Best Colleges for Business Administration
50 Business Administration programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Business Administration, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $144,599. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $144,599 | $11,300 | 409 | 96.4 |
| 2 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $135,874 | $14,239 | 332 | 94.6 |
| 3 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Bachelor's Degree | $144,654 | $19,000 | 598 | 93.7 |
| 4 | Emory University Atlanta, GA | Bachelor's Degree | $136,731 | $19,500 | 358 | 92.2 |
| 5 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $110,902 | $16,633 | 753 | 90.8 |
| 6 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $109,128 | $15,750 | 832 | 90.7 |
| 7 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $123,144 | $18,125 | 94 | 89.8 |
| 8 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $136,806 | $20,348 | 106 | 89.4 |
| 9 | Bismarck State College Bismarck, ND | Bachelor's Degree | $122,948 | $15,250 | 47 | 88.8 |
| 10 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $105,544 | $11,000 | 107 | 88.8 |
| 11 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $160,783 | $23,250 | 138 | 88.6 |
| 12 | Western Governors University Salt Lake City, UT | Master's Degree | $98,950 | $13,165 | 3,991 | 88.6 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK | Master's Degree | $111,874 | $18,682 | 153 | 88.5 |
| 14 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA | Master's Degree | $113,503 | $20,525 | 910 | 88.4 |
| 15 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $111,366 | $19,500 | 239 | 88.3 |
| 16 | Georgetown University Washington, DC | Bachelor's Degree | $117,733 | $14,975 | 50 | 88.2 |
| 17 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA | Master's Degree | $119,730 | $21,720 | 430 | 88.1 |
| 18 | Binghamton University Vestal, NY | Master's Degree | $118,876 | $20,500 | 185 | 88 |
| 19 | Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN | Master's Degree | $141,749 | $20,500 | 60 | 87.7 |
| 20 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA | Master's Degree | $147,635 | — | 265 | 87.5 |
| 21 | Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX | Master's Degree | $99,331 | $16,327 | 623 | 87.3 |
| 22 | University of Georgia Athens, GA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $111,392 | $19,550 | 118 | 87.1 |
| 23 | Providence College Providence, RI | Master's Degree | $120,118 | $20,500 | 99 | 87 |
| 24 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $107,904 | $19,087 | 136 | 86.9 |
| 25 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Master's Degree | $151,760 | — | 137 | 86.6 |
| 26 | University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND | Master's Degree | $126,170 | $20,220 | 44 | 86.1 |
| 27 | Wichita State University Wichita, KS | Master's Degree | $118,940 | $20,585 | 76 | 86 |
| 28 | University of North Texas Denton, TX | Master's Degree | $106,253 | $20,500 | 330 | 86 |
| 29 | California State University-Chico Chico, CA | Master's Degree | $109,161 | $18,750 | 62 | 85.5 |
| 30 | West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX | Master's Degree | $124,819 | — | 254 | 85.5 |
| 31 | University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL | Master's Degree | $102,853 | $17,000 | 88 | 85.4 |
| 32 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC | Master's Degree | $118,289 | $24,000 | 259 | 85.4 |
| 33 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA | Bachelor's Degree | $106,155 | $21,500 | 359 | 85.1 |
| 34 | Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $99,031 | $15,361 | 94 | 84.9 |
| 35 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA | Master's Degree | $150,316 | $24,750 | 62 | 84.9 |
| 36 | Babson College Wellesley, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $107,520 | $22,766 | 564 | 84.8 |
| 37 | Boston University Boston, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $108,412 | $23,196 | 678 | 84.8 |
| 38 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA | Master's Degree | $128,133 | — | 117 | 84.6 |
| 39 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL | Master's Degree | $106,907 | $21,537 | 204 | 84.6 |
| 40 | University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $103,856 | $20,577 | 223 | 84.6 |
| 41 | Bryant University Smithfield, RI | Master's Degree | $129,664 | — | 109 | 84.5 |
| 42 | Drake University Des Moines, IA | Master's Degree | $137,890 | — | 85 | 84.4 |
| 43 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | Bachelor's Degree | $100,005 | $20,000 | 222 | 84.4 |
| 44 | University of Hartford West Hartford, CT | Master's Degree | $126,408 | $26,383 | 286 | 84.2 |
| 45 | University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN | Master's Degree | $93,352 | $18,311 | 650 | 84.2 |
| 46 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC | Post-baccalaureate Certificate | $159,290 | — | — | 84.1 |
| 47 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA | Master's Degree | $165,473 | $32,030 | 448 | 84 |
| 48 | University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA | Master's Degree | $131,832 | $22,000 | 37 | 84 |
| 49 | Idaho State University Pocatello, ID | Master's Degree | $99,523 | $15,202 | 60 | 83.9 |
| 50 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC | Master's Degree | $122,997 | $25,700 | 175 | 83.9 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Business Administration field (CIP 52.02) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Business Administration programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Business Administration program?+
By our outcome score, University of California-Berkeley (California) ranks #1 for Business Administration, with median graduate earnings of $144,599.
How are these Business Administration programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Business Administration programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.