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Another Philadelphia-area school landed a spot among the 100 best full-time MBA programs, while several local colleges placed among the top part-time MBA programs.
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania sits alone atop the 2025 U.S. News & World Report graduate business school rankings after sharing the spot with Stanford University‘s Graduate School of Business last year.
While Penn led the way among all full-time MBA programs, another Philadelphia school jumped into the top 100 as La Salle University moved from unranked last year to No. 100. The ranking of best graduate business schools lists 133 colleges and universities that offer full-time MBA programs.
It’s the second straight year and fourth time in the last six years that Penn has had at least a share of the top spot in the graduate business school rankings.
After Wharton, Stanford’s business school tied for second with Northwestern University‘s Kellogg School of Management. The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology rounded out the top five, in that order.
Half of the criteria used for graduate business school rankings is based on employment rates and earnings outcomes of recent graduates. The other half is a combination of academic metrics from incoming students and the school’s reputation among peer business schools, recruiters and other company contacts.
In addition to its top spot in the business school rankings, Penn’s schools ranked No. 6 for nursing master’s programs, sixth for graduate education programs and Penn Carey Law School ranked fifth among law schools.
Tuition and fees total close to $90,000 per year at Wharton, and 20% of applicants were admitted in the school’s most recent graduate admissions cycle with 866 enrollees. The 144-year-old Wharton is the oldest business school in the U.S.
U.S. News further ranks schools by specialty, and Penn had the top programs in the nation for finance, real estate and an executive MBA, which comes with an over $230,000 price tag.
Penn and La Salle are the only two Philadelphia-area schools that made the top 100 for full-time MBA programs, while Drexel University ranks No. 110, down from No. 102 last year. Temple University is unranked for the second straight year.
Outside the immediate Philadelphia area, Rutgers University‘s Newark and New Brunswick campuses rank No. 53. while Lehigh University dropped 20 spots to No. 86.
Greater Philadelphia institutions are perhaps better represented in the subcategory for part-time MBA programs, with three colleges in the top 100. Villanova University ranks No. 27 in that category, up from No. 35 last year. Saint Joseph’s University made a major jump, up 59 spots to No. 42 from No. 101 last year. Temple University moved up nine spots to No. 64 from 73rd last year.
Further down the part-time MBA list, Rutgers University-Camden places 102nd, Drexel ranks No. 117, Stockton University came in at No. 189 and Rowan University ranks No. 193.
See the full business school rankings here.
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Penn's Wharton School takes sole possession of top spot on U.S. News MBA rankings – The Business Journals
