10 Online Courses To Try Before Your MBA

Online courses are the perfect opportunity to brush up skills or deepen your interests before your MBA. Here's 10 online courses worth trying before your MBA

Online courses have sky-rocketed in popularity in recent years, particularly with increasing moves to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dubbed the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), MOOC sites like edX and Coursera are a people’s platform for free and affordable education. Courses cover an array of subjects—from music theory to data analytics—and are provided by some of the most esteemed faculty on top MBA programs around the globe.

While some people challenge the efficacy of MOOCs, many schools agree that any degree of training to prepare students for the rigorous life of an MBA is worthwhile. Not only can a course sharpen a student’s skillset, it can also give a dull resume a boost.

Here are 10 online courses that prospective MBA students should consider before going to business school:

10 Online Courses To Try Before Your MBA

1. Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Harvard University

©Lyndon Stratford

Platform: edX

Length: 6 weeks (3 - 5 hours a week)

Cost: Free + $125 for verified certificate

Led by Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna, this 6-week course focuses on individual agency in a fast-growing economy of emerging markets. The course description outlines Tarun’s ‘interdisciplinary approach to understanding and solving complex social problems.’

Students will learn how to find opportunities in fast-growing markets, evaluate those opportunities, and gain a greater understating of commonplace problems and their entrepreneurial solutions.

2. Behavioral Economics in Action, University of Toronto

Platform: edX

Length: 6 weeks (4 - 5 hours a week)

Cost: Free + $140 for verified certificate

This hands-on course begins with an overview of the principles underlying decision-making. Guest lecturers from Harvard, the University of Colorado, and National Public Radio (NPR) weigh in on debates surrounding behavioral economics, as well as experimental design and analysis. For students interested in learning more about the ‘nudging approach’ and other progressive methods of behavioral change, this is the course for you!

3. Corporate Social Responsibility: A Strategic Approach, University of Pennsylvania