Master of Business Administration

Earn a respected credential that distinguishes you as a self-driven business professional without putting your career on hold. EKU’s 100% online Master of Business Administration program provides the knowledge, skills and abilities demanded in today’s competitive business environment. EKU’s online MBA positions graduates to put business plans into practice through the focused curriculum in the foundational areas of business administration and management.

Our AACSB-accredited program is highly customizable to your career goals – choose from 12 MBA concentrations designed to maximize your academic background and work experience. Graduates are prepared to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities, take on key senior management roles and increase salary potential.

What sets our program apart?

EKU is dedicated to preparing the highest quality business leaders for Kentucky and beyond. Our fully accredited online programs are made up of the same high-quality courses and taught by the same experienced professors as the on-campus programs. EKU’s curriculum blends academic and professional preparation through course topics such as accounting, marketing, economic principles, financial markets, and consumer and organizational behavior.

• Accredited by AACSB International
• Free application
• Accelerated 8-week terms
• 6 start dates per year
• No GRE/GMAT required
• No prerequisites
• Twelve concentration areas of study
• Stackable graduate certificates – earn three or more certificates as you complete your degree
• Generous credit transfer policy
• Reduced tuition for active-duty military members
• Free online tutoring and career services assistance
• Dedicated advisors who provide personalized graduation plans
• Ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the best universities offering online degrees

Degree concentrations

MBA candidates will select a concentration as part of the online MBA curriculum. Concentrations consist of 9 hours and offer the opportunity to tailor the degree to specific career goals. Concentrations are available in a variety of areas, allowing candidates to build on previous coursework and experience.

Accounting

Gain the solid educational foundation employers expect of today’s business graduates. EKU's MBA with a concentration in accounting provides a comprehensive understanding of the principles, practices, and technical knowledge necessary to successfully pass professional examinations and move quickly into upper management.

Manufacturing Management

Today’s manufacturing managers need a wider scope of skills to be successful. EKU's MBA with a concentration in manufacturing management provides practical skillsets and a broad understanding of the strategies and technology needed to meet the new challenges of the current economy.

Construction Management

Learn practical skillsets and bring your on-the-job experience into the classroom. EKU's MBA with a concentration in construction management provides a comprehensive insight into government, commercial, residential, and industrial construction projects, as well as essential skills for owners, designers, and contractors.

Organizational Psychology

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities that play into managing a modern workforce. EKU's MBA with a concentration in human resource management provides the critical skills needed to assess the behavior of individuals in businesses and develop strategies for performance and productivity improvement within organizations.

Public Administration

Turn your passion for public service into a rewarding career. EKU’s MBA with a concentration in public administration provides the leadership and managerial skills needed to translate your ideas into effective solutions for your community. Graduates are prepared to become leaders within the nonprofit, public sector, and government institutions.

Community Development

Gain in-depth experience in the modalities needed to affect the social, economic, and environmental policies required to empower communities. EKU's MBA with a concentration in community development allows you to develop land use plans and programs that help build communities, accommodate population growth and revitalize physical facilities in towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.

Emergency Management and Disaster Resilience

Expand your knowledge of emergency preparedness and enhance your ability to respond quickly and effectively. EKU's MBA with a concentration in emergency management and disaster resilience prepares you to assume more leadership responsibility and pursue advancement opportunities in the field.

Corporate Security Operations

Sophisticated threats require more specialized skills. EKU's MBA with a concentration in corporate security operations builds on your knowledge of loss prevention, security management, and homeland security to respond to and manage modern threats.

Occupational Safety

Explore the vast and growing occupational safety field. EKU's MBA with a concentration in occupational safety provides safety strategies that allow you to make an immediate impact on your career path and the well-being of workers in your community.

Game Design

Take your place in the fast-growing gaming industry. EKU's MBA with a concentration in game design allows you to leverage your interests and hone your skills to become a leader in video game development with no previous technical programming skills or experience required.

Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics

Set yourself apart with the knowledge and technical skills needed to keep cyber crime at bay. Develop your digital talents to keep organizations safe in a global economy and earn top dollar in this rapidly growing field. The EKU MBA with a concentration in cybersecurity and digital forensics is available to MBA students whose undergraduate background includes at least two programming courses.

Artificial Intelligence in Data Science

Advance your career with practical, results-oriented data skills including data analysis, data mining, programming, and problem-solving. The EKU MBA with a concentration in artificial intelligence in data science is available to MBA students whose undergraduate background includes at least two programming courses.

Why choose EKU?

EKU is a regionally accredited, brick-and-mortar university that is ranked among the nation's best colleges and has been educating students for more than a century. EKU has received numerous honors, including being named one of the best online colleges in the nation and one of the most veteran-friendly campuses.

About EKU

Eastern Kentucky University is in the midst of our most ambitious initiative in more than half a century. Our bold plans are driven by three priorities that anchor our strategic plan: student success, academic excellence, and campus revitalization.

Eastern Kentucky University is a regional, coeducational, public institution of higher education offering general and liberal arts programs, pre-professional and professional training in education, and various other fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Located in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, Eastern has a distinguished record of more than a century of educational service to the Commonwealth.

Situated near the heart of the Bluegrass, Richmond is served by a network of major highways that make Eastern easily accessible from all parts of Kentucky and surrounding states. Richmond is 26 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. Interstate Highways I-75 (north-south) and I-64 (east-west) make the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, 112 miles to the north, and Louisville, 110 miles to the west, within convenient distance by automobile. Richmond is also served by U.S. Route 25 from Southeastern Kentucky and Kentucky Route 52 from the east and west. The Bluegrass, Mountain, Daniel Boone, and Cumberland Parkways provide even greater accessibility by automobile since the city is located near the convergence of these arterial highways into the interstate system.

Richmond, the county seat of Madison County, is one of the Commonwealth's fastest-growing cities, with about 33,000 residents. The community provides an excellent environment for the university student and boasts a regional shopping mall, theaters, live entertainment, fine dining, cultural events, and activities, as well as many areas of historic and scenic interest. Fort Boonesborough State Park, the birthplace of Kentucky, is located 12 miles to the north. Many other historical sites are within easy driving distance. Scenic and recreational areas surround this section of the state.

History

The Kentucky General Assembly of 1906 enacted legislation establishing the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School. Governor J.C. Beckham signed the bill into law on March 21, 1906. On May 7 of that year, the Normal School Commission, meeting in Louisville, selected the campus of the old Central University, founded in 1874 in Richmond, as the site of the new school. On June 2, 1906, Ruric Nevel Roark was chosen as President of the Normal School and the training of teachers was begun.

In 1922, Eastern became a four-year institution known as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College. The first degrees were awarded by this institution in 1925. In 1928, the College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1930, the General Assembly renamed the school the Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College.

In 1935, a graduate program was approved at Eastern, leading to the Master of Arts degree in Education. In 1948, the General Assembly removed the word "Teachers" from the name of the college and granted the college the right to award nonprofessional degrees.

The most significant day since its founding came for Eastern on February 26, 1966, when Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed into law a bill renaming the institution Eastern Kentucky University and sanctioning the awarding of graduate degrees in academic fields other than education.

During this period of time, Eastern Kentucky University has increased rapidly in size and stature. Beginning with a few students engaged in short review and certificate courses, the University today serves thousands of Kentuckians. The curriculum leads to associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and an expanding graduate program that currently offers degrees at the master's level in many other fields as well as the already well-established Master of Arts degree in Education and the various fifth- and sixth-year leadership programs in education, psychology, and technology. In addition to these programs, Eastern offers joint doctoral programs with cooperating institutions.

Ever-mindful of the purpose of its founding, Eastern continues to recognize its historic function of preparing quality teachers for the elementary and secondary schools of the Commonwealth. However, a strong liberal arts curriculum leading to appropriate degrees, together with pre-professional courses in several areas and graduate programs, enable Eastern to serve the Commonwealth as a regional university.

Purpose

Within its statutory responsibilities, Eastern Kentucky University seeks to provide intellectual and cultural opportunities that will develop habits of scholarship and intellectual curiosity, provide a deep understanding of American democracy and the citizen's role in maintaining its strength and vitality, impart an understanding of humans and their aspirations, enable effective and efficient communication, and prepare productive and responsible citizens. The University will remain responsive and flexible in order to serve in unique and needed ways.

Within these general responsibilities and purposes, the University is dedicated to three specific functions -- high-quality instruction, scholarship, and service, and places emphasis on the three in that order. Through its colleges and schools, the University seeks to offer quality instruction at a variety of degree levels in general education, the arts, the sciences, business, education, pre-professional and professional areas, and applied and technical disciplines. Through consultative services, continuing education, and the extended campus, the University seeks to provide service to the community and the region. The research seeks both to advance knowledge in the subject matter areas with which the University is concerned and to support the primary function of teaching.

Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Welcome from the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Eastern Kentucky University.

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is committed to providing leadership, education, and resources in support of Eastern Kentucky University’s commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive campus community. As an institution, we recognize that institutional excellence depends on how well we value, engage, and include the diversity of our campus community. The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides strategic leadership for efforts directed towards embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into the institution’s recruiting, admissions, hiring, and promotion processes; into its curriculum and co-curriculum, and into its administrative structures and practices.

We also strive to cultivate a sense of belonging by creating and sustaining a campus community that embraces diversity, achieves equitable outcomes, and models inclusiveness through opportunities for everyone to fully participate in the life of the university. We are an innovative team committed to improving campus climate and preparing students to lead in an increasingly diverse world.