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Best Business & Commerce Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Business & Commerce Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

18 Colleges

Finding the Best General Business/Commerce Master's Degree School for You

There are so many business programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Business & Commerce Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Business Degree Central has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 18 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for business students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Business/Commerce Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the general business master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best General Business/Commerce Master's Degree Schools

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for general business/commerce students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.

Full General Business/Commerce at University of Notre Dame Report

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general business/commerce schools in the Great Lakes Region . Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at Northwestern take out while working on their Master's Degree is $87,603.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Northwestern University

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best general business/commerce schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at University of Chicago

Out of the 18 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their Master's Degree, general business majors at IU Bloomington accumulate an average of around $48,043 in student debt.

Full General Business/Commerce at Indiana University - Bloomington Report

#5

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Out of the 18 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Master's Degree, general business graduates from Michigan State carry an average student debtload of $75,240.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Michigan State University

University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #6 on this year’s Best Business & Commerce Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the large city of Madison.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at UW - Madison take out while working on their Master's Degree is $52,238.

Full General Business/Commerce at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree general business/commerce programs. IUPUI is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

On average, general business graduates from IUPUI take out $38,476 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater ranked #8 on this year’s Best Business & Commerce Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at UW - Whitewater take out while working on their Master's Degree is $29,341.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

Grand Valley State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Business & Commerce Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. GVSU is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Allendale.

On average, general business graduates from GVSU take out $31,789 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Full General Business/Commerce at Grand Valley State University Report

#10

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Ball State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree general business/commerce programs. Ball State is a large public school located in the small city of Muncie.

General Business majors at Ball State take out an average of $31,443 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on General Business/Commerce at Ball State University

Best General Business/Commerce Colleges by State

Explore the best general business/commerce colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,060
Ohio 563
Illinois 877
Indiana 5,636
Wisconsin 526

One of 21 majors within the business area of study, general business/commerce has other similar majors worth exploring.

General Business Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Business/Commerce 56,779

Majors Similar to General Business

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 403,753
Accounting 93,982
Finance & Financial Management 54,690
Marketing 52,078
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 48,037

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 18 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Consulate General Munich.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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