2025 Best Business Schools | How Alumni Rate Their Undergraduate Business Degrees

best undergraduate business programs

University of Virginia, McIntire School alumni gave their school the highest marks for the soft skills they learned in the business program, tied with Texas Christian University.
Photo by Amanda Maglione

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

We asked alumni to rate their program’s effectiveness at instilling both soft and business skills:

  • How would you rate the opportunities given to you in the business program to nurture and improve your soft skills in business (verbal and written communication skills, adaptability, delegation, time management, etc.)?
  • How well did the extra-curricular opportunities offered to you in the business program nurture and improve your skills in business?
How would you rate the opportunities given to you in the business program to nurture and improve your soft skills in business (verbal and written communication skills, adaptability, delegation, time management, etc.)?
2025 Overall Rank School Soft Skills Development
28 Texas Christian University (Neeley) 9.7
4 University of Virginia (McIntire) 9.7
2 Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) 9.5
23 Indiana University (Kelley) 9.5
27 Trinity University (Neidorff) 9.5
19 University of Illinois (Gies) 9.5
51 Bryant University 9.4
25 Bucknell University (Freeman) 9.4
48 Butler University (Lacy) 9.4
29 Fordham University (Gabelli) 9.4
15 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) 9.4
73 Iona University (LaPenta) 9.4
45 Miami University (Farmer) 9.4
30 Southern Methodist University (Cox) 9.4
4 Georgetown University (McDonough) 9.3
7 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) 9.3
34 University of Pittsburgh 9.3
17 University of Richmond (Robins) 9.3
3 University of Southern California (Marshall) 9.3
20 William & Mary (Mason) 9.3
31 Binghamton University 9.2
72 Hult International Business School 9.2
84 University of Mary Washington 9.2
58 University of New Hampshire (Paul) 9.2
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 9.2
70 University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) 9.2
76 Marian University (Indianapolis) 9.1
5 New York University (Stern) 9.1
35 Tulane University (Freeman) 9.1
49 University of Dayton 9.1
40 University of Houston (Bauer) 9.1
86 University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) 9.1
18 Wake Forest University 9.1
6 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 9.1
47 Brigham Young University (Marriott) 9.0
92 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) 9.0
11 University of Michigan (Ross) 9.0
24 University of Minnesota (Carlson) 9.0
9 University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 9.0
12 Villanova University 9.0
16 Boston University (Questrom) 8.9
65 Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) 8.9
38 Elon University (Love) 8.9
26 Lehigh University 8.9
13 Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) 8.9
50 Texas A&M University (Mays) 8.9
95 University of Akron 8.9
33 University of Georgia (Terry) 8.9
54 University of Tennessee (Haslam) 8.9
8 Emory University (Goizueta) 8.8
61 Florida Southern College (Barnett) 8.8
43 Providence College 8.8
91 Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) 8.8
53 The College of New Jersey 8.8
52 University of Delaware (Lerner) 8.8
21 University of Miami (Herbert) 8.8
87 University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) 8.8
42 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 8.8
68 Michigan State University (Broad) 8.7
79 Ohio University 8.7
63 University of Connecticut 8.7
57 University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) 8.7
32 University of Washington (Foster) 8.7
22 University of Wisconsin-Madison 8.7
93 American University (Kogod) 8.6
10 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) 8.6
37 Fairfield University (Dolan) 8.6
59 Hofstra University (Zarb) 8.6
55 Loyola Marymount University 8.6
98 Northern Illinois University 8.6
36 Purdue University (Daniels) 8.6
39 Syracuse University (Whitman) 8.6
75 Texas State University (McCoy) 8.6
81 University of Denver (Daniels) 8.6
41 University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) 8.6
83 Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) 8.5
82 Ithaca College 8.5
85 Sacred Heart University 8.5
89 Texas Tech University (Rawls) 8.5
88 Florida International University 8.4
78 Roger Williams University (Gabelli) 8.4
71 University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) 8.4
62 University of St. Thomas (Opus) 8.4
96 Oregon State University 8.3
56 University of San Diego (Knauss) 8.3
60 Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) 8.2
44 Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick 8.2
80 Rutgers Business School – Newark 8.2
67 Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) 8.2
97 San Jose State University (Lucas) 8.2
64 St. John’s University (Tobin) 8.2
69 Drexel University (LeBow) 8.2
104 Kennesaw State University (Coles) 8.0
74 Towson University 8.0
100 University of Kansas 8.0
99 Iowa State University (Ivy) 7.9
46 Lipscomb University 7.9
66 Seton Hall University (Stillman) 7.9
77 Seattle University (Albers) 7.7
94 University of Kentucky (Gatton) 7.6
90 University of Michigan-Dearborn 7.6
101 San Diego State University (Fowler) 7.4
102 Adelphi University (Willumstad) 7.0
103 University of Texas at Arlington 4.7

 

How well did the extra-curricular opportunities offered to you in the business program nurture and improve your skills in business?
2025 Overall Rank School Extracurriculars
28 Texas Christian University (Neeley) 9.7
19 University of Illinois (Gies) 9.7
23 Indiana University (Kelley) 9.6
3 University of Southern California (Marshall) 9.5
4 Georgetown University (McDonough) 9.4
45 Miami University (Farmer) 9.4
34 University of Pittsburgh 9.4
86 University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) 9.4
2 Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) 9.3
15 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) 9.2
30 Southern Methodist University (Cox) 9.2
58 University of New Hampshire (Paul) 9.2
17 University of Richmond (Robins) 9.2
5 New York University (Stern) 9.1
21 University of Miami (Herbert) 9.1
7 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) 9.1
6 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 9.1
31 Binghamton University 9.0
29 Fordham University (Gabelli) 9.0
73 Iona University (LaPenta) 9.0
68 Michigan State University (Broad) 9.0
49 University of Dayton 9.0
33 University of Georgia (Terry) 9.0
40 University of Houston (Bauer) 9.0
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 9.0
4 University of Virginia (McIntire) 9.0
20 William & Mary (Mason) 9.0
51 Bryant University 8.9
48 Butler University (Lacy) 8.9
38 Elon University (Love) 8.9
50 Texas A&M University (Mays) 8.9
11 University of Michigan (Ross) 8.9
54 University of Tennessee (Haslam) 8.9
10 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) 8.8
59 Hofstra University (Zarb) 8.8
24 University of Minnesota (Carlson) 8.8
52 University of Delaware (Lerner) 8.7
9 University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 8.7
22 University of Wisconsin-Madison 8.7
12 Villanova University 8.7
18 Wake Forest University 8.7
47 Brigham Young University (Marriott) 8.6
25 Bucknell University (Freeman) 8.6
8 Emory University (Goizueta) 8.6
53 The College of New Jersey 8.6
41 University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) 8.6
87 University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) 8.6
57 University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) 8.6
16 Boston University (Questrom) 8.5
65 Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) 8.5
72 Hult International Business School 8.5
26 Lehigh University 8.5
79 Ohio University 8.5
36 Purdue University (Daniels) 8.5
27 Trinity University (Neidorff) 8.5
35 Tulane University (Freeman) 8.5
95 University of Akron 8.5
63 University of Connecticut 8.5
70 University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) 8.5
32 University of Washington (Foster) 8.5
37 Fairfield University (Dolan) 8.4
76 Marian University (Indianapolis) 8.4
13 Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) 8.4
96 Oregon State University 8.4
43 Providence College 8.4
67 Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) 8.4
64 St. John’s University (Tobin) 8.4
39 Syracuse University (Whitman) 8.4
84 University of Mary Washington 8.4
56 University of San Diego (Knauss) 8.4
83 Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) 8.3
88 Florida International University 8.3
82 Ithaca College 8.3
60 Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) 8.3
44 Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick 8.3
91 Saint Joseph’s University (Haub) 8.3
89 Texas Tech University (Rawls) 8.3
71 University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) 8.3
61 Florida Southern College (Barnett) 8.2
55 Loyola Marymount University 8.2
98 Northern Illinois University 8.2
80 Rutgers Business School – Newark 8.2
85 Sacred Heart University 8.2
75 Texas State University (McCoy) 8.2
69 Drexel University (LeBow) 8.2
93 American University (Kogod) 8.1
78 Roger Williams University (Gabelli) 8.1
81 University of Denver (Daniels) 7.9
100 University of Kansas 7.9
62 University of St. Thomas (Opus) 7.9
42 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7.9
104 Kennesaw State University (Coles) 7.8
97 San Jose State University (Lucas) 7.8
66 Seton Hall University (Stillman) 7.8
99 Iowa State University (Ivy) 7.7
92 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) 7.7
46 Lipscomb University 7.6
94 University of Kentucky (Gatton) 7.6
77 Seattle University (Albers) 7.5
74 Towson University 7.4
90 University of Michigan-Dearborn 7.0
101 San Diego State University (Fowler) 6.8
102 Adelphi University (Willumstad) 5.3
103 University of Texas at Arlington 4.7

OVERALL EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION? (Page 1)
WAS THE DEGREE WORTH THE TIME AND COST? (Page 2)
FACULTY QUALITY & ACCESSIBILITY (Page 3)
ADVISING QUALITY (Page 4)
BUILDING A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK (Page 5)
CLIMBING THE LADDER (Page 6)
CAREER OUTCOMES (Page 7)
SKILL DEVELOPMENT (Page 8)
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE (Page 9)

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