Ranking: U.S. News’ Best Undergraduate Business Programs Of 2024
The Wharton School takes first place yet again in U.S. News’ 2024 ranking of the best undergraduate business programs
The University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School has topped the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Undergraduate Business Programs of 2024 ranking released today (September 18).
That’s hardly a surprise. The Wharton School was first in last year’s U.S. News undergrad ranking, the year before that, and the year before that. (And until last year, it was the top B-school in Poets&Quants‘ undergraduate ranking for five straight years, too.)
The top of this year’s rankings is remarkably similar to last year’s. Because the methodology of the U.S. News ranking creates a lot of ties, there are actually 11 schools ranked in the top 10 this year, compared to 12 in the 2023 ranking. University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce dropped four points to No. 12 this year after tying with several schools last year for No. 8.
The only other change to this year’s top 10 are that University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business and Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business essentially swapped places. Tepper fell two spots to No. 7 while McCombs climbed two spots to No. 5. See U.S. News’ 2024 top 10 business programs in the table below.
2024 Rank | Institution | 2023 Rank | Y-O-Y Change | 2022 Rank |
1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2 | University of California, Berkeley (Haas) | 2 | 0 | 3 |
4 | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ross) | 4 | 0 | 4 |
5 | New York University (Stern) | 5 | 0 | 5 |
5 | University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) | 7 | 2 | 5 |
7 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 5 | -2 | 7 |
8 | Cornell University (Dyson) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
8 | Indiana University–Bloomington (Kelley) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
8 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
8 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 8 | 0 | 12 |
A METHODOLOGY WITH A LOT OF TIES
While U.S. News reports that it made “significant” changes to its methodology for ranking the best colleges and universities, it left the methodology for ranking its undergrad business programs untouched.
The rankings magazine asked deans and senior faculty at the 523 undergraduate business programs accredited by the AACSB International to rank schools on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). It determined average scores by computing a trimmed mean – eliminating the two highest and two lowest scores.
The ranking is based solely on this survey, making the list more like a popularity contest. It also creates a lot of ties because there are only 5 points on the scale and so it is difficult to create distance between programs. That’s why there are six schools in the top five, 11 schools in the top 10, and 102 schools in the top 100. In fact, 19 schools tied for No. 84 and 15 schools tied for No. 47. (You can see the full list of schools who made it into the Top 100 on page 4).
U.S. news surveyed deans and senior faculty members in the spring and early summer of this year. It had a 49.9% response rate.
BERKELEY HAAS TIES FOR SECOND
Haas School of Business at University of California-Berkeley tied for No. 2 in U.S. News’ undergraduate business programs. One year ago, it announced that it will expand its two-year business program into a four-year program, enrolling its first four-year business students in August 2024.
The University ranked 15th overall in U.S. News’ Best Colleges and Universities ranking, tied for No. 1 in public schools and 114th for social mobility. For business speciality programs, it finished in the top five in entrepreneurship, management, marketing, quantitative analysis and real estate. (See more on the business specialty rankings on page 3.)
“We are proud of the exceptional education and opportunities for upward social mobility that our Berkeley Haas Undergraduate Program provides,” Emma Hayes Daftary, assistant dean of undergraduate programs, tells Poets&Quants. “With applications about to open October 1 for our new four-year Spieker Undergraduate Business Program that will launch in Fall 2024, we are also creating new programs and experiences for our current students and for the inaugural Spieker class.”
And, in almost any business school ranking, The Wharton School is going to end up toward the top. Its undergrad program has topped Poets&Quants’ ranking five out of six years.
Besides its No. 1 spot in U.S. News’ undergrad business programs, it ranked in the top five in analytics, finance, international business, management, marketing, operation management, quantitative analysis and real estate. Its parent school, University of Pennsylvania, ranked No. 6 overall in best colleges and universities.
NEXT PAGE: U.S. News 50 Best National Universities
PAGE 3: U.S. News ranking by business specialization
PAGE 4: U.S. News 100 Best Undergraduate Business Programs
Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., tied for third place in the Best Universities ranking of 2024 by U.S. News & World Report.
50 TOP COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
While the bulk of Poets&Quants For Undergrads readers are likely most interested in rankings of business programs, the U.S. News ranking evaluates schools on a host of other categories.
Its full 2024 Best National University Rankings ranks schools by region, social mobility, best liberal arts colleges, engineering, computer science and several other categories. If you’re still in the hunt for a school in a particular state or that excels in a particular area, the whole package is worth a look. You can find the full ranking here.
In a press release, U.S. News reported changing its overall ranking this year by putting a greater emphasis on social mobility and graduate outcomes. It calls these changes “the most significant methodological change in the rankings’ history.”
“More than 50% of an institution’s rank now comprises varying outcome measures related to success in enrolling and graduating students from all backgrounds with manageable debt and post-graduate success. In addition, five factors were removed: class size, faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing and the proportion of graduates who borrow federal loans,” says U.S. News.
U.S. News evaluated nearly 1,500 four-year institutions on as many as 19 measures reflecting academic quality and graduate outcomes. The table below shows the colleges and universities that made it into the top 50 for 2024.
2024 Rank | School | State |
1 | Princeton | NJ |
2 | MIT | MA |
3 | Stanford | CA |
3 | Harvard | MA |
5 | Yale | CT |
6 | University of Pennsylvania | PA |
7 | Duke University | NC |
7 | California Institute of Technology | CA |
9 | Northwestern University | IL |
9 | Brown University | CA |
9 | John Hopkins University | MD |
12 | Columbia | NY |
12 | Cornell University | NY |
12 | University of Chicago | IL |
15 | University of California, Berkeley | CA |
15 | University of California, Los Angeles | CA |
17 | Rice University | TX |
18 | Vanderbilt | TN |
18 | Dartmouth College | NH |
20 | University of Notre Dame | IN |
21 | University of Michigan – Ann Arbor | MI |
22 | Georgetown University | DC |
22 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC |
24 | Washington University in St. Louis | MO |
24 | Emory University | GA |
24 | Carnegie Mellon University | PA |
24 | University of Virginia | VA |
28 | University of Florida | FL |
28 | University of Southern California | CA |
28 | University of California, Davis | CA |
28 | University of California, San Diego | CA |
32 | University of Texas at Austin | TX |
33 | Georgia Institute of Technology – Main Campus | GA |
33 | University of California, Irvine | CA |
35 | University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign | IL |
35 | New York University | NY |
35 | University of California, Santa Barbara | CA |
35 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI |
39 | Boston College | MA |
40 | Rutgers University – New Brunswick | NJ |
40 | Tufts University | MA |
40 | University of Washington | WA |
43 | Boston University | MA |
43 | Ohio State University | OH |
43 | Purdue University | IN |
46 | University of Maryland, College Park | MD |
47 | Texas A & M University – College Station | TX |
47 | Lehigh University | PA |
47 | University of Georgia | GA |
47 | University of Rochester | NY |
47 | Virginia Tech | VA |
47 | Wake Forest University | NC |
NEXT PAGE: U.S. News ranking by business specialization
PAGE 4: U.S. News 100 Best Undergraduate Business Programs
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business has been a top 10 undergraduate business program more than three years in a row.
U.S. NEWS’ RANKINGS BY SPECIALIZATION
U.S. News also asks survey respondents to nominate up to 15 of the best programs in the 13 business specialties shown in the table below. Undergraduate programs with the most mentions are ranked in descending order, and schools had to have received at least seven or more top-15 nominations to be included.
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business (tied at No. 8 in the 2024 U.S. News business program ranking) has been a top 10 program for the last three years.
“U.S. News’ overall No. 8 ranking of our Undergraduate Program is certainly impressive, but it is also a story of consistency and delivering high quality business education across all disciplines and fields,” says Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor.
“This year, four of our disciplines are ranked in the Top 5 in the U.S., eight in the Top 10, and nine in the Top 15. This shows that our graduates are getting an education from one of the best programs in the country, no matter what their major is.”
Kelley ranked in the top five schools in the disciplines of marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, management, and information systems.
The table below shows the top five schools in each of the specializations. As you can see, several schools are strong in several of the disciplines.
Accounting | Analytics |
1- University of Texas at Austin | 1- Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 2- Carnegie Mellon University |
3- Brigham Young University–Provo | 3- Georgia Institute of Technology |
4- Indiana University–Bloomington | 4- University of Texas at Austin |
5- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 5- University of Pennsylvania |
Entrepreneurship | Finance |
1- Babson College | 1- University of Pennsylvania |
2- University of California, Berkeley | 2- New York University |
3- Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor |
4- Indiana University | 4- University of Texas at Austin |
5- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 5- Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Insurance | International Business |
1- University of Georgia | 1- University of South Carolina |
2- University of Wisconsin–Madison | 2- Florida International University |
3- Georgia State University | 3- Georgetown University |
4- Florida State University | 4- University of Pennsylvania |
4- University of Texas at Austin | 5- George Washington University |
Management | Management IS |
1- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 1- Carnegie Mellon University |
2- University of Pennsylvania | 2- Georgia Institute of Technology |
3- University of California, Berkeley | 3- University of Arizona |
4- University of Texas at Austin | 4- University of Texas at Austin |
5- Indiana University–Bloomington | 5- University of Minnesota Twin Cities |
Marketing | Prod Ops Management |
1- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | 1- Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
2- University of Pennsylvania | 2- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor |
3- Indiana University–Bloomington | 3- University of Pennsylvania |
4- University of Texas at Austin | 3- Michigan State University |
5- University of California, Berkeley | 5- Carnegie Mellon University |
Quant Analysis | Real Estate |
1- Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1- University of Wisconsin–Madison |
2- Carnegie Mellon University | 2- University of Pennsylvania |
3- University of Pennsylvania | 3- New York University |
4- Georgia Institute of Technology | 4- University of California, Berkeley |
5- University of California, Berkeley | 5- University of Georgia |
Supply Chain Management | |
1- Michigan State University | |
2- Arizona State University | |
3-Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
4- University of Tennessee, Knoxville | |
4- Ohio State University |
PAGE 4: U.S. News 100 Best Undergraduate Business Programs
Undergraduate Commencement at Berkeley Haas. Photos Copyright Noah Berger / 2022.
All photos from 2022 MBA Commencement.
U.S. NEWS’ 2024 TOP UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS PROGRAMS
U.S. News’ top 100 business programs (102 total) are listed below. As you can see, the further down the list you go, the more volatile the results. University of Miami Herbert Business School rose the most, climbing 17 spots to No. 47. Three other schools rose 16 spots each: Howard University, University of California Riverside, and University of Houston. Conversely, Clemson University dropped 19 spots to No. 70 (a 14-school tie.)
Falling out of the top 100 this year were University of Mississippi, University of Denver. University of Cincinnati, Saint Louis University, Texas Tech University, and DePaul University, all tied at No. 103. Iowa State University also fell out of the top 100, landing at No. 118.
Despite the shortcomings, the U.S. News ranking gets lots of attention and schools that do well on the list certainly gain bragging rights to say they rank highly which can impact application volume and the quality of applicants a school can ultimately attract.
2024 Rank | Institution | 2023 Rank | Change | 2022 Rank |
1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2 | University of California, Berkeley (Haas) | 2 | 0 | 3 |
4 | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ross) | 4 | 0 | 4 |
5 | New York University (Stern) | 5 | 0 | 5 |
5 | University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) | 7 | 2 | 5 |
7 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 5 | -2 | 7 |
8 | Cornell University (Dyson) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
8 | Indiana University–Bloomington (Kelley) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
8 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
8 | University of Southern California (Marshall) | 8 | 0 | 12 |
12 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 8 | -4 | 8 |
13 | Emory University (Goizueta) | 13 | 0 | 14 |
13 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | 13 | 0 | 14 |
13 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 13 | 0 | 12 |
13 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | 13 | 0 | 14 |
17 | The Ohio State University (Fisher) | 13 | -4 | 14 |
17 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gies) | 13 | -4 | 14 |
17 | University of Washington (Foster) | 19 | 2 | 19 |
17 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | 19 | 2 | 19 |
21 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | 19 | -2 | 19 |
21 | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (Carlson) | 19 | -2 | 19 |
21 | Michigan State University (Broad) | 23 | 2 | 23 |
21 | The Pennsylvania State University (Smeal) | 23 | 2 | 23 |
21 | University of Georgia (Terry) | 23 | 2 | 23 |
21 | University of Maryland, College Park (Smith) | 23 | 2 | 23 |
21 | Purdue University | 30 | 9 | 30 |
21 | Rice University | N/A | N/A | N/A |
29 | Arizona State University (Carey) | 23 | -6 | 23 |
29 | Texas A&M University (Mays) | 23 | -6 | 23 |
29 | University of Florida (Warrington) | 23 | -6 | 23 |
29 | Boston College | 30 | 1 | 30 |
29 | University of Arizona (Eller) | 30 | 1 | 30 |
29 | University of California, Irvine | 30 | 1 | 30 |
29 | University of Colorado Boulder | 30 | 1 | 34 |
36 | University of Iowa (Tippie) | 34 | -2 | 36 |
36 | Brigham Young University–Provo (Marriott) | 39 | 3 | 41 |
38 | Babson College (Olin) | 34 | -4 | 36 |
38 | University of Pittsburgh (Katz) | 34 | -4 | 49 |
38 | Boston University (Questrom) | 39 | 1 | 49 |
38 | University of Arkansas (Walton) | 39 | 1 | 36 |
38 | University of Rochester (Rochester) | 39 | 1 | 36 |
38 | University of Tennessee (Haslam) | 39 | 1 | 49 |
38 | University of Utah (Eccles) | 39 | 1 | 41 |
38 | Wake Forest University | 39 | 1 | 41 |
38 | George Washington University | 51 | 13 | 49 |
47 | Tulane University (Freeman) | 34 | -13 | 41 |
47 | Case Western Reserve University (Wheatherhead) | 39 | -8 | 36 |
47 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 39 | -8 | 41 |
47 | University of Alabama (Culverhouse) | 39 | -8 | 49 |
47 | University of South Carolina (Moore) | 39 | -8 | 49 |
47 | Virginia Tech | 39 | -8 | 41 |
47 | Georgia State University (Robinson) | 51 | 4 | 49 |
47 | Northeastern University (D-Amore-McKim) | 51 | 4 | 64 |
47 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 51 | 4 | 64 |
47 | The University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) | 51 | 4 | 41 |
47 | University of California, San Diego (Rady) | 51 | 4 | 49 |
47 | University of Connecticut | 51 | 4 | 49 |
47 | University of Massachusetts–Amherst (Isenberg) | 51 | 4 | 49 |
47 | University of Oregon (Lundquist) | 51 | 4 | 41 |
47 | University of Miami (Herbert) | 64 | 17 | 64 |
62 | Auburn University (Harbert) | 51 | -11 | 49 |
62 | University of Nebraska — Lincoln | 51 | -11 | 49 |
62 | William & Mary (Mason) | 51 | -11 | 49 |
62 | Baylor University (Hankamer) | 64 | 2 | 74 |
62 | Florida State University | 64 | 2 | 64 |
62 | University of Kansas | 64 | 2 | 64 |
62 | Villanova University | 64 | 2 | 49 |
62 | Pepperdine University (Graziadio) | 73 | 11 | 64 |
70 | Clemson University | 51 | -19 | 64 |
70 | Rutgers University–New Brunswick | 64 | -6 | 64 |
70 | Santa Clara University | 64 | -6 | 49 |
70 | University of Kentucky (Gatton) | 64 | -6 | 64 |
70 | University of Oklahoma (Price) | 64 | -6 | 74 |
70 | Bentley University | 73 | 3 | 74 |
70 | CUNY–Baruch College | 73 | 3 | 84 |
70 | Miami University–Oxford (Farmer) | 73 | 3 | 84 |
70 | North Carolina State University (Poole) | 73 | 3 | 84 |
70 | Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) | 73 | 3 | 74 |
70 | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | 73 | 3 | 64 |
70 | Howard University | 86 | 16 | 84 |
70 | University of California, Riverside | 86 | 16 | 106 |
70 | University of Houston | 86 | 16 | 84 |
84 | Fordham University (Gabelli) | 73 | -11 | 74 |
84 | Lehigh University | 73 | -11 | 84 |
84 | Oklahoma State University (Spears) | 73 | -11 | 84 |
84 | San Diego State University (Fowler) | 73 | -11 | 74 |
84 | United States Air Force Academy | 73 | -11 | 74 |
84 | American University (Kogod) | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | Brandeis University | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | Colorado State University | 86 | 2 | 106 |
84 | Drexel University | 86 | 2 | 106 |
84 | George Mason University | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge (Ourso) | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | Loyola Marymount University | 86 | 2 | 106 |
84 | Loyola University Chicago (Quinlan) | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | 86 | 2 | 74 |
84 | University of Delaware | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | University of Illinois–Chicago | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | University of Missouri | 86 | 2 | 84 |
84 | Washington State University (Carson) | 86 | 2 | 74 |
84 | University of San Diego | N/A | N/A | N/A |
See the entire 2024 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking package here.
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