2023 Most Popular Business Master's Degree 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Business Degree Central has developed this Most Popular Business Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 1,335 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs 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 Master's Degree Schools in the United States
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Western Governors University to be the most popular school for business students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 5,838 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out WGU. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Southern New Hampshire University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in Manchester, New Hampshire, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 3,596 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 60% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at SNHU. In fact, around 95% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Phoenix - Arizona is a great place for business students working on their master’s degree. UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,987 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 62% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UOPX - Arizona, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. 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.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular business schools in the United States. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 2,787 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 35% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Northwestern. During the 2019-2020 year, about 2% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New York University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools list. NYU is located in New York, New York and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,475 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
NYU 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. During the 2019-2020 year, about 79% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Maryland Global Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UMGC is located in Adelphi, Maryland and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,308 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 58% were women.
UMGC 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. During the 2019-2020 year, about 91% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Louisiana State University - Shreveport came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Louisiana State University - Shreveport is a medium-sized public school situated in Shreveport, Louisiana. It awarded 2,249 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 47% of those degree recipients were women.
Louisiana State University - Shreveport 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. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 98% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Southern California ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 2,027 students in 2020-2021.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
USC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. 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.
Grand Canyon University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools list. Grand Canyon University is a large private for-profit school located in Phoenix, Arizona that handed out 1,965 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 55% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Grand Canyon University does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 96% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #10, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Lynchburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 1,915 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 45% were women.
Liberty University does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Columbia University in the City of New York is a large private not-for-profit school located in New York, New York that handed out 1,864 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 48% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Columbia. 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.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,794 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 43% of those degree recipients were women.
UIUC does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 90% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Webster University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Webster is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,758 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 53% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Webster. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 61% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #15, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. UPenn is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,529 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 46% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UPenn. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 74% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Johns Hopkins University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,523 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
Johns Hopkins does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 85% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Boston University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,504 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 53% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Boston U. In 2019-2020 about 23% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Florida International University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools ranking. This large public school is located in Miami, Florida, and it awarded 1,492 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 58% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at FIU. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 84% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #19, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,434 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 47% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Georgetown is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
With a ranking of #20, DeVry University - Illinois did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the large private for-profit school handed out 1,429 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
DeVry University - Illinois does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 97% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #21, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,388 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Harvard. In fact, around 96% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #22, The University of Texas at Dallas did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. This large public school is located in Richardson, Texas, and it awarded 1,355 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 45% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UT Dallas does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 83% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Duke University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Duke is a private not-for-profit institution located in Durham, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,314 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 44% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Duke. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 2% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #24, Columbia Southern University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit institution located in Orange Beach, Alabama. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,241 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 55% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at Columbia Southern University are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for business students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,194 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 33% were women.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Business Master's Degree 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 Master's Degree 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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