Parts of this profile may have been updated by AI and edited by Poets&Quants.
The Mason School of Business at William & Mary finished at No. 24 on our 2026 ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the U.S.
In our three methodological categories, the Virginia-based business school scored highest in Admissions Standards, where it also placed No. 24. It also finished 38th in Career Outcomes and 29th in Academic Experience, as measured by our alumni survey. The acceptance rate for the latest incoming class was 24.9%. The class’ average SAT score was 1,412, and the school reports a 6-year graduation rate of 88%.
In career data, 91% of the Class of 2025 completed internships before graduation. Some 93.9% of 2025 job-seeking graduates found full-time positions within three months of graduation. Average starting salary for 2025 graduates was $84,963, with 39% reporting an average signing bonus of $8,293. Top employers for the Class of 2025 included EY, Deloitte, J.P. Morgan Chase, MUFG, Accenture, RBC Capital Markets, KPMG, Freddie Mac, and Amazon.
THE MASON CURRICULUM
The Mason experience is characterized best by its personalized curriculum design, a strong community of support, and plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning. Mason’s education is highly customizable and designed to cater to individual goals and interests.
The Individual Program of Study (IPS) allows students to either major or minor in business, double major or minor within the Arts & Sciences, or study two different business fields through a concentration. Available majors for Mason undergraduates are Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, and Marketing. Students can also add concentrations in areas including Accounting, Business Analytics, Consulting, Finance, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Management & Organizational Leadership, Marketing, Supply Chain Analytics, and Sustainability.
All Mason undergrads take the Core Curriculum, which is structured by prerequisites, an Integrated Foundation Semester, and upper-level core courses. The Boehly Center for Excellence in Finance enhances students’ financial expertise through firm-sponsored competitions, industry-led courses, networking opportunities, and alumni mentorship. Its signature programming includes From DoG Street to Wall Street and the Bianca Caragliano Stock Pitch. Advisory boards across business disciplines help shape the curriculum and career readiness initiatives.
True to William & Mary’s emphasis on a well-rounded education, students are encouraged to double major or minor outside the business school to broaden their perspectives. Global learning is also a hallmark of the experience: Mason encourages every student to incorporate an international experience into the IPS and provides curricular sequencing so students can study abroad for a semester without delaying graduation.
The school also offers students additional enrichment through the William & Mary Entrepreneurship Hub, the Ukrop Studio for Innovation and Design, and a Summer Business Administration Minor that can be completed in one summer.
HANDS-ON LEARNING
The William & Mary Entrepreneurship Hub, promotes entrepreneurial thinking and problem-solving across disciplines. Mason students also gain practical experience through student organizations, case competitions, and hands-on opportunities such as the student-run Mason Investment Fund.
“The William & Mary Entrepreneurship Center was a game-changer,” one alum told us in the alumni survey. “It provided broad guidance into entrepreneurial thinking and empowered me to have a head start in the working world compared to my peers. It also enabled me to find the job of my dreams at Oracle and provide the continuing support to co-found my own entrepreneurial venture.
I am continually thankful I had the life-changing experience of W&M’s business education broadly and the entrepreneurship center specifically to set me on my current trajectory.”
ALUMNI SAY
“I felt that each class provided real-world cases and each professor was able to illustrate how a situation would take place in an actual job setting. Very hands on and group cultured, much like an MBA.”
“During the management consulting class, we got to work on a project for a real client. During that presentation, I ended up meeting an executive partner who would hire beyond their firm. The management consulting project that I was on ended up changing my life for the better!”
“My professors were all passionate, experienced, and devoted to student successes. In my job application process, my employer was thoroughly impressed by my William & Mary business education, and with the skills that I had before graduation.”
“The best part about William & Mary business degree was being able to pair it with a liberal arts education. Almost everyone I knew did a minor or a double major with a different department in liberal arts which was very enriching in addition to a business curriculum. I studies marketing at my major and got all the tactical and analytical skills of a business degree, and then sociology as my minor to understand society and its motivations.”
“I believe Mason at W&M was a perfect balance of excellence in learning fundamentals, preparation for practice, and a fun student life experience.”
