What is Online MBA

An online MBA (Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate program provided through digital means that allows students to get advanced business acumen and leadership skills without the need to attend conventional on-campus lectures. Most online MBAs cover subjects like finance, marketing, operations, strategy, human resources and entrepreneurship. Online or blended MBAs are designed for working professionals, entrepreneurs and students who need flexibility with their study time.

Why an online MBA is necessary

In today's age of fast development and technological growth online learning has become a needful tool and the online MBA has gained ground for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that it provides flexibility and convenience where students can study anywhere in the world while working and fulfilling personal responsibilities. For those in the workforce who are unable to leave their jobs, this is extremely beneficial.

Second more people can now access high-quality education because online MBA programs are frequently less expensive than traditional ones. Reputable online MBA degrees with the same instructors and curriculum as their campus counterparts are now offered by many top business schools.

Third, the online MBA fosters the learning of digital literacy, self-motivation and time management all of which are tremendously sought-after skills in today's workforce. It also offers networking opportunities through virtual discussions, team projects and alumni connections so that students can interact with each other and industry professionals from across the globe.

In addition, the growth of telework and global corporate activities has increased the need for people who are comfortable using digital communication tools, expanding the prospects of online MBA students to meet contemporary organisational needs.

Entrance exams needed to qualify to get into the Online MBA program

All of the top entrance exams for MBA admissions in India, including the CAT, GMAT, GRE, and others, are also applicable for online MBA exams. There are some B Schools which also conduct their own entrance examinations like IAT by IIM Ahmedabad. Numerous institutions admit students to their online MBA programmes following a personal interview and without requiring them to meet any entrance requirements.

Online MBA Course Fees

The cost of online MBA courses is unquestionably less than that of fully residential MBA programs, although this varies by college. For example the blended MBA program at IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Kozhikode cost Rs 20 lakh and Rs 15.5 lakh respectively while the fees for other colleges range from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

Duration of Online MBA Program

Most prestigious universities including IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Kozhikode offer two-year online or blended MBA programs, though some other colleges also offer one-year program. 

Top Online MBA Colleges in India

The top 12 online MBA/Blended MBA schools in India are listed in the following table along with their fees and accepted entrance exams, with IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow and IIM Kozhikode at the top:

1. IIM Ahmedabad

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, IIM Ahmedabad, the Roman numeral injector nowadays, is one of India’s top business schools in terms of quality education and the development of leaders, which has a robust global recognition. The government of Gujarat, the Government of India and Harvard Business School came together to grasp the opportunity to establish it, in 1961. The institution runs a variety of programs such as the two-year full-time Postgraduate Program in Management 2-year full-time MBA, one-year MBA for Executives 1 years PGPMBA, the Fellow program in Management PGDFMBA, executive education and varied short-term programs for business leaders.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 1

Program Name - Online MBA

Duration - 2 Years

Work experience required - Working professionals and entrepreneurs with a minimum of 3 years of full-time work experience after completion of graduation, as of March 31, 2025.

Fees - ₹ 20.00 Lakhs

Exam Accepted - CAT/GMAT/GRE/IIMA Admission Test (IAT)

Accreditation - EQUIS

2. IIM Kozhikode

Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode IIM Kozhikode or IIMK is India’s premier management facility founded in the year 1996. The Indian Government founded this fifth IIM is quickly becoming renowned for its intellectual conduct. In addition to its full-time two-year Post Graduate Program in Management degree, IIMK offers Executive Post Graduate Programs and various specialized doctoral programs. The Regular full-time MBA is a two-year, four-semester program with a total of 540 class hours that prepares for a PGP certification.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 3

Program Name - Executive Postgraduate Program Interactive Learning Mode – EPGP

Duration: 2 Years

Work experience required – 3 full years (1095 days) of managerial/entrepreneurial/professional experience after successful completion of graduation as of the date of launch of the application window for EPGP18 (17 August, 2025).

Fees – ₹ 15.50 Lakhs

Exam Accepted - EMAT/GMAT/GRE/CAT

Accreditation - EQUIS and AMBA

3. IIM Lucknow

The top management school in this country is the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, the fourth IIM established by the Indian Government. In 1984, it was founded. Indian management study and education has been tremendously influenced by IIM Lucknow. IIM Lucknow offers a variety of programs, including the flagship two-year Post Graduate Program in Management, PGP in Agribusiness Management and PGP in Sustainable Management among others. It also offers executive education through the Blended Master of Business Administration, International Program in Management for Executives, and Fellow Programs in Management for research candidates.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 5

Program Name - Blended Master of Business Administration (BMBA)

Duration - 2 Years

Work experience required - a minimum of three years of full-time work experience after graduation as on August 31, 2025.

Fees - ₹14.95 Lakhs

Exam Accepted - GMAT/GRE/CAT

Accreditation: AMBA and AACSB

4. XLRI – Xavier School of Management

XLRI was established in 1949 in Jamshedpur's Steel City by Fr Quinn Enright, S.J.  Fr Enright had a vision for XLRI to be a partner in India's process of independence and development towards renewing the face of the earth.  Fr Bill Tome became his partner to bring it to fruition.  They worked day and night and their fellow Jesuits, to fulfill the vision of "Renewing the Face of the Earth". 

XLRI’s strong ethics base along with its remarkable academic stature has contributed much to the emergence of responsible leadership. Besides, weekend part-time programs, online certifications, job prospects and academic programs that lead to doctoral-level Fellow Programs in Management, a one-year Executive PGDM program as well as the institute’s two years Post Graduate Diploma in Management and Post Graduate Program in Business Management and Human Resource Management are some of the programs it runs.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 10

Program Name - 

• PGDM (BM)

• PGDM (HRM)

• PGDM (Finance)

Duration - 2 Years

Fees - ₹14.4 Lakhs

Exam Accepted - GMAT/GRE/CAT

Accreditation - AACSB, NBA and AMBA

5. IIM Rohtak

Indian Institute of Management Rohtak was established in 2009 by the Ministry for Education of the Government of India. At that time, the institution became one of the youngest in the family of IIMs. However, IIM Rohtak is now well known for the excellent level of scholarship and its many innovative programs. IIM Rohtak provides the programs suchas the flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management which is a two-year course, the Fellow Program in Management for research scholars, the Executive Post Graduate Program which is formulated for working executives and Integrated Program in Management.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 19

Program Name - PGPx

Duration - 1 Year

Work experience required – 3 years of managerial/entrepreneurial/professional experience required at the time of application.

Fees - ₹7.43 lakhs

Exam Accepted - PAT (PGPx aptitude test)

Accreditation - NBA and AMBA

6. IIM Raipur

IIM Raipur, the eleventh IIM in the country, brings together the best of modern infrastructure and all the regional legacies with a state-of-the-art 2,00,000 sq. ft. campus in Atal Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Since its inception, IIM Raipur has positively positioned ethical behaviour, innovation, and sustainable growth as the object of society’s view. IIM Raipur offers seven academic programs, including the 2 year PGP/MBA, the weekend Post-Graduate Program for Working Executives , the Executive Post-Graduate Program with hybrid learning, and many programs at the doctoral level for experienced professionals like the FPM and the EFPM.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 15

Program Name - Executive Master of Business Administration (eMBA)

Duration - 2 Years

Work experience required - 3 years of managerial/entrepreneurial/professional post-qualification experience required as on 30th November 2024.

Fees - ₹14.95 lakhs

Exam Accepted - CAT

Accreditation - AACSB

7. SPJIMR

SP Jain Institute of Management and Research is among India’s premier private business schools. SPJIMR was founded in 1981 by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and is based in Mumbai. The SPJIMR lifestyle, a union of value-based and creative learning, has earned it international and national prominence, including AACSB accreditation.

The institute provides a number of programs, including the flagship two-year PGDM, the one-year PGPM, the Global Management Program (GMP), the Executive Management Programs (PGEMP and PGPGM) and the Fellow Program in Management (FPM) at the doctoral level. It also has specialist courses on family business, entrepreneurship and social impact.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 20

Program Name - PGDM Online

Duration -2 Years

Fees - ₹10.00 lakhs

Accreditation - AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA

8. IIM Udaipur

Indian Institute of Management Udaipur is a business school located in Udaipur Rajasthan. Established in 2011 IIM Udaipur is one of the Indian government’s second-generation IIMs. Since then, the college has received accreditation from AACSB and been included in annual international Masters in Management rankings by “Financial Times” and QS rankings. Therefore, becoming one of the youngest business schools with such a prestigious reputation.

IIM Udaipur offers a variety of programs to meet the current management requirements.  The program provides a two-year full-time MBA, specialised one-year degrees in Digital Enterprise Management (DEM) and Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM) and an Executive MBA for industry professionals. Along with executive education programs of various kinds, including short residential courses, long-duration blended learning modules and organisationally customised solutions, it also offers a PhD/Fellow Program in Management.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 21

Program Name - EMBA

Duration -2 Years

Work experience required - A minimum of three years of full-time post-qualification experience required as of May 07, 2025

Fees - ₹14.20 lakhs

Exam Accepted - GMAT/GRE/CAT/IIMU

Accreditation - AACSB

9. IIM Shillong

Among the top seven IIM in the country, the Indian Institute of Management Shillong ESTD 2007 and the first academic session started in 2008. Housed in the hilly premises of Meghalaya IIM strives to integrate management learning and sustainable and ethical leadership. The programs offered by IIM Shillong range from the flagship 2-year fulltime Post Graduate Program in Management to the 1-year international exposure based Post Graduate Program for Executives and the online 2-year MBA for Working Executives and a Doctoral-level FPM.

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 38

Program Name - PGPWE

Duration - 2 Years

Work experience required - A minimum of 3 years of full-time work experience (as on 30th April 2025) after completing graduation.

Fees - ₹12.45 lakhs

Exam Accepted - CAT/GMAT/WE-MAT

10. Great Lakes Institute of Management

Founded by Dr.Bala V. Balachandran, a widely known academician, The Great Lakes Institute of Management is a widely recognized college in Chennai. GLIM is one of the youngest business schools in India to achieve prestigious accreditation such as AMBA. The programmes are a one year full time Post Graduate Program in Management for working professional, a two year Post Graduate Diploma for fresh graduates, Executiveeducation programs such as 6-8 Executive Programs, and the 24 month PGXPM and PGPM Flex and specialized programs on business analytics, Ph.D. and FPM fellowship Program in Management etc..

NIRF Ranking 2025 - 37

Program Name - Online PGDM

Duration - 2 Years

Fees - ₹3.70 lakhs

Accreditation: AMBA

11. NMIMS Centre for Distance and Online Education

The NMIMS Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE) established in 2013 under SVKM's NMIMS offers convenient, tech-enabled learning to working professionals and students from all over India. Drawing strength from NMIMS's history of management education since 1994 the centre offers UGC-approved courses in online and distance learning modes. It offers a range of programs, ranging from a two-year MBA with specialisations in Marketing, Finance, Human Resources and Operations to Executive MBA options, undergraduate programs like BBA and B.Com and diploma and certificate programs in business and management. NMIMS CDOE is among India's largest online and distance education institutions with a strong digital infrastructure live and archived classes and statewide presence.

Program Name - Online MBA

Duration - 2 Years

Fees - ₹2.10 lakhs

Exam Accepted: -

Accreditation - UGC

12. Symbiosis School for Online and Digital Learning

Prof. S. B. Mujumdar founded the Symbiosis School for Online and Digital Learning (SSODL) in 1971 as the Centre for Distance and Online Education of Symbiosis International (Deemed University). It is NAAC A++ graded and strongly ranked nationally. SSODL the digital learning pillar of SIU, integrates academic rigour and adaptability to support students who cannot take classes on campus. It provides a complete range of entirely online programs—undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, diploma and certificate courses—in areas like management, computer studies, humanities, media and communication and healthcare.

Flagship programs are the Online MBA, M.Sc. in Data Science, M.Sc. (Computer Applications), M.Sc. (Economics), M.A. in Mass Communication, BBA, BCA and B.Sc. (Economics Honours). SSODL offers specialised diplomas and certificates in healthcare management, clinical research, medical writing and hospital administration.

Program Name - Online MBA

Duration - 24 Months

Fees - ₹3.15 lakhs