The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University landed at No. 14 in this year’s 2023 rankings, up a few places from last year’s No. 16 for the grads in 2022.
Overall, of the three methodological categories, the school ranked highest in the Academic Experience category – coming in at No. 2. As for the other two categories, they placed No. 17 in Career Outcomes and No. 25 in Admissions.
Kelley’s Class of 2023 had an acceptance rate of 34.83% – slightly more lenient than last year’s 39.71% for the Class of 2022, and significantly more selective than the previous year’s 48.96% rate. The Class of 2023 had an average SAT score of 1444 – down ever so slightly from last year’s average of 1450.
At Kelley, business education is founded on professional and leadership development, and Kelley students graduate with strong employment outcomes – a touch stronger than last year. Some 92% of the Class of 2023 had at least one business-focused internship before graduation, up a few percentages from last year’s 90%. A good 97.67% of 2023 grads were employed full-time within three months of graduation, up but nearly in line with last year’s 98%. 2023 grads reported an average starting salary of $76,705.
KELLEY COMPASS
Kelley’s undergraduate business education is best characterized as one that emphasizes professional and leadership development through its comprehensive curriculum and industry-specific workshops.
Kelley students have access to 19 majors and co-majors including Accounting, Business Analytics, Digital and Social Media Business Applications, Digital Technology Management, Economic Consulting, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation, Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Law, Ethics, and Decision-Making, Management, Marketing, Operations Management, Professional Sales, Public Policy Analysis, Real Estate, Supply Chain Management, and Sustainable Business.
At the core of each of these majors is the Kelley Compass. Often considered the DNA of the Kelley curriculum, Kelley Compass is a set of classes taken once per year during the first three years of the undergraduate education.
The first course is “The Individual,” in which encourages students to better understand themselves by creating a comprehensive and market-ready personal-branding deliverable. The second course is “The Team,” in which students collaborate with teammates to construct strategies for real-world problems. Students also develop professional resumes and cover letters through this course.
The third course is “The Business Professional,” in which students learn important skills such as self-awareness, self-management, and leadership. This final course focuses on emotional intelligence and real-world, practical applications.
The Kelley Compass courses are highly characteristic of the type of education and values that Kelley strives to instill in each of its students: One that nurtures both hard and soft skills to develop a nuanced individual, team, and ultimately, business professional.
WORKSHOPS
The Kelley education places heavy emphasis on specialized skill development. Students can gain industry-specific knowledge and build in-demand skills by applying to one of Kelley’s 19 workshops that range from investment banking to consulting.
Kelley’s industry-specific workshops are a prime example of how the b-school strategically develops market-ready business professionals for nearly any career. Through these workshops, students can build the necessary skills and knowledge while making meaningful connections in their chosen industry.
ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM
The school is home to the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, led by one of the pioneers of entrepreneurship as an academic discipline – Donald F. Kuratko, the Jack M. Gill Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship.
In 2023, the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship awarded the Kelley School its prestigious 2023 Model Entrepreneurship Program Award. The honor is given to the institution with the most comprehensive, high-quality educational program that successfully trains future generations of entrepreneurs.
“I think an award like this is sort of like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It says to incoming students that if you’re interested in the idea of an entrepreneurial mindset, or being innovative even in organizations, this is the school for you,” says Kuratko in this interview. “We’ve made entrepreneurship one of the pillars of our university, and certainly at the Kelley School of Business. This puts a stamp that says not only did we think we’re good, but now the world thinks we’re good.”
Alumni say:
“90% of business classes I took had a group project involved. These projects taught me how to work with different learning styles, how to combine strengths to create a successful end product, how to communicate effectively, how to be flexible, how to time manage, how to present ideas, etc. Capstone projects and simulations taught me how to problem solve in a group setting and make business decisions that involved (sheltered) risk. All of these aspects have been utilized throughout my professional career so far and I continue to grow these skills everyday.”
“My senior year I co-founded the ‘Failing Successfully’ summit at Kelley which was aimed at breaking down the perception that you have to be perfect to excel in the business world. This is important to me because if you don’t fail, you don’t try. And my worry with many business school students is that they’re so focused on perfection, they stop focusing on creativity and innovation. It also addressed the mental health component associated with these concepts. Something that is near and dear to my heart.”
“I-Core was the capstone block of courses you must complete before you take your major classes. It included Finance, Operations, Management, and Marketing with a case competition at the end. I do believe it provided a robust business understanding in fields that I did not go into. I found that to be a very valuable experience despite it being very difficult.”
“My capstone Course for my honors program was one of my favorite classes because of the engagement from the professor, the ability to talk about real things in the classroom and having a completely comfortable and creative environment to learn and ask questions.”
“I led a consulting group who worked with a jewelry manufacturer in Havana, Cuba, and helped create a strategy for them to enter the US marketplace and set up a business plan. It was my first experience getting deep into the realm of real world business, and building something from the ground up. We were able to help them set up a LLC, import their products into NYC, create a website to promote e-commerce, and set up shop successfully.”
