The United States is home to hundreds of outstanding universities, many of which excel in the field of Business. MBA courses remain very popular choices for graduate school, but equally, there are many who choose to major in Business or Business Administration during their undergraduate studies.
There are many different organizations which publish annual rankings by subject areas, including US News and World Report, Times Higher Education and Forbes.
All are slightly different, but the following 10 universities tend to feature regularly in rankings of top business schools and can therefore be considered ten of the best schools for business education in the US.
Table of Contents
School #1: University of Pennsylvania
School #4: University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
School #6: University of Texas at Austin
School #7: University of Southern California (USC)
School #8: New York University
School #10: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Other Business Universities in the USA
How Kings Can Help You Study Business at a Top US University
School #1: University of Pennsylvania
One of the world-famous Ivy League schools, the University of Pennsylvania is a private institution that was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1740.
Image source: University of Pennsylvania - the Wharton School
As the world’s first collegiate business school, the university’s Wharton School delivers some of the best business programs globally and is one of the largest and most-published business school faculties. It was ranked #1 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business Schools category for 2022-23, and also in Niche’s rankings of Best Colleges for Business in America. It also consistently ranks in the top 5 Business Schools in the US by Forbes.
Founded in 1881, Wharton now comprises 10 academic departments including Accounting, Business Economics and Public Policy, Finance, Healthcare Management, Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Management, Marketing and Statistics.
Unsurprisingly, Wharton students can expect to earn some of the highest starting salaries of any MBA graduates.
Location
Philadelphia
Tuition
Tuition and fees at the University of Pennsylvania are $63,452 (taken from U.S. News and World Report)
Acceptance Rate
University of Pennsylvania admissions is highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 6% (taken from U.S. News and World Report).
School #2: Harvard University
Located outside Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University is made up of 13 schools and institutes, including the top-ranked Business School. Part of the prestigious Ivy League, it is a highly selective private institution that was founded in 1636.
Image source: Harvard University Business School
In addition to offering some of the best business programs in the world, Harvard Business School boasts its own unique history and outreach efforts. The first MBA program in the world was started at Harvard in 1908.
Global research centers affiliated with the school have been established in Japan, Europe, India, and other countries. Harvard has established a vast network of faculty members and alumni around the world that includes over 300,000 alumni in more than 200 countries.
Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition
Tuition and fees at Harvard are $57,261.
Acceptance Rate
Harvard University admissions is highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 4%.
School #3: MIT
Founded in 1861, MIT is regarded as one of the world’s premier universities.
Image source: MIT - Sloan School of Business
Like so many of its schools, MIT’s Sloan School of Management is renowned for academic excellence. It was ranked joint #5 with Harvard in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business Schools category for 2022-23.
MIT Sloan boasts 14 Action Learning Laboratories that focus on entrepreneurship, sustainability, and global health. More than 1,300 students, including undergraduates and business executives, participate in 10 academic programs. Classes are taught by approximately 200 experienced professors and lecturers.
Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition
Tuition and fees at MIT are $57,986.
Acceptance Rate
Massachusetts Institute of Technology admissions is most selective with an acceptance rate of 4% and an early acceptance rate of 4.8%
School #4: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
The University of Michigan—Ann Arbor is a public institution that was founded in 1817, and was therefore one of the first public universities in the US.
Image source: University of Michigan - Ross School of Business
UM’s Ross School of Business was established in 1924 and school currently offers degree programs that include a Bachelor of Business Administration, Management, Supply Chain Management. It was ranked #10 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business Schools category for 2022-23.
Classes are taught by 151 experienced faculty members. Enrollment figures show over 3,000 students beginning annually and the network includes 45,000 alumni in over 88 countries.
Location
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 45 minutes from Detroit
Tuition
In-state tuition and fees at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $17,786; out-of-state tuition and fees are $57,273.
Acceptance Rate
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor admissions is selective, with an acceptance rate of 20%.
School #5: University of California, Berkeley
University of California—Berkeley is a public institution that was founded in 1868. Berkeley has always been known for its progressive academic training and research initiatives. Most research is cross-disciplinary and focuses on contemporary global issues.
Image source: University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business
Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the country. Six degree programs are offered to over 2,200 students who come from around the globe. The programs and research are organized into three institutes: the Institute for Business Innovation, the Institute for Business and Social Impact, and the Energy Institute. Business school grads make up an alumni network of approximately 40,000, located all over the world.
It was ranked #2 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Undergraduate Business Schools category for 2022-23 and #8 in the Best Business Schools category.
Location
Berkeley, California
Tuition
In-state tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $14,226; out-of-state tuition and fees are $43,980.
Acceptance Rate
University of California--Berkeley admissions is most selective with an acceptance rate of 15%.
School #6: University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution that was founded in 1883. It is located on an urban campus in one of Texas' major cities.
Image source: University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business
The university’s McCombs School of Business was ranked #7 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Undergraduate Business Schools category for 2022-23. It ranked #18 in the Best Business Schools category.
It offers the following departments and concentrations: accounting, consulting, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, international business, marketing, management information systems, not-for-profit management, production/operations management, portfolio management, public policy, real estate, and supply chain management/logistics.
Location
Austin, Texas
Tuition
In-state tuition and fees at the University of Texas at Austin are $11,752; out-of-state tuition and fees are $40,996.
Acceptance Rate
University of Texas at Austin admissions is selective, with an acceptance rate of 29%.
School #7: University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private institution that was founded in 1880. The Marshall School of Business is one of the university’s many schools and colleges, and is known to emphasize entrepreneurship and innovation, collaborative research and social responsibility.
Image source: USC - Marshall School of Business
Students at the Marshall School of Business can gain full-time or part-time masters degrees in business administration; an online MBA, executive MBA, or one-year international MBA; and 10 specialized masters’ degrees, which include entrepreneurship and innovation, marketing, global supply chain management, and business analytics.
USC was a pioneer in offering entrepreneurship courses and an MBA degree (possibly due to its proximity to Silicon Valley), and Marshall was the first school to require international travel and study projects as a part of every MBA degree.
Location
The University of Southern California’s central campus, referred to as the University Park campus, is located in the Downtown Arts and Education Corridor of Los Angeles. USC has other campuses in the city, in addition to sites around Southern California and in Sacramento, and Washington, D.C.
Tuition
Tuition and fees at USC are $64,726.
Acceptance Rate
University of Southern California admissions is most selective with an acceptance rate of 13%.
School #8: New York University
New York University is a private institution that was founded in 1831. Situated in the borough of Manhattan, NYU is one of the largest degree granting institutions in the world.
Image source: New York University - Stern School of Business
The university’s Stern School of Business was ranked #12 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business Schools category for 2022-23.
The Stern degree is an MBA in general management, and students can specialize in up to three areas, such as entrepreneurship and innovation or luxury marketing. Students can also complete dual degrees, often at an accelerated pace; for example, the J.D./MBA takes four years at Stern and the NYU School of Law.
Location
New York City
Tuition
Tuition and fees at New York University are $58,168.
Acceptance Rate
New York University admissions is very selective, with an acceptance rate of 13%.
School #9: Cornell University
Cornell University is a member of the Ivy League/Ancient Eight and is described as the first truly American university because of its founders’ revolutionary egalitarian and practical vision of higher education.
Image source: Cornell University - SC Johnson College of Business
The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business unites Cornell's three business schools—the Dyson School, the Nolan School, & the Johnson School. It currently has 255 faculty, spanning eight areas of business and four interdisciplinary themes, and there are – at present - over 43,000 alumni in the SC Johnson College of Business network.
It was ranked #15 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business Schools category for 2022-23.
Location
Ithaca, New York
Tuition
Tuition and fees at Cornell University are $63,200.
Acceptance Rate
Cornell University admissions is highly selective with an acceptance rate of 9%.
School #10: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill is a public institution that was founded in 1789, and is widely considered the first public university in the nation.
Image source: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill - Kenan-Flaglar Business School
The Kenan-Flagler Business School is highly regarded and was ranked #19 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Business Schools category for 2022-23.
Location
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Tuition
In-state tuition and fees at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill are $8,998 ; out-of-state tuition and fees are $37,558.
Acceptance Rate
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill admissions is selective, with an acceptance rate of 19% and an early acceptance rate of 25.7%.
Other Business Schools in the US
The following institutions are also widely recognized for the high quality of their business programs:
- Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management (Evanston, IL)
- University of Chicago - Booth School of Business (Chicago, IL)
- Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
- Yale University - Yale School of Management (New Haven, CT)
- Columbia University - Columbia Business School (New York, NY)
- Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business (Hanover, NH)
- Duke University - Fuqua School of Business (Durham, NC)
- Indiana University - Kelley School of Business (Bloomington, IN)
- Georgetown University - Mcdonough Business School (Washington D.C)
- Washington University in St. Louis' - Olin Business School (St Louis, MI)
- University of Virginia - Darden School of Business (Charlottesville, VA)
- University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business (Notre Dame, IN)
- Vanderbilt University - Owen Business School (Nashville, TN)
- Georgia Institute of Technology - Scheller School of Business (Atlanta, GA)
- Arizona State University - W. P. Carey School of Business (Tempe, AZ)
- University of Florida - The Warrington College of Business (Gainesville, FL)
- Boston University - Questrom School of Business (Boston, MA)
Study Business at a Top University With Kings
University preparation and pathways
With Kings' Premium Universities programs in the US, international students complete the first two years of their bachelor's degree at one of our partner universities (located in Boston, New York, California, Wisconsin and Oregon), before generally transferring to complete their degree at another top ranked university.
These settings provide the optimum place for international students to start their US university degree, offering small classes, and the opportunity to study — and live — alongside American students their own age from Day One.
The extensive support and preparation that we offer also ensures that the vast majority of our students transfer to complete their degree at one of the Top 50 or Top 100 universities in the United States, which in turn then provides the perfect platform for an MBA or other graduate degree at a similarly prestigious US university.
English language programs
For those students who already have a university degree and are hoping to do an MBA in the US or the US, we offer a variety of English language programs. Options range from specialized Business English courses, to General English and Exam Preparation.
Student Stories
Meet some of the many students who have successfully progressed to top 50 universities to major in Business, and hear what they have to say about their experiences both with Kings, and at university in the United States.
"I went to Kings to get a certain course, to get a direction for how to get to my dream school. They provided me with information on how to make my educational plan, to find out what extracurricular activities I needed to do. I also went to see them to do my personal statement, to do my other essays. After graduation I will try to find a good job in a large company like Google, Apple or Microsoft, something like this. I will get one or two years of experience and then I start my own business.”
Maksim Kuznetsov won a place to study at prestigious UCLA, where he is majoring in Business Economics.
"When I first came to the US I didn't know anything about the application process and didn't even know where I wanted to go, but Kings really helped me with the whole process and got me to the university of my choice."
Larry Sukarya did his Year 1 with Kings in New York and is now at University of Southern California studying Business and Finance.
"Kings helped me get in touch with the schools, help prepare the documents and transcripts the schools require."
Xiaohan Gao from China studied on the GO: Prepared and GO: 100 programs in New York and then received university transfer offers from Brandeis University and Boston University.
“I enjoyed the small class size at Kings, so I got to work with my professors one on one. I am studying Marketing. I am interested in this major because I was doing commercial projects in my high school, and I found communicating with customers to be very interesting. I have a dream that I can get a job working in public relations for Apple in the future, by creating commercials.”
Chuanzhao Huang from China completed his freshman year with Kings in Boston and is now studying at UC San Diego.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1.What is the No.1 business school in the US?
There is no one business school that is recognized as the best in the US, or globally. The University of Pennsylvania, featured first in our list above, certainly features consistently in the top 3 of business school rankings, but there are many other institutes with excellence in this subject area.
2. What are the top 5 business schools in the US?
Which business school you personally consider ‘best’ will depend on your personal preferences and aims, particularly in terms of specialization. However, first five universities featured above are often recognized in rankings as the best in the US.
There are several different platforms and organisations which compile university rankings, both overall and specifically for subject areas such as Business.
3. What is the no. 1 business school in the world?
American universities dominate the world rankings for business schools; MBAs were first developed in America, and the national culture celebrates entrepreneurship and business. There are many different platforms which rank business schools globally, including Times Higher Education (THE), QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). QS currently ranks Stanford Graduate School of Business top for MBA programs (followed by Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania), and THE currently ranks MIT top for Business and Economics.
Next steps
We hope that this article has helped you understand more about the best business schools for undergraduate study in the US, and how Kings Guaranteed Outcome programs and English language courses can help you get there.
If you would like receive more detailed information about the Kings and our programs, please get in touch with us at enquiries@kingseducation.com.
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