Kelley Direct ranked fifth in U.S. by Financial Times

The Kelley Direct online MBA program is at the top of the ranks again.

Kelley Direct at the Kelley School of Business was ranked fifth worldwide by The Financial Times, a business publication based in the United Kingdom, according to a March 10 IU press release. This is the third Top-five ranking for the online program in the past two months.

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news publications.
Idalene Kesner, dean of the Kelley School, said the multiple honors for the program are tributes to its innovative curriculum, international experiences and outstanding faculty. 

The Financial Times also ranked Kelley Direct No. 1 for research, No. 2 in program delivery, No. 3 in online interaction and No. 5 for career services, according to the press release.

This year was the first time the Financial Times ranked online MBA programs, according to the press release.

“Our faculty members are engaged with our students online and offline,” Kesner said in the release. “Students can work according to their schedules but also connect with professors in real time. And they work in teams with real companies on real challenges.”

“Our online program incorporates these key experiences from our in-residence program, as well as leadership and career training and international trips that provide global experiential learning.”

Kelley Direct shares faculty with the business school. The admissions requirements for the online program are the same as for all other Kelley MBA programs.

The masters degrees available through the online program are in finance, global supply, chain management, marketing and strategic management.

During the past two months, Kelley Direct has also received U.S. News and World Report’s No. 1 overall ranking from more than 200 programs nationwide.

Kelley Direct began in 1999 as Kelley’s first online MBA program. Since then, more than 2,000 students have gained MBAs through the program.

More than 65 percent of graduates from the 2012-13 class in the online program received a promotion while earning their MBA degree.

The class of 2012-13 had an average salary of $107,447.

This was a 28-percent increase from the average salary of those who graduated during the early years of the program.

Currently, Kelley Direct serves 728 students.

Kathrine Schulze