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54 Free MBA Courses Available Online in 2023

Do you wish that you could take MBA classes at a prestigious school without having to pay their typically exorbitant tuition fees? Are you short on time and resources but looking to expand your knowledge, skill, and understanding on the level of a Masters in Business Administration professional? Then look no further because Business-Management-Degree.net has located a plethora of outstanding free online MBA classes that are guaranteed to enhance your abilities drastically!

This index is composed of a vast array of course topics from both national and international universities, some of which are the most academically excellent schools across the entire world. Interested parties can usually enroll in these classes on multiple start dates throughout the year. They are all available to anyone with the necessary prerequisites (if there are any required).

Featured MBA Schools

You can find virtually any topic through free online MBA courses, also known as open courses or Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). They are an excellent choice for company-wide trainings or personal career growth.

Some colleges and universities offer their own MOOCs directly, but many schools use outside platforms like Coursera and edX, which provide strong, foundational software that streamlines the free online coursework experience. Each of the examples listed below is provided for free, and most give learners the chance to earn a Verified Certificate for a nominal fee, which usually gives them access to more in-depth resources.

Free Online MBA Courses

Finance Essentials

Imperial College London is an extremely well-respected school that offers many numerous online open courses in business, such as this class in Finance Essentials. By utilizing topics such as capital budgeting, present value, equity, diversification, and others, this syllabus expounds upon fundamental management and financial tools from the perspective of a Master’s of Business Administration. It is an excellent class for individuals who are considering an MBA but want a more solid foundational knowledge in finance. This course uses a “supported learning model” to give enrollees as many of the school’s impeccable free online resources as possible, like access to expert tutors. 

Accounting Essentials

Another massive open online course from ImperialBusinessX in London, England, Accounting Essentials, is an MBA-level syllabus with an exclusive focus on enhancing current business professionals’ management and financial accounting skills. It is an incredibly popular six-week class that typically enrolls about 65,000 students per session and paves the way for entry into a full MBA program. The only prerequisite requirement is a secondary degree with math credits applicable to the topics of accounting and finance. The course delves into the differences between accounting management and financial accounting and how to approach three critical statements: income and cash flow statements and balance sheets.

Data Analysis Essentials

Accurate quantitative data analysis is one of the most critical aspects of today’s business industry and is particularly crucial for success in an MBA program. Data Analysis Essentials covers principles of collecting, describing, making, and presenting inferences from data sets with a specific focus on decision-making in times of uncertainty. There is no prior knowledge or experience in data analysis required for entry into this course, only a secondary degree. It is guaranteed to take anyone’s understanding to the next level through assignments, activities, projects, and exceedingly informative lectures. The course layout is intended to prepare learners for a future master’s degree in business.

Climate Change: Financial Risks and Opportunities

Here is a topic that is incredibly relevant to all of today’s current and emerging industries, wherein learners navigate the risks and opportunities presented by the effects of climate change. Climate Change: Financial Risks and Opportunities is composed of the theories and methods utilized by a range of current scientific researchers and investment leaders. It is a ten-week, intermediate educational approach that was designed by finance professionals and investment practitioners and requires anywhere from two to ten hours of work per week. The syllabus is instructed by faculty from the business school and the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College London. 

Maths Essentials

A firm understanding of the fundamental mathematics that applies to upper-level business management and MBA curricula is essential for professional and academic success in the future. In six short weeks, Maths Essentials at ImperialBusinessX provides instruction in differentiation, algebra, and geometry, as well as other crucial areas of the discipline. Students learn how to manipulate and graph numerous types of linear equations and evaluate complex relationships represented in exponential or quadratic formulaic results. It is an introductory course included in the PreMBA Essentials for Professionals Certificate Program that does not require any specific prerequisite experience or credits.

Introduction to Corporate Sustainability, Social Innovation, and Ethics

Sustainability is one of the most pivotal concepts in today’s business climate on which professionals are required to have at least some knowledge. This course from Imperial College London provides education in three key areas: business ethics, corporate sustainability, and social innovation. Introduction to Corporate Sustainability, Social Innovation, and Ethics is six weeks long but allows learners to finish at their own rate and can be started at any time throughout the year. Corporate sustainability carries the most weight of the three major topics highlighted in this curriculum, wherein students develop a firm understanding of strategic challenges and triple-bottom-line approaches.

Advanced Business Strategy

The most prestigious Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia has an outstanding index of free online MBA classes available through Coursera, such as this excellent opportunity to engage in Advanced Business Strategy. Part of the Business Strategy Specialization, this course supplies the tools required to analyze competitive dynamics, as well as corporate, international, and non-market strategies. The highly refined syllabus is instructed by two professors: the Darden Senior Associate Dean/CSO and the Slover Research Chair of Business Administration. Students who complete the course have a much better understanding of concepts such as Stakeholder Analysis and Internationalization.

Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

This exciting class in Artificial Intelligence in Marketing was developed, designed, and instructed by an outstandingly well-respected Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. It broadly expounds upon the very nature of AI and how businesses can harness this remarkable new technology’s power to propel into the future of marketing. In an approximately 11-hour syllabus, students explore three fundamental principles that enable marketing-based artificial intelligence to succeed: Data, Networks, and Algorithms. The course also provides real-world examples from tremendously successful companies like Ford and Netflix and how their marketing experts have used AI to meet their competition head-on.

Market and Competition in Pricing Strategy

This Darden School of Business course in Market and Competition in Pricing Strategy is designed and instructed by highly renowned faculty members and global pricing experts from Boston Consulting Group. It revolves around the importance of understanding the competition, particularly when it comes to responding to their charge strategies. Students learn how to predict and counter competitors’ prices by utilizing methods like game theory and cost discrimination. They also explore how to avoid common legal pitfalls. The professors bring worlds of cost analysis and pricing knowledge to this free online MBA course and impart both personal experience as well as foundational principles along the way.

Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals

Over four short weeks, or any time in which they can complete the flexible 11-hour course, learners in Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals gain valuable insights into the extensive transition from old ways of conducting business. It supplies excellent methods for product managers to create actionable focus, analyze customer desires, and maintain new and existing product development. The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and Batten Institute collaborated to create this outstanding free online MBA class that offers pivotal information to general and product managers interested in the rapid movement of today’s administration methods, particularly on a digital level.

Customer-Centric IT Strategy

This short three-hour, two-week free online MBA class in Customer-Centric IT Strategy provides tremendously beneficial approaches to managing information technology projects, which have an incredible failure rate of 50% at many corporations despite the steepness of their investments. By the end of the UVA open course, learners can use the Business Model Canvas to energize strategy that centers around specific client needs and rapidly prototype implementation processes. It is part of Coursera’s Leading the Modern Day Business Specialization and is offered by the Darden School of BUsiness. It has helped many individual professionals and entire teams have a much clearer understanding of their IT strategy.

Design Thinking for Innovation

This is a hugely popular course designed and offered by the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, which enrolls over 300,000 students at any given time. In Design Thinking for Innovation, students learn a design thinking model that includes numerous business tools and four key questions to nurture innovation and solve complex problems. The syllabus provides several real-world case studies to frame the strategy and help students start design thinking to uncover compelling solutions. It is entirely flexible and allows students to start, stop, and restart deadlines on their own schedule while also providing massively beneficial information.

Financial Accounting

The University System of Maryland offers an exciting array of free online MBA courses through the Robert H. Smith School of Business in collaboration with edX (UMD/USMx), such as Financial Accounting. This fabulous, advanced, six-week curriculum demands about eight to ten hours of weekly work from learners who delve into the complexities of financial transactions and statements. Enrollees learn how to prepare balance sheets and fiscal reports indicating income and cash flow statements. Those who complete the entire class know the difference between debt and equity as such concerns manageable growth and how to use financial statements to communicate profitability.

Digital Transformation in Business

In this massive open online course, students engage in the significant technological boom that is currently changing the entire business industry. Digital Transformation in Business enrollees learn how to leverage such technologies to minimize risk and maximize value strategically while simultaneously assessing critical digital platforms. The curriculum is part of the edX MicroMasters Program, as well as the University of Maryland MBA, and expounds upon key issues in the implementation of various systems. Students learn from four prestigious faculty members who specialize in two different departments at the university: Information Systems and Decision, Operations, and Information Technologies.

Marketing Management

Marketing Management supplies critical strategies to enhance product development that aligns with consumer demands and encourages company growth. Students learn to identify, analyze, and understand their target customers’ needs and desires while also defining the value positioning and proposition of their offering. By the end of the course, those who have completed all seven weeks can better understand their competitor’s brand position and map their own organization’s strengths, function, and weaknesses. The syllabus pulls from the Marketing and Marketing Science Departments at UMDx and is instructed by four well-respected professors, assistant and associate deans, and department chairs in business. 

Data Analysis for Decision Making

Data Analysis for Decision Making teaches students to use data analysis to identify market trends, establish key business insights, and create advantages. In today’s technology-based and fast-paced environments, it is important to utilize data that predicts trends and detects market movement, precisely the understanding that learners gain from this class. The information contained within the syllabus applies to individuals who are starting new businesses or nurturing existing ones and is guaranteed to help them stay competitive. It is an MBA course at the University of Maryland that is perfect for professionals who need stronger skills in separating and identifying specific pieces of data.

Leadership and Influence

Every business professional across the entire globe could use more enhanced leadership skills to influence their customers, subordinates, coworkers, superiors, and more! This free online MBA course offered through the Smith School of Business at UMDx provides intricate techniques to motivate others and lead in a business environment with confidence. It is a flexible, seven-week course that typically requires about eight to ten hours of work per week but can be completed at individual paces of learning. Leadership and Influence includes highly effective methodologies to determine effective influence strategies and accomplish complex goals, regardless of the student’s formal position of authority. 

Corporate Finance

These days, it is crucial for managers and administrators of large businesses, companies, and corporations to have a substantial comprehension of the global marketplace and how to leverage dynamic environments for both short- and long-term value. Corporate Finance instructs students on how to capitalize on profitable opportunities and navigate worldwide industry challenges at the same time. It is an advanced syllabus included in the University of Maryland’s excellent Master of Business Administration program wherein students develop and enhance a fundamental understanding of international corporate transactions. Learners who complete this course are guaranteed to have cultivated a stronger global mindset. 

Global Business Strategy

These days, it is crucial for managers and administrators of large businesses, companies, and corporations to have a solid understanding of the global marketplace and how to leverage dynamic environments for both short- and long-term value. Global Business Strategy instructs students on how to capitalize on profitable opportunities and navigate worldwide industry challenges. It is an advanced syllabus included in the University of Maryland Master of Business Administration program wherein students develop and enhance a fundamental understanding of international corporate transactions. Learners who complete this course are guaranteed to have cultivated a stronger global mindset.

The Strategy of Content Marketing

This excellent massive open online course in The Strategy of Content Marketing is offered by both the University of California, Davis, and the content marketing authority, Copyblogger, in tandem. It is an extremely popular class that enrolls over 200,000 students at one time and teaches how to build a professional brand by organizing, developing, and implementing an effective content strategy. At 19 hours of intermediate-level course content, which includes assignments and lecture videos, it is slightly longer than other free online MBA Coursera classes and provides a considerable amount of information. It is exceedingly well-reviewed by past learners upon whose careers it has made a tangible difference!

Setting Expectation & Assessing Performance Issues

Setting Expectation & Assessing Performance Issues is another UC Davis class with Coursera that is part of the Coaching Skills for Managers Specialization. It teaches business administrators how to design and set performance expectations of individual employees and entire companies, using Coaching Algebra to identify underlying issues. This course is designed and instructed by the UC Davis faculty CEO and Founder of Leadership Coach, LLC, and it has had an incredible impact on learners’ abilities as managers. The syllabus is broken down into four course modules that introduce students to effective strategies to become better leaders and coaches.

Coaching Conversations

This class provides incredible tips for business administrators and managers to be able to maintain clear lines of communication with clients and superiors, but, most importantly, employees. Coaching Conversations is the final class in the Coursera Specialization in Coaching Skills for Managers, an extremely beneficial series of free online MBA classes available from UC Davis. This particular course is 23 hours long and supplies real-world scenarios upon which students apply strategies and techniques they’ve learned for approaching challenging situations like dealing with difficult colleagues and employees who miss deadlines. The syllabus has had a positive impact on tens of thousands of professionals’ careers.

Data, Models, and Decisions in Business Analytics

This free online master’s-level class in Data, Models, and Decisions in Business Analytics is offered by one of the most highly respected educational institutions in the entire country, Columbia University in the City of New York. In this advanced massive open online course, free learners undergo relatively in-depth training in the fundamental tools utilized in data-driven decision making. The syllabus was created and maintained by two prestigious faculty members from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, as well as the Decision, Risk, and Operations Division. The interdisciplinary combination of these areas provides an exceedingly well-rounded approach to business analytics.

Marketing Analytics

When it comes to managing volatile markets, it is vitally important for business professionals to possess at least a cursory knowledge of leveraging data to forecast sales and make complex decisions. Marketing Analytics is an advanced Business and Management open course from ColumbiaX that requires students to have an undergraduate education in probability, statistics, and calculus. Longer than most free online graduate classes, this syllabus is 12 weeks long and requires about eight to ten hours of weekly work. Each week introduces or expounds upon a new pivotal marketing topic such as New Product Decisions, Pricing Analytics and Optimization, and Sales Promotions.

Demand and Supply Analytics

Another business analytics course offered from the immensely prestigious ColumbiaX, Demand and Supply Analytics, provides an excellent lens into a profoundly complex business facet. This class teaches students how to utilize data to develop stronger predictive capabilities, which pave the road for more sound business decisions that affect an entire company of professionals. Like Marketing Analytics (above), this MOOC is 12 weeks long and requires more from online learners than the average free course, yet provides much more in-depth instruction. The syllabus was designed and instructed by the Director of the Business Analytics Initiative at Columbia and covers invaluable strategies.

International Business

International Business is an incredibly crucial facet of the industry that requires a much different approach than domestic business. Some excellent strategies are laid out in this eight-hour course from the University of New Mexico, which introduces learners to the fundamental concepts of socioeconomic, cultural, political, linguistic, and economic implications of conducting business in other countries. Through an inquiry-based approach, the course emphasizes the importance of country-level relationships in the global business environment. There is a strong focus on globalization, trade, and how an exchange is determined, and the course design supplies ample opportunities for students to engage with the content.

Entrepreneurial Strategic Management

Any business professional could use additional training in current standards and strategies established within the industry, and the University of New Mexico’s Entrepreneurial Strategic Management online MBA open course provides just that! This excellent, inquiry-based class offers an ideal platform for students to gain a more in-depth understanding of modern demands of the business environment. It is an eight-hour syllabus instructed by a prestigious and highly respected Professor of International Management in UNM’s Anderson School of Management. Upon completion, learners have more finely tuned market prediction skills and a firmer knowledge of unique competitive advantages in numerous types of entrepreneurial ventures.

Firm Level Economics: Consumer and Producer Behavior

Firm Level Economics: Consumer and Producer Behavior is a free class on Coursera that is included on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign online MBA program syllabus. A somewhat advanced open course, it provides a high-quality look at allocation resources in today’s global marketplace. Students analyze worldwide consumer and producer behavior and establish an in-depth understanding of international and domestic needs. It is a 17-hour syllabus that emphasizes supply and demand, economics, and cost. Upon completing this course, a massive 50% of students have gone on to start new careers in business that focused more significantly on market research.

Applications of Everyday Leadership

In today’s fast-paced and incredibly demanding environments, what business leader, manager, or administrator couldn’t use more strategies and Applications for Everyday Leadership? Included in the Coursera Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization, which is part of Urbana-Champaign’s Master of Business Administration, this class provides effective methods for feedback, coaching, negotiation, and conflict management. Learn from three dedicated professors at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois who designed this course and impart fascinating techniques for performance and change management and leadership. Students work through realistic scenarios that help them put new methodologies into action and reinforce new ideas.

Designing the Organization

This is another fantastic free online MBA class that is included on the actual University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Master of Business Administration program. Students can get a first-hand learning experience in the complexities and challenges of organization from a top-rated public research and higher education institution. It offers a multifaceted perspective that allows learners to design and implement strategies for more effective improvement and change. The syllabus begins with some foundational knowledge of general business practices and builds upon ideas of organizational theory, structure, and design. Designing the Organization has had a huge impact on the careers of those who complete the class. 

Managing the Organization

Managing the Organization goes hand-in-hand with the previous course and is included on the Coursera Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization in partnership with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gies School of Business. It is a popular course that attracts the attention of hundreds of thousands and supplies invaluable leadership and management skills. In this syllabus, students delve into concepts of organizational culture, decision-making, and ethics and what goes into the establishment of a healthy environment for employees with a wide range of needs. It is not a long class and can be taken independently of the specialization with no impact on the learner’s understanding.

Global Leadership and Personal Development

Arizona State University is an outstanding online school that provides some of the most popular and well-recognized distance classes/programs in the United States. As ASUx, the school delivers numerous excellent open courses in partnership with edX, such as this fabulous approach to Global Leadership and Personal Development. In this class, learners retain knowledge on achieving organizational success through growth-focused management and positivity. It is a challenging intermediate syllabus that demands about 18-20 hours of work per week over eight weeks. Students gain a more robust understanding of best management practices in current global business and how to compose a top-quality team.

Leading Digital and Data Decision Making

Leading Digital and Data Decision Making at ASUx provides an exceedingly well-cleared pathway to understanding the kind of managerial, data-driven decisions that prominent leaders make in today’s worldwide business industries. The syllabus broadly explores the benefits of tactics like blockchain system technology, artificial intelligence, and digital sensors and how such strategies make it from data science laboratories to stockholder boardroom meetings. Through the usage of decision-making visualization tools that enhance improvement, students study crucial concepts in business strategy and big data analytics. This high-quality course is included in the ASUx MicroMasters Program in Global Business Leadership and Management.

Communicating and Negotiating in a Dynamic Global World

The main goal of this particular open course from Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management is to enhance students’ communication skills in multicultural environments and situations of conflict management. By widening individuals’ global mindsets over an instruction period of eight weeks, Communicating and Negotiating in a Dynamic Global World expands upon how business relationships are impacted by cross-cultural communication. It develops a more empirical understanding of the world and its many different countries. The syllabus supplies strong strategies to improve any business’ culture and environment. It is a virtual must for all managers or administrators who are trying to establish healthy flows of communication in the workplace.

States and Markets in the Global Economy

This six-week, intermediate, master’s-level ASUx Business & Management open course expands upon students’ ability to take advantage of the opportunities that result from predictive financial crises. States and Markets in the Global Economy also teaches learners to identify avoidable disputes and manage unfair trade practices. It was designed by an esteemed associate professor from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State. The syllabus introduces incredibly valuable and effective analytical tools that improve perceptions of rapidly dynamic global economies. Individuals who complete the entire class have a firmer grasp on the impacts of worldwide organizations like the International Monetary Fund.

Managing People from a Global Perspective

Managing People from a Global Perspective imparts valuable human resource toolsets and people management practices that allow business professionals to create high-performing international teams. It is a six-week course with an estimated 10-12 hours of weekly work instructed by an esteemed Professor of Global Leadership at the ASU Thunderbird School of Global Management. Students learn the most up-to-date best management practices for modern workplaces, as well as strategies for reading, observing, and implementing a healthy dynamic in complex, volatile, global contexts. There is a huge emphasis on developing a multicultural approach that balances generosity with productivity to raise the performance bar.

Global Marketing Strategy

This advanced business and management course educates learners in the assessment of global market opportunities while also addressing the challenges. It offers an in-depth perspective of the foundations of worldwide marketing, as well as the planet’s vast quantity of cultural environments and their international potential. Global Marketing Strategy provides methods for students to identify constant issues and develop well-rounded approaches to things like slow domestic market growth, short product life cycles, and international competition. Students who complete the entire class have a much better understanding of the strategic implications of targeting, segmentation, and positioning, for example.

Writing for Social Media

One of the biggest hurdles faced by current businesses worldwide is the process of keeping up with the alarmingly massive impact of social media. Today, it is an absolute necessity for companies to have at least a minimal presence on one or more of the many platforms populated by 50% of the globe (almost 8 billion people). Writing for Social Media from BerkeleyX imparts highly effective communication tactics to persuade target audiences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. It requires students to complete The Writing Process (above) and builds upon the skills developed in the previous class.

Behavioral Finance

Offered by Duke University through the exceedingly popular massive open online course platform, Coursera, Behavioral Finance expounds upon the psychology behind decision making in financial circumstances. For example, students learn why individuals might hold on to investments that are doing well and sell those that are doing poorly or why someone who can afford extravagance prefers a suboptimal insurance plan. The syllabus provides numerous real-world examples like these, which students then dissect and analyze using complex tools for understanding behavior. The goal of the course is to help learners make more sound financial decisions in their personal and professional lives.

Advertising and Society

Explore a huge range of exciting topics in advertising, marketing, and business in this popular free online MBA course at Duke University through Coursera that enrolls an average of 22,000 students. In just seven short weeks, Advertising and Society learners examine a huge amount of information, such as the history and origins of advertising, depictions of race and class, gender and sexuality, and much more! The syllabus supplies excellent suggested readings that can also be accessed for free alongside the entirety of the course content. Business professionals get a unique perspective of their pursuits from an outstanding Professor of Anthropology, Sociology, and English who instructs Advertising and Society.

Financing for Startup Businesses

Another free online MBA class from Duke University, Financing for Startup Businesses, is specifically designed to enhance learners’ knowledge of startup finance strategies using Excel documents. The syllabus provides numerous approaches that can be applied to a vast multitude of different entrepreneurial ventures, such as innovations in the digital space. It culminates with an exciting module on the financial technology industry that features the cutting-edge business research findings from the Fuqua School of Business. This course is included in the Entrepreneurial Finance: Strategy and Innovation Specialization from Coursera, which features numerous outstanding MBA open courses designed by Duke University instructors.

Financial Risk Management with R

This free online MBA class teaches students to calculate the return on a security portfolio and quantify its market risk using RStudio and R programming with Microsoft Open R. It introduces skills that are particularly important for business professionals working in financial market analysis. Offered by Duke University through Coursera, Financial Risk Management with R is an intermediate-level class that requires at least a novice understanding of the subject matter before enrollment to be able to complete the assignments properly. It is a fifteen-hour syllabus consisting mostly of lecture videos that is entirely flexible and can be completed on an individual basis. 

Business Metrics for Data-Driven Companies

An exceedingly popular course that enrolls over 230,000 students at once, Business Metrics for Data-Drive Companies is perfect for individuals and company employees seeking more information about how data analytics can increase profitability. As part of the Coursera
Excel to MySQL: Analytic Techniques for Business Specialization with Duke University, this class provides an in-depth explanation of the roles played by data scientists and business analysts. Those who complete the course will know why massively successful companies like Amazon and Airbnb focus on big data and use it to out-compete others. It is a short, eight-hour class that provides valuable information at no cost.

Blockchain Business Models

Learn about one of the fastest-growing markets in the industry in Blockchain Business Models. This class teaches what blockchain is and how it can be used to create value in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, as well as specific applications like machine-to-machine payments, distributed exchanges, property transfers, decentralized finance, and stablecoins. It is an intermediate-level syllabus that does not require any prerequisite classes or experience, but it demands more than other, more basic courses on this index. Some things that learners gain from Blockchain Business Models include new innovative techniques, knowledge of pertinent strategies, and a stronger understanding of the complexities of cryptocurrencies.

Entrepreneurial Operations: Launching a Startup

Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, has joined forces with edX to provide some exciting opportunities for online students to engage in top-quality master’s courses in business administration, such as Entrepreneurial Operations: Launching a Startup. This class is included in a Professional Certificate Program in Business and Management through BabsonX. It is designed to optimize business success by using the fundamentals of entrepreneurial processes. At four weeks with four to six hours of weekly work, it is shorter than other courses on this index but supplies a tremendous amount of training in successfully launching startup business, identifying potential risks, and understanding the role of operations. 

Rise to Leadership: Become a CEO

It takes an incredibly dedicated professional to shoot for and achieve positions like Chief Executive Officer. Rise to Leadership: Become a CEO is an exciting BabsonX course that helps students identify the kinds of skills, knowledge, understanding, and experience necessary to become a high-powered executive. This class introduces six highly valuable competencies crucial to every future CEO: getting results, creating culture, attracting talent, driving innovation, formulating strategy, and communicating with stakeholders. The course begins with an initial assessment of students’ strengths and weaknesses to determine if they possess the skills to be natural CEOs or if they will require additional training. 

Customer Centric Marketing for Entrepreneurs

Anyone who wants to get their big ideas into the real world by starting new enterprises must understand Customer Centric Marketing for Entrepreneurs. This outstanding, MBA-caliber, online open course from Babson College introduces key concepts to anyone seeking to expand their customer base. Over four weeks, the syllabus provides in-depth training on the usage of specialized discovery tools to identify market problems, needs, and opportunities. By the end of the class, which is instructed by a well-respected Babson Adjunct Lecturer, learners have the ability to create customer profiles, respond to evolving desires, and develop content the directly reflects such needs. 

From Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Innovation

This class is designed and based on the real-world experiences of current business leaders who have developed initiatives that create social and economic value. From Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Innovation is a relatively short, four-week course associated with the Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurial Mindset and Leadership. The syllabus consists of hands-on skills and practical steps that integrate business strategies with social issues, including practical examples and interviews with professionals from Barclays, Verizon, FIFCO, and more! Students take advantage of Babson’s own Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® methodology, which is a fabulous tool that helps current business persons succeed in their environments. 

Entrepreneurial Leadership Toolbox

Over four weeks, this highly advanced, MBA-level open course from BabsonX provides exceedingly innovative, cutting-edge business strategies that are guaranteed to put every student ahead in their particular market. Like the class above, Entrepreneurial Leadership Toolbox is also included on the Entrepreneurial Mindset and Leadership Professional Certificate syllabus and is largely focused on developing the learner’s sense of leadership. Using modern takeaways of heroic paradigms, the free online MBA course also imparts crucial strategies to enlist, mobilize, and motivate others who fall under the guidance of those who complete it.

Strategic Leadership in Healthcare

The next five free online MBA courses from Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, are specifically focused on healthcare management, which is an exceedingly wide area of business that demands much more than an in-depth acumen. Strategic Leadership in Healthcare helps students develop a personal leadership style with which they can better coach and mentor entire teams of healthcare professionals to promote organizational outcomes and improve individual growth. It is an intermediate-level course that is included on the Healthcare Administration MicroMasters Program, and there are very few start dates throughout the year, which means that potential learners must keep a weather eye on their chances.

Healthcare Finance, Economics, and Risk

This class enhances business leaders’ and administrators’ financial knowledge of the health care industry, with particular attention to quality assurance, risk management initiatives, and strategic planning. It is a five-week syllabus that demands approximately five to ten hours of work per week but is quite flexible and allows faster learners to finish at their own pace. Categorized in the Economics and Finance department, Healthcare Finance, Economics, and Risk is part of the official MBA program at Doane and counts as part of a future master’s degree for students who find they want more of what this fabulous higher education institution has to offer. 

Healthcare Organization and Delivery Models

Healthcare Organization and Delivery Models is a short free online MBA course within the Business and Management Department at DoaneX which can be finished in two weeks or less, and that emphasizes disruptive innovation and delivery system reform. Students analyze international and domestic health care structures while exploring how services are delivered globally and their impact on individual patient health outcomes. Those who complete the course have already compiled relevant data and created initiatives specific to their health care facility that incorporate high performance and innovation. The only start date in 2021 for this class is April 26th, which has already passed.

Healthcare Administration Comprehensive Exam

This educational component is not a class but a Healthcare Administration Comprehensive Exam, as the title implies. It is an excellent test for human resources departments to give employees or job applicants to prove their knowledge base. Test takers are given one week to complete the exam, which is about two hours. Compared to full-length open courses at Doane University, the Verified Certificate is slightly more expensive at $300 but provides even further evidence of business knowledge relevant to the health care industry. It is an excellent credential for professionals who do not hold an MBA but have the ability and skills for high-level management positions at facilities like hospitals and clinics.

Leading Organizational Change in Healthcare

The Leading Organizational Change in Healthcare syllabus educates students in the application of change management processes for health care facilities. It is a three-week, intermediate Business and Management course that is part of the MBA at Doane and the Certified Lifestyle Medicine Executive program through DoaneX. Enrollees are required to have a basic understanding of economics and finance, and either a bachelor’s degree or a minimum of five years work experience in a relevant field. Learners exiting the free online MBA course can better discuss diagnoses, developments, and implementations of organizational change, and examine management processes.


Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to have a bachelor’s degree before starting one of these classes?

No, you do not need to hold a bachelor’s degree to enroll in one of these free online MBA courses. Any class that requires a prerequisite only does so as a suggestion because of the complexity of the course content. It is essential to understand your own skill level before diving into a class, as you might start to feel left behind. Some edX and Coursera courses do require that learners complete a prerequisite/s before enrollment, but that is a rare occurrence. Most of these free classes are accessible by anyone with any background.

What is the difference between Auditing and Verified Tracks?

In classes through edX, the Audit Track can be taken entirely for free! Along this pathway, students are able to view course content and lectures, access or purchase suggested reading and materials, and complete the entire course at any time within that which is allotted. It is an excellent choice for individuals who are pursuing a free education for personal growth. 

The Verified Track allows you to access much more, such as more readings, contact with professors, feedback on graded materials, and a Verified Certificate upon course completion. This option is also excellent for personal education. But, it is particularly suitable for companies, large or small, who need current or potential employees to prove their knowledge and understanding in a specific area.

The most significant difference between Audit and Verified is the price—the former is absolutely free, and the latter costs anywhere from $50 to $350. 

Are free online MBA classes considered part of a legitimate master’s degree?

Not in the academic sense. These types of classes are most definitely intended for individual interests and pursuits, but they do have real-world impacts. Many students find that their knowledge gained from these MBA courses has helped them achieve raises and new positions at their current or new jobs entirely!

Rowan Jones
Chief Editor