At more than 100 years old, the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business has a deep history steeped in innovation and high-quality undergraduate business education.
The Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia finished No. 33 on P&Q’s 2025 ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the U.S. In our three methodological categories, it finished No. 27 in Admission Standards, No. 52 in Career Outcomes, and No. 33 in Academic Experience (based solely on our alumni survey).
The B-school’s acceptance rate for the fall 2024 incoming class was 43% while its average SAT score was 1266. It has a six-year graduation rate of 96.7%.
In career data, 80% of Class of 2024 graduates and 78% of Class of 2023 grads completed at least one business-specific internship before graduation. Some 91.3% of 2024 grads found jobs within three months, compared to 92.1% of 2023 grads.
Average salary for the most recent graduates was $69,905, with 53.4% of them reporting an average signing bonus of $6,286.
Founded as the School of Commerce in 1912 and awarding its first bachelor of science in commerce in 1915, Terry was the first business school founded in the southern United States. While the school’s age is dated, the innovation coming from the school is not.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT
After being accepted to the University of Georgia, students may enter the Terry College as juniors. The school says students “self-select” on if they should apply to the college or not, which requires a minimum 2.6 GPA at the University of Georgia, three required prerequisite courses, a purpose statement, and passing a proficiency profile exam.
Once in the program, all students must complete Financial Management, Principles of Marketing, and Principles of Management in their first semester. By the end of the second semester, they must also complete Predictive Modeling and Optimization, the school’s required course in business analytics.
Students may also choose their major upon entrance and begin working towards the 30 required hours of Terry-specific courses to graduate. The University of Georgia is the largest university to require all undergraduate students to complete an experiential learning requirement.
Through service-learning projects, consulting work, and executive education programs, Terry students gain hands-on experience while making a real impact. In the past year alone, they worked on 174 service-learning projects, 101 consulting projects, and helped train 3,500 business leaders through executive education programs.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS & INNOVATIONS
A substantial addition is the online BBA. Designed as a finishing degree, faculty teaching online are the same residential Terry faculty. The program has also significantly increased the number of online courses available for traditional students.
The “Double Dawg” program makes it even easier to earn a master’s degree, allowing students to take up to 12 hours of graduate coursework that counts toward both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a network of more than 75,000 alumni, students also get direct access to mentorship, classroom speakers, student club involvement, and career advice from successful graduates.
In the past few years, Terry has made some big moves in expanding its global reach and focus on emerging trends. New courses and study abroad programs in Tel Aviv and Scandinavia expose students to international entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. Students interested in sustainability, information security, or global business now have more options than ever, thanks to new internship programs in South Korea and Chile and a case study partnership with the University of Liverpool.
Terry recently launched two major initiatives in innovation and analytics. The Innovation Initiative helps students understand how emerging technologies are shaping business. A new course, Business, Systems, and Technology Innovation (BUSN 4400), explores how business models, systems, and tech influence industries. Several existing courses have been updated to include AI, data science, machine learning, and cybersecurity, with future plans to establish a Center for Business Innovation to support even more research and programming.
The Analytics Initiative ensures students develop strong data skills that are in high demand. The newly introduced Area of Emphasis (AoE) in Business Analytics offers specialized courses in R, Python, and SQL, giving students the tools they need to analyze and interpret data effectively. The school also launched the M. Douglas & V. Kay Ivester Institute for Business Analytics and Insights (IIBAI) to advance research and help students stay on top of the latest industry trends.
For students with an entrepreneurial mindset, the UGA Entrepreneurship Program provides hands-on experiences for those looking to start their own businesses. The Launch Pad living-learning community gives students a dedicated co-working space, mentorship opportunities, and access to the Four Athens Tech Incubator and Society of Entrepreneurs—plus some fun perks like stocked snacks, a 3D printer, and comfortable workspaces.
ALUMNI SAY
“I was a member of Terry’s Institute for Leadership Advancement. This two-year leadership program was instrumental in developing strong relationships, preparing me for my career, and connecting me with my first job out of college. I also participated in the “Deer Run Fellows” program, an immersive leadership program sponsored by a former Coca-Cola executive (Doug Ivester). This experience was very unique and special, as it taught several real-world lessons about leadership and choices.”
“Taught me how to research, write, and study topics I was interested in. I learned what industry I did or didn’t want to go into after graduation. It led me to go get a masters degree directly after graduating and helped my application.”
“Terry was a fantastic institution. I got a great job at a multi-billion dollar tech company right after graduation. I was much more prepared than my colleagues because of Terry. Terry set me up for success with amazing professors, classes, rigorous tests/projects, and valuable lessons.”
“Terry was a good platform for learning the soft skills that would help elevate me in my career. Excel is maybe the most important thing you can learn, as it is instrumental in your success in a business setting. As far as industry knowledge, I felt as though my major was somewhat pigeonholed into personal lines insurance, and did not really expand into the world of commercial insurance or risk compliance. I had to learn a lot of that on the job.”
