Poets&Quants Top Business Schools

Indiana University Kelley School of Business

#14

Contact Georgina Hannah with any questions. Profile updated: January 24, 2024.

School Data

Tuition & Fees In-State: $113,375*

Tuition & Fees Out-of-State: $266,448*

Average Salary: $76,705

Graduates With Jobs 90 Days After Graduation: 98%

When do students declare their majors: Freshman Year

International: 6%

Minority: 15%

Acceptance Rate: 35%

Average SAT: 1,444

Average ACT: 32

Average GPA: 4.18

HS Class Top Ten: 64%**

*The total tuition and fees for the most recent graduating class. This does not include books, room, or board.

** HS Class Top Ten is the percent of the student population that graduated high school in the top ten percent of their class.

*** Please note that these statistics are provided for the business school major only whenever possible. If a school does not track these statistics separately, then the university-wide statistics are provided.

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.”

Contact Information

Location:
Undergraduate Admissions
1309 E. Tenth Street, HH2030
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-1701
Admissions Office:
812-855-4474
School Social Media:

From the Kelley School of Business:

At the Kelley School of Business, we turn promising students into the finest professionals. And we do it in a way that only we can. It’s the reason our undergraduate program is ranked No. 1 among public universities and No. 4 overall by Bloomberg Businessweek.

You’ll have every opportunity to zero in on your interests, master the fundamentals and intricacies of business, develop impressive communication and presentation skills, and get real business world experience—even as a freshman.

Our undergraduate students have the talent to succeed, the humility to grow and the tenacity to persevere. They develop the emotional intelligence and professional habits required for a successful—and rewarding—career.

The result? You’ll be ready to turn critical moments into lasting career momentum.

DISCOVER YOUR POSSIBILITIES

A Kelley education will challenge you and shape your future. Through our innovative curriculum, you will gain hands-on experience in marketing, finance, operations, management, ethics and global business—regardless of your major (and we have 18 of them).

Our faculty, staff, alumni and students will guide and support you as you discover your talents, strengths and opportunities.

Signature programs at Kelley include:

Kelley Compass, a three-course professional development program, will define your values, build your personal brand, and refine your teamwork and leadership abilities.

Global Foundations Core will teach you how to analyze and interpret the influences that drive the global economy. The course culminates with an optional international trip that enables you to apply new skills to local companies. Sixty-one percent of our students participate in 59 study abroad programs.

I-Core—a Kelley rite of passage—was pioneered by our faculty in 1964. It encompasses four classes and a 10-day intensive real world business case experience during your third year that test how far you’ve come since your freshman year.

 

LAUNCH YOUR CAREER

Your Kelley moments will transform you into a confident, skilled professional who can succeed anywhere. Your career options will be many—95 percent of new graduates report full-time employment within 90 days of graduation.

This success starts with preparation. That’s the specialty of our Undergraduate Career Services Office (UCSO), ranked No. 1 for career advising among top 50 schools. The expert UCSO career coaches will work with you to identify your ideal internship and career, create an effective resume, give an authentic and impressive interview, and more.

BUILD YOUR NETWORK

When you join Kelley, you join our family of more than 100,000 alumni—a powerful global network of business connections who share your business school background and help look out for your future. Kelley grads are leaders at Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, P&G, Kraft, EY, and Whirlpool, as well as successful entrepreneurs.

PLAN A VISIT

See firsthand how Kelley can take you from moment to momentum, and explore what it’s like to be a business student at the quintessential Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana. Plan your visit.