2023 Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for business students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school or bootcamp to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Business Degree Central has created its Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 630 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate programs were the most popular for business students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named University of Phoenix - Arizona the most popular school in the United States for business students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Tempe, Arizona, the large private for-profit school handed out 823 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Around 77% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UOPX - Arizona does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 99% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for business students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 812 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Harvard accumulate an average of $19,755 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 49% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Harvard does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means DeVry University - Illinois is a great place for business students working on their graduate certificate. DeVry University - Illinois is a large private for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 701 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 65% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at DeVry University - Illinois. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 97% took at least some of their classes online.
Out of the 630 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the # 4 spot on the list. This large public school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 654 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Iowa. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 33% took at least some of their classes online.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Texas Tech University is a great place for business students working on their graduate certificate. Texas Tech is a large public school situated in Lubbock, Texas. It awarded 353 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 42% were women.
Texas Tech does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2019-2020 about 49% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Southern California landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate business programs. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 302 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 54% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at USC. In 2019-2020 about 82% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
American College of Financial Services came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 295 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 50% were women.
Since the graduate programs at The American College are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of Houston - Downtown ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools list. University of Houston - Downtown is a fairly large public school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 287 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 62% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UH Downtown. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 98% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #9, Strayer University - Global Region did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their graduate certificate. This fairly large private for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 273 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 71% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Strayer University - Global Region are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of South Carolina - Columbia landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate business programs. University of South Carolina - Columbia is a large public school located in Columbia, South Carolina that handed out 267 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 34% of those degree recipients were women.
UofSC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 74% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #11, Southern New Hampshire University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their graduate certificate. SNHU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Manchester, New Hampshire. The school has a large population, and it awarded 253 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at SNHU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 95% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Maryland Global Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools list. This large public school is located in Adelphi, Maryland, and it awarded 248 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 63% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that UMGC does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 91% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
George Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 221 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from GWU accumulate an average of $29,615 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 55% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at GWU. In 2019-2020 about 37% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
North Carolina State University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate business programs. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the large public school handed out 200 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $18,885 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 41% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at NC State, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 78% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #15, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their graduate certificate. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 198 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 43% of those degree recipients were women.
Washington State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #17 on the list. Wazzu is a large public school situated in Pullman, Washington. It awarded 176 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 41% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Wazzu does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 30% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #18, Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their graduate certificate. Fort Collins, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 167 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 49% were women.
Colorado State does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 67% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Read full report on Colorado State University - Fort Collins
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate business programs. UC is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 165 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $21,388 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 50% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 82% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Villanova University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate business programs. Villanova is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 164 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 77% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Villanova does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 89% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Missouri - Columbia ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools list. Columbia, Missouri is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 161 students in 2020-2021.
Around 39% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Mizzou does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 67% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Missouri State University - Springfield did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in Springfield, Missouri, the large public school awarded 160 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 44% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Missouri State does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 72% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Champlain College ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in Burlington, Vermont, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 159 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 65% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Champlain. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 99% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #24, East Carolina University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their graduate certificate. Greenville, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 153 students in 2020-2021.
Around 56% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at ECU. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 80% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #25, Portland State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their graduate certificate. Portland State University is a large public school situated in Portland, Oregon. It awarded 149 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Portland State University accumulate an average of $29,312 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Portland State University, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 20% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Business Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular business schools ranking:
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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