If you want to study business and management in the US, the country leaves you spoiled for choice, with 71 top business schools featured in the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Read on for an overview of the 10 best business schools in the US.
1. Harvard University
The number one business school in the world for the second year in a row, Harvard University is ranked first in the world for accounting and finance too, and is ranked third overall in the QS World University Rankings® 2018. Harvard Business School has around 2,000 students, 41% of whom are women, and owns Harvard Business Publishing, which publishes the monthly Harvard Business Review magazine.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Ranked fourth in the world for business and management (up two places from last year), MIT has also consistently been ranked first in the QS World University Rankings®. It receives top 10 scores in the subject ranking indicators both for its academic and employer reputations. MIT’s business school, the Sloan School of Management, has around 1,300 students enrolled, and emphasizes finding practical solutions to problems.
3. University of Pennsylvania
Next in our look at the best business schools in the US, the University of Pennsylvania is ranked fifth in the world for business and receives the highest score in the entire ranking for the H-index (a method of measuring both the productivity and impact of scholars’ published works). Its business school, the Wharton School, is the oldest in the US (established in 1881 through a donation from industrialist Joseph Wharton).
4. Stanford University
Ranked sixth in the world for business and second in the QS World University Rankings, Stanford University’s Graduate Business School was established in 1925 and has more than 29,000 living alumni around the world, including many successful business leaders and entrepreneurs. Ideally located in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, it’s notoriously difficult to gain admission to the business school, with just 6% of applicants receiving a place in the 2016 round.
5. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
Up one place to rank 10th in the world for business, UCB’s business school, the Haas School of Business, is the second-oldest in the US (founded in 1898) and has around 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Haas states its mission is ‘to develop leaders who redefine how we do business’ and two of its faculty are winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
6. Northwestern University
Next in our look at the best business schools in the US is Northwestern University, up eight places this year to rank 14th. The Kellogg School of Management was founded in 1908 under a different name, gaining its current name in 1979 in honor of a donation made by John L. Kellogg (son of the Kellogg’s cereal company founder). Today, 96% of the school’s graduates receive job offers within three months of graduating.
7. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Up one place to rank 16th in the world for business and management, UCLA’s graduate business school, Anderson School of Management, was founded in 1935 and teaches around 1,600 students. The school describes its mission as “to transform management thinking and prepare future leaders for evolving careers in ever-changing organizations and markets”.
=8. New York University (NYU)
NYU is up two places to rank joint 17th in the world for business and management alongside the University of Chicago. Its Stern School of Business, which teaches at undergraduate and graduate level, was founded in 1900 and is a founding member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The school has three Nobel Laureates among its faculty and has one of the most selective MBA programs in the US.
=8. University of Chicago
Sharing 17th place with NYU among the world’s best business schools, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business was the first US business school to offer an Executive MBA program and the first to initiate a doctoral program in business. It’s also the first and only school of its kind to have campuses on three continents: North America, Europe and Asia.
10. Columbia University
The final of these 10 best business schools in the US, Columbia University is ranked 19th in the world for business and management and is another New York City-based institution. Ideally located in Manhattan, the US’s global business hub, the business school prides itself on its “unparalleled access to business leaders from across industries” and celebrated its centenary in 2016.
Other top business schools in the US
If you want to study business in the US, your options certainly don’t end there, with far more top business schools in the US to choose from, including Yale University (ranked joint 23rd for business). Also in the global top 50 for business and management are the University of Michigan, Cornell University, Duke University, and the University of Texas at Austin, with 14 more US universities featured in the global top 100. You can view the full business school ranking here.
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