Poets&Quants Top Business Schools

University of Illinois Gies College Of Business

#15

Contact Georgina Hannah with any questions. Profile updated: October 23, 2024.

Contact Information

Location:
515 E Gregory Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820
Admissions Office:
217-244-2595

Tuition & Fees In-State: $164,504*

Tuition & Fees Out-of-State: $242,344*

Average Salary: $79,798

Graduates With Jobs 90 Days After Graduation: 95%

International: 13%

Minority: 17%

First generation college students: 20%

When do students declare their majors: Sophomore Year

Acceptance Rate: 24%

Average SAT: 1,424

Average ACT: 32

Average GPA: 3.869

HS Class Top Ten: 64%**

*The total cost of the degree over four years for the most recent graduating class inclusive of school fees, room, board, or living expenses.

** 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 Gies College of Business of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign placed at No. 15 in the 2023 rankings this year – just a few places lower than last year, breaking their few-year streak at No. 12. The B-School is still up there in the top 15, and overall, their strongest of the three methodological categories was in Academic Experience, where they landed at No. 9.

For those looking for a B-school education that emphasizes cross-functional collaboration and a tight-knit community of support, the Gies College definitely merits consideration. Like other major state universities listed on our ranking, Gies provides a top-notch business education and true university experience in a college town.

Gies’s program has become progressively more selective year after year. This year, the acceptance rate was 24.17% for the incoming class as compared to last year’s 26.96%. Their average SAT scores have also been climbing each year – with an average score of 1423.5 for the incoming class  as compared to the previous year’s score of 1421. 

Gies graduates have strong career outcomes both on the internship and employment front. About 92% of the Class of 2023 had a business-focused internship before graduating – exactly the same as last year’s number. Career stats dropped slightly, yet a strong 94.87% of the Class of 2023 were employed full-time within three months of graduation compared to 97.33% of last year’s Class of 2022. The average starting salaries for this spring’s graduates was $79,798 compared to last year’s $73,436.

The Gies College is unique in that it is housed in a major and academically strong university but recently terminated its full-time residential MBA program. While the college does have specialized master’s programs, the iMBA and undergraduate programs are the two marquee offerings. Either way, at Gies, undergraduate business students are given opportunities to solve real-world problems by working cross-functionally and supporting one another along the way in an environment that fosters inclusiveness, collaboration, and intellectual curiosity.

CURRICULUM

Gies students usually declare their major in their sophomore year from ten distinct majors including accounting, accountancy & data science, supply chain management, finance, information systems, finance & data science, management with a concentration (general or international), marketing, operations management, and finally the last one – strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Uniquely to Gies, first and second year students engage with a job-shadowing program with corporate partners during winter breaks.

Regardless of which major they choose, all Gies undergrads take the Business Core, a select series of courses that offer a foundation in everything, beginning with business dynamics, where they are taught to teach and engage like business leaders, then taking on real issues and recommending solutions to real clients, stretching to global business.

Gies’ thoughtfully designed academic and extracurricular programs provide students with ample opportunities to apply what they’ve learned to real client projects. Gies also excels at maintaining international partnerships with world-renowned business schools. Many students study abroad their sophomore or junior year, and others participate in one of the many short-term international programs available.

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) is best known for its prestigious engineering program. And at Gies, business students can tap into that by working alongside their engineering peers through the The Hoeft Technology & Management Program, a joint university minor within Gies College of Business and The Grainger College of Engineering. Interested students apply to the program and are chosen through a selective admissions process that includes an application and three interviews.

The Hoeft Technology & Management Program is a prime example of what makes Gies stand out as a business school. The B-school leverages the talent of the greater UIUC community to enhance the business education and offer students truly unique and collaborative learning experiences. 

Other ways to engage in extracurricular activities include the Margolis Market Information lab, where students have access to state-of-the-art finance and business data software, the iVenture Accelerator, which supports student-led startups with knowledge, funding and access to resources and alumni, and Illinois Business Consulting, the largest student-run university consulting organization in the country. Case competitions are also staple in the program – each designed to address unique business challenges and provide students with opportunities to prepare and present as professionals.

SUPPORTIVE NETWORK

While UIUC is a public university of more than 30,000 undergraduate students, the Gies community is one that is tight-knit and supportive. Whether it’s through mentorship or coursework, students are supported by the Gies community throughout their four-year educational journey. 

Making connections is an integral part of business education. And while networking is not unique to Gies, it seems that the level of support that extends beyond the classroom and even beyond graduation is truly unique to the Gies community.

Alumni say: 

I worked for UIUC (immediately after graduating) for one of their experiential learning programs. Even though I was technically an employee, it was almost like spending a fifth year there after my undergrad. I was given a chance to expand my product design portfolio by working with real clients that the program brought in and that work is what gave me experience for the job I hold now.”

“Multiple short-term study opportunities, multiple capstone projects for supply chain management and technology management – gained so much valuable and tactical work experience.”

I worked with Illinois Business Consulting on various experiential learning projects that gave me hands-on experience with companies and taught me a lot about the different aspects of corporate governance and internal relationships that I have and will continue to use in my professional career.”

“Every student at the Gies College of Business will be given an opportunity to involve themselves in a capstone project. It was an enjoyable experience backed by tremendous support from alumni and upperclassmen, giving students a real feel of what the business world is like. Having been to several major fintech festivals globally, I feel like the capstone project really exposed me and prepared me well for the business world.”

“My supply chain practicum was what I learned the most from. It was one of the first times I needed to analyze big data to generate insights for a client. While I could partly rely on my technical and analytical experiences from school, it was also incredibly helpful to have the Caterpillar professionals’ mentorship and guidance as our team worked through the project. It was powerful to see firsthand how they recommended approaching the situation.”

“In one of my business classes, we did a capstone project that evaluated a current business issue for a chosen company and the task was to come up with a proposal and justification for our team’s solution. This project was important to me because it taught me many of the important critical thinking and communication skills that I use in my consulting job today.”