2023 Most Popular Business Master's Degree Schools in California
A business student has lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 122 schools in California to see which master's degree 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 Master's Degree Schools in California
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the most popular school for business students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 2,027 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since USC does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 82% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 956 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 34% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UCLA does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 79% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Pepperdine University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in Malibu, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 799 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 52% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Pepperdine is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Sofia University is a great place for business students working on their master’s degree. Palo Alto, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 637 students in 2020-2021.
Around 46% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 99% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of California - Berkeley ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in Berkeley, California, the large public school awarded 622 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 34% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UC Berkeley. During the 2019-2020 year, about 90% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of the People 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 #7 on the list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 532 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 36% were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out University of the People. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Brandman University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Brandman is located in Irvine, California and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 504 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
Since the graduate programs at Brandman are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
National 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 #9 on the list. Located in La Jolla, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 482 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at National University, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 48% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of La Verne landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. ULV is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in La Verne, California. It awarded 461 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out ULV. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Westcliff University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in Irvine, California, the small private for-profit school handed out 457 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 48% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Westcliff University. In 2019-2020 about 59% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Stanford 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 #12 on the list. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 409 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 46% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Stanford, 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 10% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Golden Gate University - San Francisco 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. Located in San Francisco, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 396 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
Golden Gate University - San Francisco does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 58% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of California - Irvine landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. This large public school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 394 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 48% of those degree recipients were women.
UC Irvine 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, 95% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #15, University of Redlands did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Redlands, California, and it awarded 362 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
University of Redlands is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
California State University - East Bay 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 #16 on the list. Located in Hayward, California, the fairly large public school awarded 341 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 54% were women.
Cal State East Bay 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 100% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of San Francisco ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 329 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 54% were women.
USFCA 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. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 100% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #18, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. Located in Santa Clara, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 321 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 51% were women.
SCU 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 10% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Northcentral University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. Northcentral University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 298 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 63% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Northcentral University is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
Naval Postgraduate School landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree business programs. Monterey, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 296 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 28% were women.
Naval Postgraduate School does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 47% took at least some of their classes online.
California Baptist University ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal Baptist is located in Riverside, California and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 254 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 61% of those degree recipients were women.
Cal Baptist does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 45% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Phoenix - California ranked #22 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in Costa Mesa, California, the small private for-profit school handed out 253 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 30% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UOPX - California. In fact, around 9% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #23, University of San Diego did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for business students working on their master’s degree. University of San Diego is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 235 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since USD does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 24% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
San Diego State University ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 233 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 51% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at SDSU. During the 2019-2020 year, about 91% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of California - Davis ranked #25 on this year’s Most Popular Business Master’s Degree Schools in California list. University of California - Davis is a large public school located in Davis, California that handed out 224 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 44% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at UC Davis. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 52% took at least some of their classes online.
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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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