by providing the best education with the best facilities. Let us have an overview of all these institutes and understand them more.

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XLRI- Xavier School of Management

Xavier School of Management was established in 1949 and now stands with the NIRF ranking – 9. It has grown over the years and provided its students with quality education. It introduced an online MBA in 2020.

Specializations: Finance, HRM, and Business Management.

Fees: INR 14 Lakhs

Course Duration: 2 years with fixed hours of online classes.

Eligibility Criteria:

The Applicant must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% recognized by the Ministry of Education.
The applicant must be a full-time working professional.

MDI- Management Development Institute

Management Development Insitute was established in 1973 over the years its positive response from students made the institute a top management institute with a NIRF ranking – of 11. It introduced an online MBA in 2022. It was a late start in this course but due to its extra efforts and faculty, it is one of the highly recommended institutes.

Specializations: Accounting & Finance, Operations Management, Marketing, and more… a total of 7 specializations

Fees: INR 8.95 lakhs.

Course duration: 2 years

Eligibility criteria:

The applicant must have scored 50% or equivalent CGPA in the Xth and XIIth standards.
Must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% or equivalent recognized by the Ministry of Education.
Proficient in English
Must have a minimum of 2 years of working experience after the completion of a bachelor’s degree.

The USP of this program is its campus immersion days where you get a 2-day induction, a 5-day deep dive into your course, and a closing wrap-up. It also includes campus visits for peer networking.

SIBM- Symbiosis Institute of Business Management

SIBM is one of the most popular choices not only for the undergraduate program but also for the online MBA program. It was established in 1971 and introduced in 2021. SIBM aims to fill a gap in online education that students feel.

We all know that online courses have become a trend for better career growth, Symbiosis also aims to nurture every individual’s future potential for growth.

Specializations: Marketing, Finance, Operations and Supply Chain, Analytics & Information Technology

Fees: INR 14 lakhs.

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% or equivalent recognized by the Ministry of Education. (45% for SC/ST)
Graduation through Distance Education is accepted provided it is approved/recognized by UGC or AICTE.
Must have a minimum of 1 year of working experience in a registered firm/ company/ or government organization after the completion of a bachelor’s degree.

IIFT- Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

IIFT was established in 1963 with the latest curriculum of that time and the curriculum gets updated timely. They introduced the online MBA program in 2021. They offer only 1 online MBA which is international business.

Specializations: International Business

Fees: INR 10.5 lakhs.

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% or equivalent recognized by the Ministry of Education.
No Objection Certificate from the employer is required at the time of admission only for Sponsored candidates.
No age limit

The program curriculum is designed for working professionals who intend to augment their business acumen without taking a career break.

SPJIMR- S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research

SP Jain was established in 1981 and excels in most of the PG courses. Their sole aim is managerial practice and promoting value-based growth of our students which is also reflected in their online MBA program.

Specializations: Micro specializations- Finance and markets, Marketing, Strategy, advances in the supply chain, Information management and analytics, Organizations, and leadership

Fees: INR 10 lakhs

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% or equivalent by a recognized university.
The degree awarded by an institute/university should be recognized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU)
Candidates with relevant work experience and additional qualifications shall be given preference.

Amity University

Amity University was established in 2005 which covered the best of the fields of study and provided a vast variety of it, allowing students to explore more in the new. It introduced Amity Online in 2014 and its online MBA in 2019.

It is one of the best colleges and climbed the NIRF ranking of 29.

Specializations: Finance and accounting management, Global finance market, Insurance Management, International Finance, and more….. A total of 18 specializations.

Fees: INR 2 lakhs. The quality of education they provide under this fee is admirable.

Course duration: The program duration is 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Graduation in any discipline with 40% marks in the last qualifying examination. Below 40% marks, a test is conducted and if passed then the student is eligible for admission.
Applicants must possess sufficient knowledge and understanding of the English Language.

Their USP is the vast variety of specializations allowing everyone to grow.

GLIM – Great Lakes Institute of Management

GLIM has a unique way of teaching which allows students to grow their network with offline campus students as well and they allow the working individuals to get expert advice that might help them in the field.

Specializations: Data Science and Analytics, Marketing, Operations, and Finance

Fees: INR 3.7 lakhs to INR 6 lakhs.

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any discipline from a recognized university/institution and have scored a min of 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/OBC candidates).

It offers a 12-month executive PGP in Management with the inclusion of real-life projects to assist practical learning experiences.

If you want a 6-month course, opt for their strategic digital marketing course. The scope of digital marketing in India is huge and thus, investing in such courses will enable you to compete with industry experts and make a fulfilling career.

CU- Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University has always made its name. They are quick to cover new trends in education and allow a wide variety of students to join the on-campus and off-campus courses. Not only do the students study theory in Online courses but they get expert sessions to avoid mistakes in their professional lives as well.

Specializations: HRM, IB, Finance, management, IT, Operations management, and more… Total of 16 specializations

Fees: INR 1.2 lakhs to INR 2 lakhs.

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized University/ Institution. Graduates of recognized professional programs like CA/ ICWA etc. are also eligible to apply.

IFHE- ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education

IFHE brings the best curriculum with the program duration of 21 months which allows everyone to practically apply their theory in the remaining 3 months by themselves. Its online MBA program brings more practical knowledge which is important for working professionals.

Specializations: Finance, Management, IT and operations, Analytics, HRM and Healthcare

Fees: INR 5.25 Lakhs

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Graduate (any discipline) with 50% and above marks (as calculated by respective University) with a medium of instruction as English.
Applicants must have work experience in managerial or supervisory positions for at least 2 years.
All applicants should have completed a minimum of 15 years of education (on 10+2+3 or 10+2+4 basis).

UPES – University of Petroleum and Energy Studies

UPES was established in 2003. The university introduced an online MBA program in 2020 with a focus on providing quality education according to the needs of working professionals.

UPES is an institution known for its specialized course curriculum for practical knowledge over theory. UPES was quick to climb in NIRF rankings with a rank of 41.

Specializations: Digital Business, Infrastructure Management, Operations, Marketing, IB, and more.. (a total of 11 specializations).

Fees: INR 1.75 Lakhs – INR 2.2 Lakhs

Course duration: 2 years.

Eligibility criteria:

Graduation with 50% marks.

The program’s USP is that it focuses on industry-specific skills and allows hands-on experience in different fields of study.

Bottom Line

Everyone faces some issues while deciding the best online MBA course for themselves; sometimes the fees are not affordable, sometimes the curriculum is not up to date, and sometimes the college does not have good remarks.

The colleges that are mentioned in this article stand strong on what they promise and keep the curriculum updated. The fees may vary, and the curriculum of specializations in every college is different.

Comparing all the factors which include, specialization, affordable fees, curriculum, and USP of every mentioned college, UPES and Amity have the best remarks with the world-class facilities and opportunities.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is an online degree valid for an MBA?

Yes, an online degree is valid for an MBA as it covers a similar curriculum approved by the government, and it also allows you to grow better during distance learning while you work.

Which is the best college for an MBA online?

UPES and Amity University have the best online MBA courses with affordable fees and structured curriculum.

Is an online MBA costly?

It can be costly depending on the institute, but several colleges like UPES have affordable fees which make it easier for everyone to access and learn from the best.