2026 Best Business Schools | How Alumni Rate Their Undergraduate Business Degrees

by: Kristy Bleizeffer on March 23, 2026 | 48 minute read

Friends, roommates, and family cheer on students declaring their majors during Signing Day 2025 at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business. Gies alumni rated their school highest among 110 programs on how instrumental their business degree will be in reaching their desired career.

CAREER OUTCOMES

Career outcomes are among the most important factors in choosing a business program. Our survey asks alumni a series of questions that get to the heart of the issue, including whether their first job was in their desired industry or company, how satisfied they were with their starting salary, and how much they believe their degree will help them reach their career goals.

To what extent did your first job after graduating align with your desired industry?
2026  Rank
School
Desired Industry
65 University of Evansville (Schroeder) 10.0
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 9.5
25 Southern Methodist University (Cox) 9.4
15 University of Illinois (Gies) 9.4
5 University of Southern California (Marshall) 9.3
49 University of Dayton 9.3
10 Emory University (Goizueta) 9.2
12 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) 9.2
7 Georgetown University (McDonough) 9.2
45 Marquette University 9.2
2 University of Virginia (McIntire) 9.2
9 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) 9.2
41 Fairfield University (Dolan) 9.1
53 The Catholic University of America (Busch) 9.1
4 University of Michigan (Ross) 9.1
35 Brigham Young University (Marriott) 9.1
30 Tulane University (Freeman) 9.1
11 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 9.1
3 Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) 9.0
34 Lehigh University 9.0
17 University of Richmond (Robins) 9.0
72 Adelphi University (Willumstad) 9.0
77 Christopher Newport University (Luter) 9.0
15 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) 9.0
75 Marian University (Indianapolis) 9.0
102 University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) 9.0
27 Binghamton University 9.0
8 University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 9.0
58 Seton Hall University (Stillman) 9.0
110 Kennesaw State University (Coles) 9.0
22 University of Miami (Herbert) 8.9
14 Villanova University  8.9
6 New York University (Stern) 8.9
29 Fordham University (Gabelli) 8.9
36 University of Georgia (Terry) 8.9
50 Loyola Marymount University 8.8
13 Wake Forest University  8.8
38 Bucknell University (Freeman) 8.8
33 Elon University (Love) 8.8
21 University of Wisconsin-Madison 8.8
57 Texas A&M University (Mays) 8.7
39 Miami University (Farmer) 8.7
97 Iona University (LaPenta) 8.7
43 Providence College 8.7
24 William & Mary (Mason) 8.7
80 Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) 8.6
19 University of Washington (Foster) 8.6
51 Butler University (Lacy) 8.6
83 Roger Williams University (Gabelli) 8.6
90 Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) 8.6
56 Susquehanna University (Weis) 8.6
26 University of Pittsburgh  8.5
32 Purdue University (Daniels) 8.5
67 The College of New Jersey 8.5
99 Sacred Heart University 8.5
86 University of Oregon (Lundquist) 8.5
28 Texas Christian University (Neeley) 8.5
52 University of Houston (Bauer) 8.5
88 Longwood University 8.4
108 Northern Illinois University 8.4
95 Ithaca College 8.4
107 Stony Brook University 8.4
70 St. John’s University (Tobin) 8.4
64 University of Delaware (Lerner) 8.4
18 Boston University (Questrom) 8.4
59 Bryant University 8.4
37 Syracuse University (Whitman) 8.4
46 University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) 8.4
78 University of Connecticut 8.3
63 University of New Hampshire (Paul) 8.3
101 University of Kansas  8.3
47 University of Tennessee (Haslam) 8.3
82 Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) 8.3
31 Trinity University (Neidorff) 8.3
91 Texas Tech University (Rawls) 8.3
20 Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) 8.3
79 Drexel University (LeBow) 8.2
61 University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) 8.2
66 University of St. Thomas (Opus) 8.2
68 University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) 8.2
74 Rutgers Business School – Newark 8.1
42 University of Rochester (Simon) 8.1
69 University of San Diego (Knauss) 8.1
55 Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick 8.1
93 University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) 8.1
23 University of Minnesota (Carlson) 8.0
105 Florida International University  8.0
106 Oregon State University 8.0
87 Hofstra University (Zarb) 7.9
40 University of Colorado Boulder (Leeds) 7.9
92 University of Mary Washington 7.9
71 Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) 7.9
44 Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead) 7.8
96 American University (Kogod) 7.7
94 University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) 7.7
84 Ohio University 7.6
60 North Carolina State University (Poole) 7.6
73 Towson University 7.6
81 Hult International Business School 7.5
109 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Lubar) 7.5
61 Florida Southern College (Barnett) 7.5
103 San Diego State University (Fowler) 7.4
89 Texas State University (McCoy) 7.3
104 San Jose State University (Lucas) 7.2
98 University of Michigan-Dearborn 7.2
85 University of Denver (Daniels) 6.8
48 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 6.8
76 Seattle University (Albers) 6.7
54 Lipscomb University 6.6
100 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) 4.0

 

How satisfied were you with your first job after graduating in terms of it being at a desired company?
2026  Rank
School
Job Satisfaction
31 Trinity University (Neidorff) 9.5
67 The College of New Jersey 9.4
11 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 9.4
13 Wake Forest University  9.4
15 University of Illinois (Gies) 9.4
2 University of Virginia (McIntire) 9.4
4 University of Michigan (Ross) 9.3
25 Southern Methodist University (Cox) 9.3
8 University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 9.3
27 Binghamton University 9.2
49 University of Dayton 9.2
15 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) 9.2
45 Marquette University 9.2
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 9.1
51 Butler University (Lacy) 9.1
36 University of Georgia (Terry) 9.1
30 Tulane University (Freeman) 9.1
3 Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) 9.0
9 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) 9.0
24 William & Mary (Mason) 9.0
10 Emory University (Goizueta) 9.0
63 University of New Hampshire (Paul) 9.0
72 Adelphi University (Willumstad) 9.0
33 Elon University (Love) 9.0
5 University of Southern California (Marshall) 9.0
22 University of Miami (Herbert) 9.0
14 Villanova University  9.0
41 Fairfield University (Dolan) 8.9
7 Georgetown University (McDonough) 8.9
53 The Catholic University of America (Busch) 8.9
35 Brigham Young University (Marriott) 8.9
38 Bucknell University (Freeman) 8.9
21 University of Wisconsin-Madison 8.9
57 Texas A&M University (Mays) 8.8
77 Christopher Newport University (Luter) 8.8
88 Longwood University 8.8
32 Purdue University (Daniels) 8.8
17 University of Richmond (Robins) 8.8
34 Lehigh University 8.8
83 Roger Williams University (Gabelli) 8.7
28 Texas Christian University (Neeley) 8.7
110 Kennesaw State University (Coles) 8.7
12 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) 8.7
29 Fordham University (Gabelli) 8.7
99 Sacred Heart University 8.6
56 Susquehanna University (Weis) 8.6
68 University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) 8.6
18 Boston University (Questrom) 8.6
47 University of Tennessee (Haslam) 8.6
26 University of Pittsburgh  8.5
80 Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) 8.5
66 University of St. Thomas (Opus) 8.5
59 Bryant University 8.5
6 New York University (Stern) 8.5
43 Providence College 8.5
65 University of Evansville (Schroeder) 8.5
101 University of Kansas  8.5
46 University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) 8.5
39 Miami University (Farmer) 8.5
91 Texas Tech University (Rawls) 8.5
90 Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) 8.5
75 Marian University (Indianapolis) 8.5
86 University of Oregon (Lundquist) 8.5
95 Ithaca College 8.5
52 University of Houston (Bauer) 8.4
61 University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) 8.4
50 Loyola Marymount University 8.4
37 Syracuse University (Whitman) 8.4
23 University of Minnesota (Carlson) 8.4
70 St. John’s University (Tobin) 8.4
64 University of Delaware (Lerner) 8.3
109 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Lubar) 8.3
19 University of Washington (Foster) 8.3
106 Oregon State University 8.3
93 University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) 8.3
102 University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) 8.3
79 Drexel University (LeBow) 8.2
82 Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) 8.2
61 Florida Southern College (Barnett) 8.2
78 University of Connecticut 8.2
96 American University (Kogod) 8.2
94 University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) 8.2
55 Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick 8.1
58 Seton Hall University (Stillman) 8.1
42 University of Rochester (Simon) 8.1
20 Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) 8.1
97 Iona University (LaPenta) 8.1
40 University of Colorado Boulder (Leeds) 8.1
60 North Carolina State University (Poole) 8.0
87 Hofstra University (Zarb) 8.0
69 University of San Diego (Knauss) 8.0
108 Northern Illinois University 8.0
105 Florida International University  7.9
74 Rutgers Business School – Newark 7.8
107 Stony Brook University 7.8
84 Ohio University 7.7
81 Hult International Business School 7.7
73 Towson University 7.7
85 University of Denver (Daniels) 7.7
89 Texas State University (McCoy) 7.6
104 San Jose State University (Lucas) 7.6
103 San Diego State University (Fowler) 7.5
98 University of Michigan-Dearborn 7.3
44 Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead) 7.2
71 Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) 7.1
54 Lipscomb University 7.0
48 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7.0
92 University of Mary Washington 6.9
76 Seattle University (Albers) 6.7
100 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) 5.3

 

How satisfied are you with your current salary post graduation?
2026  Rank
School
Salary Satisfaction
2 University of Virginia (McIntire) 9.4
3 Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) 9.3
75 Marian University (Indianapolis) 9.2
4 University of Michigan (Ross) 9.2
67 The College of New Jersey 9.1
15 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) 9.1
25 Southern Methodist University (Cox) 9.0
15 University of Illinois (Gies) 9.0
11 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 9.0
7 Georgetown University (McDonough) 9.0
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 9.0
8 University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 8.9
10 Emory University (Goizueta) 8.9
38 Bucknell University (Freeman) 8.9
9 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) 8.9
24 William & Mary (Mason) 8.9
12 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) 8.8
72 Adelphi University (Willumstad) 8.8
28 Texas Christian University (Neeley) 8.8
65 University of Evansville (Schroeder) 8.7
35 Brigham Young University (Marriott) 8.7
49 University of Dayton 8.7
27 Binghamton University 8.6
34 Lehigh University 8.6
17 University of Richmond (Robins) 8.6
41 Fairfield University (Dolan) 8.6
57 Texas A&M University (Mays) 8.6
45 Marquette University 8.6
30 Tulane University (Freeman) 8.5
56 Susquehanna University (Weis) 8.5
5 University of Southern California (Marshall) 8.5
36 University of Georgia (Terry) 8.5
63 University of New Hampshire (Paul) 8.5
43 Providence College 8.4
90 Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) 8.4
59 Bryant University 8.4
53 The Catholic University of America (Busch) 8.4
13 Wake Forest University  8.4
6 New York University (Stern) 8.4
77 Christopher Newport University (Luter) 8.4
32 Purdue University (Daniels) 8.3
14 Villanova University  8.3
58 Seton Hall University (Stillman) 8.3
66 University of St. Thomas (Opus) 8.3
29 Fordham University (Gabelli) 8.2
26 University of Pittsburgh  8.2
78 University of Connecticut 8.2
21 University of Wisconsin-Madison 8.2
70 St. John’s University (Tobin) 8.2
68 University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) 8.2
33 Elon University (Love) 8.2
99 Sacred Heart University 8.2
80 Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) 8.2
31 Trinity University (Neidorff) 8.1
93 University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) 8.1
39 Miami University (Farmer) 8.1
83 Roger Williams University (Gabelli) 8.1
64 University of Delaware (Lerner) 8.1
22 University of Miami (Herbert) 8.1
88 Longwood University 8.1
91 Texas Tech University (Rawls) 8.1
52 University of Houston (Bauer) 8.1
110 Kennesaw State University (Coles) 8.1
23 University of Minnesota (Carlson) 8.0
18 Boston University (Questrom) 8.0
55 Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick 8.0
46 University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) 8.0
101 University of Kansas  7.9
84 Ohio University 7.9
20 Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) 7.9
47 University of Tennessee (Haslam) 7.9
92 University of Mary Washington 7.9
40 University of Colorado Boulder (Leeds) 7.8
19 University of Washington (Foster) 7.8
81 Hult International Business School 7.8
61 University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) 7.8
82 Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) 7.8
42 University of Rochester (Simon) 7.8
108 Northern Illinois University 7.7
109 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Lubar) 7.7
106 Oregon State University 7.7
71 Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) 7.7
86 University of Oregon (Lundquist) 7.6
95 Ithaca College 7.6
37 Syracuse University (Whitman) 7.6
61 Florida Southern College (Barnett) 7.6
89 Texas State University (McCoy) 7.6
96 American University (Kogod) 7.6
60 North Carolina State University (Poole) 7.6
50 Loyola Marymount University 7.6
105 Florida International University  7.5
69 University of San Diego (Knauss) 7.5
97 Iona University (LaPenta) 7.5
85 University of Denver (Daniels) 7.4
107 Stony Brook University 7.4
51 Butler University (Lacy) 7.4
103 San Diego State University (Fowler) 7.4
87 Hofstra University (Zarb) 7.3
79 Drexel University (LeBow) 7.3
104 San Jose State University (Lucas) 7.3
94 University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) 7.2
74 Rutgers Business School – Newark 7.1
54 Lipscomb University 7.1
48 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7.1
73 Towson University 7.0
102 University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) 6.8
44 Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead) 6.7
98 University of Michigan-Dearborn 6.6
76 Seattle University (Albers) 6.4
100 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) 4.0

 

How instrumental do you believe your business degree will be in reaching your desired career?
2026  Rank
School
Desired Career
15 University of Illinois (Gies) 9.4
15 Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) 9.4
24 William & Mary (Mason) 9.4
4 University of Michigan (Ross) 9.3
2 University of Virginia (McIntire) 9.3
72 Adelphi University (Willumstad) 9.3
88 Longwood University 9.3
41 Fairfield University (Dolan) 9.3
25 Southern Methodist University (Cox) 9.3
30 Tulane University (Freeman) 9.2
10 Emory University (Goizueta) 9.2
53 The Catholic University of America (Busch) 9.2
17 University of Richmond (Robins) 9.2
99 Sacred Heart University 9.2
109 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Lubar) 9.2
49 University of Dayton 9.2
7 Georgetown University (McDonough) 9.1
61 Florida Southern College (Barnett) 9.1
45 Marquette University 9.1
1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 9.1
11 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 9.1
91 Texas Tech University (Rawls) 9.1
83 Roger Williams University (Gabelli) 9.1
9 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) 9.1
5 University of Southern California (Marshall) 9.0
56 Susquehanna University (Weis) 9.0
38 Bucknell University (Freeman) 9.0
43 Providence College 9.0
65 University of Evansville (Schroeder) 9.0
22 University of Miami (Herbert) 9.0
102 University of the Pacific (Eberhardt) 8.9
63 University of New Hampshire (Paul) 8.9
75 Marian University (Indianapolis) 8.9
28 Texas Christian University (Neeley) 8.9
57 Texas A&M University (Mays) 8.8
26 University of Pittsburgh  8.8
27 Binghamton University 8.8
3 Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) 8.8
36 University of Georgia (Terry) 8.8
8 University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 8.8
58 Seton Hall University (Stillman) 8.8
59 Bryant University 8.8
77 Christopher Newport University (Luter) 8.8
105 Florida International University  8.8
50 Loyola Marymount University 8.7
67 The College of New Jersey 8.7
29 Fordham University (Gabelli) 8.7
6 New York University (Stern) 8.7
32 Purdue University (Daniels) 8.7
21 University of Wisconsin-Madison 8.7
52 University of Houston (Bauer) 8.7
19 University of Washington (Foster) 8.7
51 Butler University (Lacy) 8.7
82 Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) 8.7
14 Villanova University  8.7
35 Brigham Young University (Marriott) 8.7
33 Elon University (Love) 8.6
39 Miami University (Farmer) 8.6
40 University of Colorado Boulder (Leeds) 8.6
92 University of Mary Washington 8.6
66 University of St. Thomas (Opus) 8.6
47 University of Tennessee (Haslam) 8.6
90 Bowling Green State University (Schmidthorst) 8.6
87 Hofstra University (Zarb) 8.6
78 University of Connecticut 8.6
13 Wake Forest University  8.5
64 University of Delaware (Lerner) 8.5
81 Hult International Business School 8.5
34 Lehigh University 8.5
74 Rutgers Business School – Newark 8.5
101 University of Kansas  8.5
93 University of North Carolina-Wilmington (Cameron) 8.5
69 University of San Diego (Knauss) 8.4
31 Trinity University (Neidorff) 8.4
108 Northern Illinois University 8.4
68 University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) 8.4
89 Texas State University (McCoy) 8.3
18 Boston University (Questrom) 8.3
55 Rutgers Business School – New Brunswick 8.3
80 Saint Louis University (Chaifetz) 8.3
37 Syracuse University (Whitman) 8.3
20 Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim) 8.3
70 St. John’s University (Tobin) 8.2
23 University of Minnesota (Carlson) 8.2
61 University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) 8.2
84 Ohio University 8.2
79 Drexel University (LeBow) 8.1
107 Stony Brook University 8.1
46 University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Isenberg) 8.1
97 Iona University (LaPenta) 8.1
103 San Diego State University (Fowler) 8.1
76 Seattle University (Albers) 8.1
104 San Jose State University (Lucas) 8.0
12 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) 7.9
86 University of Oregon (Lundquist) 7.9
73 Towson University 7.9
110 Kennesaw State University (Coles) 7.9
95 Ithaca College 7.8
42 University of Rochester (Simon) 7.8
98 University of Michigan-Dearborn 7.7
106 Oregon State University 7.7
96 American University (Kogod) 7.7
60 North Carolina State University (Poole) 7.4
85 University of Denver (Daniels) 7.4
48 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7.4
94 University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal) 7.4
71 Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) 7.3
44 Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead) 7.1
54 Lipscomb University 7.1
100 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) 7.0

 

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