The Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas finished No. 62 on Poets&Quants’ 2025 ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the U.S. In our three methodological categories, it finished No. 73 in Admission Standards, No. 50 in Career Outcomes, and No. 75 in Academic Experience (based solely on our alumni survey).
The B-school’s acceptance rate for the fall 2024 incoming class was 82%, and the class also reported an average SAT score of 1240. Its six-year graduation rate is 77.1%.
In career data, 81.3% of Class of 2024 graduates and 86.2% of Class of 2023 grads completed at least one business-specific internship before graduation. Some 97.1% of 2024 grads found jobs within three months, compared to 97.2% of 2023 grads.
Average salary for the most recent graduates was $62,608, with 48.2% of them reporting an average signing bonus of $8,052. The top employers included UnitedHealth Group, Ecolab, Ameriprise Financial, PwC, U.S. Bank, Lockton, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, and Polaris.
REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS
The Opus College of Business is built on principled leadership and social responsibility, integrating these values into coursework, experiential learning, and the school’s broader mission. A defining feature of the curriculum is the required Service Learning experience for all business majors, reinforcing the school’s commitment to ethical business practices and the common good. This focus extends beyond one requirement – students explore stakeholder impact, sustainability, and ethical leadership throughout their coursework.
For the requirement, students work with a non-profit organization to understand the impact of social responsibility. Collectively, students provide an average of over 28,000 hours of volunteer service to over 300 nonprofit organizations each year.
Opus also emphasizes collaboration and application-based learning. Students engage in real-world projects, working with businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government institutions. These experiences give students hands-on exposure to business challenges, enhancing both technical and interpersonal skills before graduation.
Opus College offers a quality real-world education that emphasizes team-based project work and service-learning. Opus business majors can choose from the following concentrations: Accounting, Business Communication, Entrepreneurship, Finance, General Business, Human Resources, International Business, Leadership & Management, Law & Compliance, Marketing, and Operations & Supply Chain Management. The B-school recently introduced a new co-concentration in Business Analytics that can be added to students’ business major concentration.
The core business curriculum at Opus College includes a variety of fundamental business courses with the addition of unique courses such as “Working Skillfully in Organizations” and “Business for the Common Good.”
RECENT INNOVATIONS
A major driver of curriculum enhancements at Opus has been its “Business in a Digital World” initiative, which introduces students to emerging business technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual reality, and data analytics. This initiative has led to the creation of specialized certificates and minors, giving students an edge in tech-driven industries.
One of the fastest-growing offerings is the Business Analytics minor, now the largest minor on campus with over 350 students annually. This program attracts both business and non-business majors, reflecting the growing demand for data-driven decision-making across all industries.
ALUMNI SAY
“It was important as a student to bring our knowledge from in the classroom and apply it to the real world to help others. How concepts in textbooks played out in an actual company or non-profit organization is very different from each other. I felt it was important to participate in our community before graduation. I valued the experience to work with non-profits and gain those connections with others.”
“The marketing degree capstone was to create a marketing plan for a local small business in need. It was important to my team as this was a true company looking for a plan. It wasn’t a made up story. I felt like we were doing something for the better.”
“In my Operations capstone, we engaged in a simulation where we ran a juice company with a group of peers. We each had different roles within the company and were able to learn how one person‘s decisions affected the rest of the company. It forced us to think critically about the decisions we made and take into account various internal and external factors that affected our business while also teaching us the hard skills of demand planning and forecasting.”
“I am very satisfied with the quality of my business degree from the University of St. Thomas. As someone who came from a low income family background, none of my parents knew anything about business. I knew nothing about business. As a matter of fact, I came into college thinking I would only major in one concentration. Interestingly enough, I graduated with three concentrations in Human Resources, Business Communication, and legal Studies in Business. ”
“A business degree, more so than any other degree, is what you make of it. The best thing UST did was give students the resources and opportunities to take advantage of. It is up to the students to do so.”
