The William & Mary Online MBA

Threaded throughout your Online MBA coursework is a “wicked problem,” which you will select during the introductory Renaissance Manager course and explore in each subsequent course, up to and including the culminating Revolutionary Leader Practicum.

A wicked problem is defined by the following characteristics:

• An unknowable set of potential solutions
• No definitive agreement on the nature of the problem itself
• No way to know with absolute certainty that a chosen solution is best

By their very nature, wicked problems are best approached through design thinking, as their resistance to clear paths and easy answers demands an approach that seeks neither of those things. Instead, you will work to refine and improve a set of possible solutions, viewing each as a beta test and none as an endpoint.

Apply What You Learn To Your Work—No Waiting!

Don’t wait until graduation to start making an impact on your career and your organization. With the W&M Online MBA curriculum, you can start applying your knowledge of the wicked problem and design thinking to your current work right away.

Each course of the Online MBA program helps you add new skills and knowledge to your management toolkit that you can incorporate into your design thinking mindset, whether they be rooted in finance, marketing, business analytics or other business disciplines. As you progress through the program, you’ll compile a wicked problem portfolio to track your iterative engagements with your problem. This portfolio is shared with your classmates to provide opportunities for collaborative problem-solving and mutual growth.

This journey concludes with the Revolutionary Leader Practicum in which each Online MBA student delivers a TED-style “Tribe Talk” detailing ways they engaged with their wicked problem across their time in the program. By summarizing the steps you have taken toward unraveling your problem and identifying potential solutions, you’ll demonstrate the growth mindset required to lead with vision, openness and limitless potential.

By choosing the Online MBA at William & Mary, you’re opting to pursue design thinking: an essential element of leadership with a growth mindset. Design thinking is a method of tackling problems that does not presume a solution. It replaces a linear mindset that prioritizes completion over innovation with an iterative approach aimed at constant refinement and open to unexpected discoveries.

We introduce design thinking in the Online MBA program’s first course—Renaissance Manager. Adapted for the modern business world, this tried-and-true framework informs the decisions of effective design thinkers by driving them to:

• Approach new challenges with voracious intellectual curiosity
• Develop and maintain broad knowledge and interests to transcend limitations
• Think systematically and logically to focus on creative, well-reasoned solutions

Face a changing business landscape with confidence and poise as you turn diverse ideas into sound strategy.

When you embrace design thinking as it’s taught throughout the Online MBA curriculum, you’ll build the mental agility to accept new information openly, collaborate generously and innovate perpetually in search of meaningful improvements rather than finite solutions.

William & Mary’s academic calendar offers three unique start dates throughout the year, so you can enroll when the time is right for you and complete the Online MBA in as few as 24 months. Visit our application requirements page to see what you need to get started, and to learn how our commitment to holistic evaluation has inspired us to offer our renowned Online MBA with no GMAT requirement.

All courses are accessed through our engaging online learning platform, which makes it easy for students to track their assignments, connect with faculty and peers, submit coursework, and view lectures—and all that’s required is an internet-connected computer or a mobile device.

We require that all admitted students complete a quantitative refresher course covering accounting, economics, finance, statistics and spreadsheets prior to entering the program to ensure preparedness for the quantitative coursework you will encounter throughout the MBA curriculum.

Contact an Admissions Advisor for more information about this course and to see if you may be eligible to waive this requirement.

Please note: Course list and sequence are subject to change.