10 Undergraduate Business Schools To Watch In 2025

 University of Delaware Lerner College of Business and Economics

University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics is a business school on the rise – in reputation, resources, and brick-and-mortar.

Just looking at rankings, Lerner jumped up 13 places this year to No. 52 in Poets&Quants’ annual ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the U.S. It also jumped five spots to No. 41 in our 2025 ranking of the Best Online MBA Programs in the U.S.

This year, it launched a new strategic plan focused on delivering a distinctive Lerner education, advancing pioneering scholarship, and leading in AI transformation, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership. This spring, UD alumni Robert L. Siegfried, Jr. and Kathleen Marie (Horgan) Siegfried bestowed a transformative gift of $71.5 million. Not only is the gift the largest in UD’s 282-year history, it stands among the largest philanthropic gifts to any business school.

Much of the money will go into the building of Siegfried Hall, a state-of-the-art facility with modern classrooms, research and teaching labs, a student-run café, and an auditorium. It will house a Student Success and Excellence Center as well as immersive, experiential learning spaces equipped with instructional computing labs, public computing areas, and generative AI technology.

It will also be home to the Siegfried Institute for Leadership and Free Enterprise, an idea lab dedicated to fostering leadership development and exploring principles of limited government, rule of law, and free enterprise.

“Our vision for the college is to shape and serve the future of business and society by driving impact through an ecosystem of pioneering scholarship and inspirational education, all within an inclusive environment. The new Siegfried Hall will put us on the fast track to achieving our vision,” Lerner College Dean Oliver Yao said in March when the gift was announced.

Q&A WITH LERNER DEANS

Located in Newark, Delaware, Lerner students have quick access to industry, government, and non-profit organizations in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

Beyond rankings, strategies, and facilities, we are anxious to see how Lerner leverages its resources to enhance programs in the next year. We asked Dean Oliver Yao and Julia Bayuk, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, to tell us about the college’s continued transformations.

What are recent and upcoming program developments and innovations that will enhance the experience of future students?

Oliver Yao: Since becoming dean in 2023, I’ve been inspired every day by the passion, resilience, and purpose that define the Lerner community. From the start, my goal has been to build a strong foundation for long-term success, together with our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and I believe we are making meaningful progress.

For Lerner College, 2025 will be remembered as a defining year. We launched a bold new strategic plan focused on three pillars: delivering a distinctive Lerner education, advancing pioneering scholarship, and leading in AI transformation, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership.

We also received a historic $71.5 million gift from UD alumni Rob and Kathy Siegfried, the largest in our college’s history. Their investment will fund a new, state-of-the-art academic facility featuring modern classrooms, collaborative research and teaching labs, a student-run café, and an auditorium. It will also expand our Student Success and Excellence Center, creating new opportunities for hands-on learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community engagement.

We’re expanding experiential learning in meaningful ways. We’ve launched the Lerner Co-op Program in partnership with the state of Delaware and the Delaware Workforce Development Board. The program offers 9–12 month paid co-op experiences for rising juniors and seniors across all Lerner majors, allowing them to gain academic credit and practical experience with top employers throughout the region.

This fall, we will also open our new Financial Planning Center, developed in partnership with Schwab Advisor Services and the Charles Schwab Foundation. The center will offer peer-to-peer financial coaching, equipping students to both give and receive real-world guidance while preparing for impactful careers in financial services.

Our entrepreneurship programming continues to thrive. Thanks to a $1.15 million gift from the Stanford family, we’re expanding our highly impactful Summer Founders program. This initiative provides selected student entrepreneurs with a 12-week funded opportunity to develop their startups, engage in customer discovery, and receive mentorship from industry experts.

And, as part of our strategic commitment to lead in AI transformation, our faculty are embedding AI tools and training across the curriculum. In hospitality and human resources courses, students are using AI for assignments such as trip planning, research writing, and multimedia content creation, while exploring the ethical implications of AI in customer service. In analytics courses, students are leveraging generative AI in Google Colab to build predictive models and strengthen their Python skills. And in our Excel courses, we’re introducing Microsoft Copilot to teach AI-driven data analysis, trend forecasting, and report automation, skills essential to modern business.

Each of these initiatives reflects our commitment to preparing students not just to navigate a changing world, but to lead in it. I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished together and excited for what’s ahead.

Any other notable news coming for 2025 that readers should know?

Julia Bayuk: As Dean Yao shared, we’re committed to creating innovative pathways that help our students thrive. A big part of my role has been building strategic partnerships, both across campus and within the state of Delaware, to offer unique, high-impact opportunities for our undergraduates. The Lerner Co-op Program is a great example of this.

Over the past year, we’ve expanded our accelerated business degree offerings, helping students streamline their academic journey without compromising depth or experience. This year, I’m especially excited about a new interdisciplinary collaboration with the College of Engineering and the Honors College: our new Honors Computer Science and Business degree, housed in the Lerner College. This program combines technical skills with business strategy, preparing students to lead at the intersection of tech and business. It also gives students the option to pursue a co-op or tackle a real-world project through a hands-on course experience.

We’re also launching a new minor in Sport Business Analytics, designed for students who want to apply data and statistical insights to the sports industry. From marketing and finance to economic impact analysis, this program gives students the tools and experience through internships to solve real challenges in the business of sports.

These new programs reflect our commitment to evolving with the needs of our students and the industries they’re preparing to lead.

What are your program’s two biggest differentiators from other top undergraduate business programs? How do these prepare students for their careers?

Bayuk: At Lerner, we’re committed to preparing students not just for their first job, but for long-term success in a changing world. Two key differentiators are our emphasis on personalized career development and our flexible, hands-on academic experience.

Our Lerner Executive Mentoring Program pairs students one-on-one with experienced professionals relevant to career goals (10 or more years of professional experience) for the duration of their academic journey. These long-term relationships provide guidance, networking, and real-world insight. Over 80% of participants said that their mentor helped them land an internship or job. With over 600 active pairs and growing, every student who wants a mentor gets one.

We also offer the flexibility to double major, such as in Finance and Marketing, or pick up high-demand minors such as Fintech, Professional Selling and Sales Management, or Social Innovation. New interdisciplinary programs like the Honors Computer Science and Business degree and the Sport Business Analytics minor allow students to build skills that match evolving industry needs, all while graduating on time, thanks to our amazing Lerner advising team.

Through career coaching, mentorship, experiential learning and tech-savvy preparation, Lerner students graduate ready to lead with confidence and purpose.

What separates your graduates from other business school graduates?

Yao: What sets Lerner graduates apart is their ability to lead with both confidence and character. Admitted directly into the business school, our students gain early access to business courses, professional development, and a close-knit learning community. Small class sizes and dedicated faculty ensure personalized support from day one.

As Julia noted above, Lerner students often customize their academic journey with double (or triple) majors and minor combinations, while gaining real-world experience through internships, study abroad, case competitions, and our Lerner Co-op Program, and Executive Mentoring Programs. Employers consistently praise their communication skills, professionalism, and ability to work in teams.

We also prepare students to thrive in today’s evolving job market, including responsible use of AI in career development. And with a new initiative led by Johann Ducharme, assistant professor of entrepreneurship, we’re deepening our focus on values-based leadership by integrating UD’s six core virtues: curiosity, creativity, integrity, respect, civility, and leadership, into the student experience.

Lerner graduates leave with more than a degree, they gain a competitive edge, a powerful network, and the skills and values to lead with purpose.

Explain the career services, programming, and extracurriculars that give your students an advantage in career outcomes?

Bayuk: At the Lerner College, we take a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to career readiness, one that reflects our strategic focus on innovation, AI transformation, and inclusive excellence.

Our students benefit from dedicated career services led by Lerner Career Services Director Jill Pante. Jill’s team helps create niche career fairs in fields like hospitality, wealth management, analytics, and professional selling, and from day 1, students take advantage of programs like Lerner Edge Connect, which connects students at any point in their college career with recent Lerner alumni for one-on-one micro-mentoring sessions. We also provide targeted support through initiatives like our Professional Attire Fund, which has helped over 150 Pell-eligible and first-generation students access professional clothing for interviews and networking.

Aligned with the future of work, we’re helping students use generative AI tools, from résumé writing to interview prep, with best practices that emphasize both effectiveness and ethics.

Our students are also encouraged to lead. With over 30 active student organizations, such as the Blue Hen Investment Club, Delaware Consulting Club, and Women in Economics, students develop leadership and collaboration skills outside the classroom from their first year. In fact, the Blue Hen Investment Club manages close to $5 million of the University of Delaware’s endowment.

We offer distinctive academic programs in areas like Fintech, Trust Management, and Hospitality Analytics, as well as Ignite!, our early move-in entrepreneurship program that jumpstarts innovation and community-building.

Finally, through UDREAM, our academic support program, students receive personalized coaching and resources to build confidence and succeed both in college and in their careers. We are very proud of our ability as a college to meet students where they are and help them get to where they want to be.

Together, these resources give Lerner students a competitive edge, and the tools to thrive as ethical, agile leaders in a changing world.

When alumni look back on their time in your undergraduate business program, what would they consider to be their signature experience?

Yao: When Lerner alumni reflect on their undergraduate experience, what stands out most are the transformational, hands-on opportunities that helped them grow as professionals and people.

Experiential learning is a cornerstone of a Lerner education. Whether it’s studying abroad, building on UD’s legacy as the first U.S. institution to offer for-credit study abroad since 1923, or gaining practical skills in unique campus environments, our students apply what they learn in real time. Programs like World Scholars and international internships broaden their perspectives from their first day. Many students choose to study or work abroad more than once, making global engagement a signature part of their Lerner journey.

Alumni often speak with pride about the moments that brought business to life:

• Pitching ventures through Horn Entrepreneurship.
• Analyzing real-time data from cultural icons such as Taylor Swift in innovative workshops like Assistant Professor of Economics Kathryn Bender’s “Data Enchanted.”
• Learning to run a full-service restaurant at Vita Nova, a fine dining restaurant consistently rated among the best on OpenTable, where hospitality students manage all aspects of restaurant operations.
• Learning the ins and out of running a hotel right on campus at the Courtyard Marriott Newark.
• Providing free tax preparation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, where accounting students build client relationships while providing tax filing support to underserved populations.

These kinds of experiences left a lasting impact on alumni Rob and Kathy Siegfried, who fondly remember their own time at UD and the difference their education made in their careers. Their transformational gift is their way of ensuring more students can access the same life-changing opportunities they had. Their investment will expand student success, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthen the Lerner community for generations to come.

These diverse experiences prepare Lerner graduates not only to excel in dynamic, real-world settings, but to leave with the confidence, perspective, and purpose-driven mindset to lead in whatever path they choose.

What is the most underrated feature of your undergraduate business program and how does it enhance the experience for your business majors?

Bayuk: One of the most underrated features of Lerner’s undergraduate business program is that our students are admitted directly into the business school from day one, even if they’re unsure what area of business excites them, and that early access makes a big difference.

From their very first semester, students take BUAD 110: Introduction to Business, a seminar-style course intentionally capped at 35 students per section to foster a personalized, supportive learning environment. For the one-third of students who enter as “Business Undeclared,” this course is especially impactful. We guide them through an exploration of all our majors, helping them understand what each discipline entails and what path may be right for them.

Through BUAD 110, students engage with Lerner faculty, upperclassmen, alumni, and employers. They attend networking events, panel discussions, and career fairs. They also complete a hands-on business research project in a small team, acting as advisors to real organizations. Lerner Career Services is fully integrated into the course, so students leave their first semester with a polished résumé, a professional LinkedIn profile, and confidence in their elevator pitch.

This early and comprehensive exposure gives students a head start, not only in choosing the right academic path, but in building the skills and connections that will carry them through college and into their careers. Students gain the confidence to declare a major, or even multiple majors and minors, while mastering their elevator pitch and building valuable connections. Dean Yao often emphasizes, we are committed to setting students up for long-term success, and that commitment begins on day one.

Which employers are the biggest consumers of your undergraduate talent and what have they told you about your alumni that make them so special?

Bayuk: Our top employers, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, KPMG, EY, PwC, Citi, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Marriott International, and Morgan Stanley, return year after year to recruit Lerner talent, and it’s no surprise why.

What we consistently hear is that Lerner students come to the workplace ready to contribute. They have strong technical skills, but what sets them apart is their professionalism, adaptability, and ability to communicate clearly in high-stakes environments. Employers tell us that Lerner graduates don’t just know the material, they know how to apply it, solve problems collaboratively, and take initiative.

That reputation starts with the way we structure the student experience as stated above, from early access to business courses and career services to hands-on learning through internships, student organizations, case competitions, and co-ops. Employers see the value in that, and our students rise to meet the opportunity.

What else would you like readers to know about your program?

Yao: One of Lerner’s greatest strengths is our location, it truly offers the best of both worlds. Our students enjoy a vibrant, tight-knit college campus experience here in Newark, while being just a short drive from major business and financial hubs like Wilmington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

This proximity gives our students easy access to internships, alumni connections, and industry engagement. It also makes it seamless for us to bring executives, alumni, and thought leaders to campus for panels, networking events, and career fairs, ensuring our students are constantly learning from and connecting with professionals in the field.

As Julia often emphasizes, we intentionally create high-touch, high-impact opportunities that prepare students to lead with both confidence and clarity. Our location helps us do that, by combining a rich campus life with direct access to real-world experiences and relationships that shape long-term success.

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