Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Business Administration, Management and Operations

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 1,169

Avg grad salary: $55,003

Total graduates: 234,196

Top Colleges for Business Administration, Management and Operations — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$123,780	$90,008	181	$12,195	11.7%
2	Bismarck State College Bismarck, ND	$123,359	$100,668	48	$15,452	N/A
3	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	$123,200	$95,891	60	$23,250	11.4%
4	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	$116,095	$93,674	580	$19,000	17.9%
5	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$107,945	$85,682	231	$19,500	11.1%
6	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	$105,314	$60,659	30	$19,500	61.2%
7	UNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	$105,246	$85,618	321	$14,339	18.7%
8	Manhattan University Riverdale, NY	$104,296	$113,777	26	$25,328	78.5%
9	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	$100,049	$70,694	93	$27,000	43.4%
10	Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME	N/A	$98,743	27	$27,000	61.4%
11	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	$98,403	$76,627	18	N/A	17.4%
12	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$96,358	$71,163	125	$11,000	69.2%
13	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	$93,488	$71,984	51	$25,000	42.6%
14	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$91,169	$50,729	114	$24,602	50.8%
15	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	$90,686	$91,443	52	$20,348	5.9%
16	Babson College Wellesley, MA	$89,884	$69,970	434	$23,000	19.7%
17	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$88,783	$65,842	164	$20,500	44.8%
18	Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA	$88,200	$64,591	16	N/A	85.4%
19	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$88,049	$77,479	35	$16,422	13.1%
20	USC Los Angeles, CA	$87,767	$71,668	596	$17,375	10.0%
21	Tulane University New Orleans, LA	$87,423	$61,089	63	$19,250	14.6%
22	Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA	$87,027	$77,752	77	$33,968	N/A
23	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$86,804	$71,675	73	$17,873	15.7%
24	Boston University Boston, MA	$86,755	$71,545	518	$25,000	10.8%
25	Bentley University Waltham, MA	$86,432	$67,903	193	$25,000	48.4%
26	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$86,039	$69,289	26	$20,500	29.3%
27	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	$85,678	$75,038	110	$19,812	32.7%
28	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo, CA	$85,332	$71,876	514	$17,000	29.8%
29	Dominican University of California San Rafael, CA	$84,698	$65,611	40	$27,000	95.6%
30	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	$84,103	$67,823	80	$25,000	82.1%
31	Chapman University Orange, CA	$83,362	$55,657	344	$20,500	55.6%
32	RPI Troy, NY	$82,861	$47,925	55	$26,000	58.5%
33	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	$82,688	$69,751	129	$28,000	49.9%
34	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$81,952	$67,699	144	$20,500	43.4%
35	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	$81,674	$56,286	424	$23,250	62.1%
36	UIUC Champaign, IL	$81,669	$68,442	119	$19,175	43.7%
37	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI	$81,070	$62,359	61	$26,000	70.2%
38	Michigan State East Lansing, MI	$79,719	$71,253	558	$23,250	83.9%
39	UT Austin Austin, TX	$79,482	$66,289	65	$20,750	29.1%
40	Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD	$79,298	$60,656	349	$27,000	76.3%
41	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	$79,209	$68,151	151	$20,500	23.3%
42	Marist University Poughkeepsie, NY	$78,615	$53,766	347	$26,000	64.7%
43	Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA	$78,313	$73,557	243	$23,000	16.5%
44	American University Washington, DC	$78,264	$58,299	146	$24,697	47.4%
45	Fordham University Bronx, NY	$78,039	$58,341	200	$26,915	56.3%
46	University of Delaware Newark, DE	$77,898	$58,041	177	$24,250	65.1%
47	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	$77,827	$60,360	180	$23,452	87.7%
48	Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA	$77,821	$64,664	41	$19,500	31.8%
49	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL	$77,767	$66,999	426	$20,508	66.3%
50	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Prescott, AZ	$77,767	$66,999	426	$20,508	75.2%
51	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Daytona Beach, FL	$77,767	$66,999	426	$20,508	61.8%
52	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	$77,588	$55,633	106	$21,469	88.2%
53	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	$77,268	$61,478	88	$27,000	77.5%
54	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ	$77,221	$58,896	928	$23,250	77.8%
55	Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ	$77,221	$58,896	928	$23,250	65.3%
56	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	$77,221	$58,896	928	$23,250	78.7%
57	Colorado State University Global Denver, CO	$76,302	$69,863	523	$33,530	92.9%
58	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY	$76,141	$65,887	53	$24,757	77.2%
59	University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	$75,971	$65,996	115	$20,160	77.0%
60	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	$75,693	$61,373	26	$15,000	76.5%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Business Administration, Management and Operations Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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