Top 10 Business Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Pur­su­ing a bach­e­lor’s degree in busi­ness can lay the foun­da­tion for a fruit­ful career. Majors in busi­ness give under­grad­u­ates an insid­er’s look into how orga­ni­za­tions oper­ate in our glob­al econ­o­my. The ver­sa­tile train­ing can unlock var­i­ous jobs in the pub­lic, pri­vate, and non-prof­it sec­tors depend­ing on indi­vid­ual inter­ests. Accord­ing to Busi­ness News Dai­ly, busi­ness admin­is­tra­tion degrees have the ninth best return on invest­ment (ROI). Grad­u­ates report an above-aver­age start­ing salary of $55,600. Income poten­tial is vir­tu­al­ly lim­it­less with com­pa­ny Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cers (CEOs) scor­ing a mean year­ly salary of $185,850. But first you’ll need to fine-tune your busi­ness acu­men with at least a bach­e­lor’s. In this arti­cle, we’ll high­light our picks for the best cam­pus-based under­grad­u­ate busi­ness programs.

To begin our rank­ing, we searched for under­grad­u­ate busi­ness schools that are accred­it­ed by the elite Asso­ci­a­tion to Advance Col­le­giate Schools of Busi­ness (AACSB). We then con­sult­ed with the U.S. News and World Report’s rank­ings. Atten­tion was devot­ed to uni­ver­si­ties ranked in the top 50 nation­al­ly. Next, we nar­rowed down the col­leges by list­ing which ones offered cam­pus-based bach­e­lor’s degrees in busi­ness. Pref­er­ence was giv­en to under­grad­u­ate pro­grams allow­ing for con­cen­tra­tion to meet many stu­dents’ needs. We also looked for bach­e­lor’s degrees with unique learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, i.e. research, study­ing abroad, and busi­ness con­sult­ing. Oth­er fac­tors con­sid­ered were class size, finan­cial aid, fac­ul­ty cre­den­tials, loca­tion, and curriculum.

Busi­ness is the nation’s most pop­u­lar under­grad­u­ate major, accord­ing to the NCES. Earn­ing your bach­e­lor’s degree in busi­ness can pro­vide a valu­able asset for today’s com­pet­i­tive mar­ket. Busi­ness knowl­edge obtained can apply to vir­tu­al­ly any indus­try from fash­ion to real estate and health­care. Employ­ers every­where look to hire busi­ness majors because of their excel­lent lead­er­ship, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, prob­lem-solv­ing, and ana­lyt­i­cal skills. Forge your dream career path by pur­su­ing one of these Top 10 Busi­ness Bach­e­lor’s Degree Programs.

1. University of California — Berkeley

Endowed for $4 bil­lion, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia, Berke­ley is an elite pub­lic, land-grant RU/VH research insti­tu­tion serv­ing over 38,200 from the San Fran­cis­co Bay Area. UC Berke­ley is ranked Amer­i­ca’s #1 top pub­lic school by the U.S. News and 13th best glob­al uni­ver­si­ty by Times High­er Edu­ca­tion. The Haas School of Busi­ness holds AACSB accred­i­ta­tion for its Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion pro­gram. Stu­dents com­plete a 120-unit cur­ricu­lum to learn busi­ness from a lib­er­al arts per­spec­tive. If desired, there’s an Inter­na­tion­al Study and Glob­al Man­age­ment con­cen­tra­tion avail­able. Some may join the six-week, sum­mer Busi­ness for Arts, Sci­ences and Engi­neer­ing (BASE) program.

Tuition: $13,431 (in-state) or $38,139 (out-of-state)

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia — Berke­ley’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor’s Degree Pro­grams here.

2. University of Pennsylvania

Found­ed by Ben­jamin Franklin in 1740, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia is a pri­vate, Ivy League research insti­tu­tion locat­ed in Philadel­phia to edu­cate around 24,800 stu­dents. Ranked the ninth best nation­al uni­ver­si­ty by the U.S. News, Penn has pro­duced the coun­try’s most bil­lion­aires at the bach­e­lor’s lev­el. In the AACSB-accred­it­ed Whar­ton School of Busi­ness, stu­dents can pur­sue under­grad­u­ate stud­ies for a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Eco­nom­ics. With over 4,200 cours­es offered, the pro­gram lets stu­dents drill down on inter­ests with 21 con­cen­tra­tions, such as Behav­ioral Eco­nom­ics, Glob­al Analy­sis, and Real Estate. Penn stu­dents can par­tic­i­pate in the 10-day Whar­ton Inter­na­tion­al Pro­gram (WIP) for trips to Argenti­na, Chi­na, Moroc­co, and India.

Tuition: $49,536

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­ni­a’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor’s Degree Pro­grams here.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Serv­ing a selec­tive com­mu­ni­ty of 11,300 stu­dents, the Mass­a­chu­setts Insti­tute of Tech­nol­o­gy is a pri­vate, land-grant poly­tech­nic research insti­tu­tion in Cam­bridge across Har­vard Bridge from Boston. Accord­ing to the U.S. News, MIT is Amer­i­ca’s fifth top val­ue and third most inno­v­a­tive uni­ver­si­ty. With­in the Sloan School of Man­age­ment, under­grad­u­ates can pur­sue a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Man­age­ment. The AACSB-accred­it­ed cur­ricu­lum con­tains 216 units of gen­er­al busi­ness top­ics and spe­cial­ized elec­tives in Busi­ness Ana­lyt­ics or Finance. Part­ner­ships in the Cor­po­rate Con­nec­tion pro­gram allow for MIT’s sig­na­ture “Action Learn­ing” approach. Stu­dents often intern with For­tune 500 com­pa­nies in Kendall Square like Ama­zon, AT&T, and Microsoft.

Tuition: $46,400

Learn more about the Mass­a­chu­setts Insti­tute of Tech­nol­o­gy’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor’s Degree Pro­grams here.

4. University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill

Locat­ed at one cor­ner of the Research Tri­an­gle, the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na- Chapel Hill is the old­est “Pub­lic Ivy” insti­tu­tion first opened in 1789 and edu­cat­ing over 29,000 stu­dents with a 96 per­cent reten­tion rate. The U.S. News ranked UNC Chapel Hill as Amer­i­ca’s fifth top pub­lic school and 13th best val­ue. With AACSB accred­i­ta­tion, the Kenan-Fla­gler Busi­ness School offers an eight-semes­ter Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion. Stu­dents can cus­tomize their learn­ing in 10 empha­sis areas, includ­ing Cor­po­rate Finance, Inter­na­tion­al Busi­ness, Mar­ket­ing, and Sales. Under­grad learn­ers par­tic­i­pate in the STAR Pro­gram to col­lab­o­rate on a four-month con­sult­ing project with real-life companies.

Tuition: $8,591 (in-state) or $33,673 (out-of-state)

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na — Chapel Hill’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

5. University of Virginia

As the Old Domin­ion’s only AAU mem­ber, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Vir­ginia deliv­ers pub­lic, research-inten­sive edu­ca­tion to over 21,900 stu­dents from Char­lottesville. Since being found­ed by Thomas Jef­fer­son in 1819, UVA has become Amer­i­ca’s 26th best nation­al uni­ver­si­ty and third top pub­lic school. The McIn­tire School of Com­merce is AACSB-accred­it­ed to grant a 120-cred­it Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Com­merce. All stu­dents com­plete the same Inte­grat­ed Core Expe­ri­ence (ICE) cur­ricu­lum before choos­ing a con­cen­tra­tion in Account­ing, Finance, Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­o­gy, Man­age­ment, or Mar­ket­ing. Stu­dents may apply for the Glob­al Com­merce Schol­ar pro­gram to car­ry out senior the­sis research in Barcelona, Spain or Guangzhou, China.

Tuition: $15,192 (in-state) or $44,365 (out-of-state)

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of Vir­gini­a’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

6. Cornell University

Nes­tled among the gorges of Itha­ca, New York, Cor­nell Uni­ver­si­ty is a pres­ti­gious pri­vate, Ivy League research insti­tu­tion with land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant, and sun-grant sta­tus to serve over 21,900 stu­dents. Ranked 16th by Bloomberg Busi­ness­Week, Cor­nell is the nation’s 15th best nation­al uni­ver­si­ty accord­ing to the USNWR. The Dyson School has AACSB accred­i­ta­tion to award a B.S. in Applied Eco­nom­ics and Man­age­ment. Stu­dents select from 11 cut­ting-edge con­cen­tra­tions like Agribusi­ness, Entre­pre­neur­ship, Food Indus­try Man­age­ment, and Inter­na­tion­al Trade. High-achiev­ing stu­dents can hold paid research posi­tions in the CALS Hon­ors Pro­gram. Cor­nell also has an Exchange Pro­gram for study­ing in over 70 coun­tries from Thai­land to Sweden.

Tuition: $49,116

Learn more about Cor­nell Uni­ver­si­ty’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

7. University of Notre Dame

Affil­i­at­ed with the Con­gre­ga­tion of Holy Cross, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Notre Dame is a pre­mier pri­vate, co-edu­ca­tion­al Roman Catholic insti­tu­tion of 12,100 stu­dents in South Bend, Indi­ana. Not­ed among Newsweek’s “25 New Ivies,” Notre Dame is ranked the 18th best uni­ver­si­ty and 14th top col­lege for vet­er­ans nation­al­ly. The Men­doza Col­lege of Busi­ness gives ethics-based lead­er­ship train­ing in the Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion (BBA) pro­gram. With­in the 120-cred­it, AACSB-accred­it­ed cur­ricu­lum, con­cen­tra­tions are avail­able in Accoun­tan­cy, Finance, Man­age­ment, or Mar­ket­ing. The ND Career Cen­ter con­nects all stu­dents with intern­ships from Deloitte to Google. Busi­ness majors also ben­e­fit from 10 active stu­dent-run clubs and over 40 study abroad options.

Tuition: $47,929

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of Notre Dame’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

8. University of Southern California

Estab­lished in 1880, the Uni­ver­si­ty of South­ern Cal­i­for­nia stands proud­ly in Los Ange­les as a pri­vate, non-sec­tar­i­an RU/VH research insti­tu­tion of over 42,400 stu­dents. The U.S. News ranks USC as the 23rd best nation­al uni­ver­si­ty and 13th most inno­v­a­tive school. With AACSB approval, the Mar­shall School of Busi­ness awards a four-year B.S. in Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion with 32 units of elec­tives. Empha­sis areas are unique­ly offered in Inter­na­tion­al Rela­tions and Cin­e­mat­ic Arts. There’s also a World Bach­e­lor in Busi­ness (WBB) pro­gram in part­ner­ship with Hong Kong Uni­ver­si­ty and Boc­coni Uni­ver­si­ty in Italy. Thanks to USC’s entre­pre­neur­ial spir­it, Tro­jan grad­u­ates have built lead­ing com­pa­nies like Myspace, Intu­it, Tin­der, and Qualcomm.

Tuition: $50,277

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of South­ern Cal­i­for­ni­a’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

9. Indiana University- Bloomington

With full-time enroll­ment over 42,500, Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty- Bloom­ing­ton is a flag­ship pub­lic, co-edu­ca­tion­al research insti­tu­tion endowed for $1.9 bil­lion in Indi­ana’s sev­enth largest city. IUB was crowned the 29th top pub­lic school by the U.S. News and named Kiplinger’s 40th best pub­lic val­ue. The AACSB-accred­it­ed Kel­ley School of Busi­ness grants a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Busi­ness with 13 spe­cial­ized majors, includ­ing Pub­lic Pol­i­cy Analy­sis, Account­ing, Oper­a­tions Man­age­ment, and Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems. Dur­ing the sopho­more year, stu­dents com­plete a Glob­al Foun­da­tions Core (G‑Core). Busi­ness majors may join the Hon­ors Lead­er­ship Team for peer-to-peer sup­port. Men­tor­ing from Kel­ley alum­ni like Mark Cuban and John Cham­bers is also available.

Tuition: $10,388 (in-state) or $33,741 (out-of-state)

Learn more about Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty — Bloom­ing­ton’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

10. University of Michigan — Ann Arbor

Fea­tur­ing HLC-NCA and AACSB accred­i­ta­tion, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Michi­gan- Ann Arbor is a pub­lic, res­i­den­tial space-grant and sea-grant research insti­tu­tion edu­cat­ing over 43,600 stu­dents just 42 miles from down­town Detroit. The U.S. News ranks UM as Amer­i­ca’s 29th best nation­al uni­ver­si­ty. With­in the Ross School of Busi­ness, there’s a cam­pus-based Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion (BBA) pro­gram. The MERGE cur­ricu­lum con­sists of 120 cred­its, includ­ing a senior cap­stone project. Gen­er­al­ized course­work ranges from account­ing and busi­ness law to behav­ior the­o­ry and mar­ket­ing. BBA stu­dents could qual­i­fy for the Car­son Schol­ars Pro­gram to study in Wash­ing­ton, DC. All fresh­men com­plete The Prepa­ra­tion Ini­tia­tive before enrolling.

Tuition: $13,856 (in-state) or $43,476 (out-of-state)

Learn more about the Uni­ver­si­ty of Michi­gan — Ann Arbor’s Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams here.

Related Links:

The Top 15 Under­grad Busi­ness Degrees
The Top 15 Online Busi­ness Bach­e­lor Degree Pro­grams
The Top 10 Busi­ness Bach­e­lors Degree Programs