Business Administration Schools and Programs in The United States

Business Administration Studies in The United States

Business administration covers how organisations are run: accounting, finance, marketing, management, operations and information systems. It is the largest field of study in U.S. higher education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), business accounted for 375,400 of the 2.0 million bachelor's degrees conferred in 2021-22, or 19%, and business and engineering were the top two fields for nonresident students. SpainExchange lists 175 schools in the United States that teach business administration.

How the degree is organised

Business administration is offered at three levels.

• Associate degree (two years). Community colleges offer two kinds. Transfer programmes cover the first half of a bachelor's degree: Northeast Community College in Nebraska describes its Business Administration programme as a two-year curriculum for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college, with subjects such as accounting, business law, economics and statistics. Career programmes lead to an Associate of Applied Science (AAS), such as the Business Management AAS at Alexandria Technical & Community College in Minnesota. Business made up 11% of associate degrees in 2021-22, according to NCES.
• Bachelor's degree (four years). The usual titles are Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Students take general education courses and a common business core, then specialise.
• Master of Business Administration (MBA). A full-time MBA usually takes two years and is aimed at graduates with work experience.

Specialisations and work experience

Most bachelor's programmes ask students to choose a specialisation, called a concentration, specialization or major depending on the university. The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University offers 12 business specialisations. The Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida offers a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in finance, information systems, management or marketing, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration in general studies. At Northeastern University in Boston, students of the four-year BSBA must choose at least one concentration and are expected to take part in the cooperative education (co-op) programme, with paid work placements related to their field of study. Florida International University in Miami reports nearly 7,000 undergraduate students in its Landon Undergraduate School of Business.

At MBA level, Northeastern University's full-time MBA takes two years and includes a corporate residency of three, six or up to 12 months. The Ohio State University's full-time MBA offers a STEM specialisation.

Accreditation

The recognition of U.S. credits and degrees by other institutions and by employers is linked to the accreditation of the institution. Business schools can also hold a specialised accreditation. The best known is that of AACSB, which describes it as a framework for quality assurance and continuous improvement in business education, based on self-assessment and peer review. Schools state it on their own pages: Ohio State, for example, describes its full-time MBA as AACSB-accredited. AACSB publishes a search tool for accredited schools.

Admission, language and costs

Teaching is in English, and U.S. universities require an English proficiency test before admission. Each university sets its own requirements; community colleges may have a more flexible admissions process. EducationUSA, the U.S. Department of State's advising network, recommends starting the search 12 to 18 months before the academic year in which the student plans to enrol. For a full degree, international students need a student visa: once accepted by a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the school's international student office issues the Form I-20 used in the visa application.

According to NCES, average tuition and fees in 2022-23 were $4,000 at public 2-year institutions, $9,800 at public 4-year institutions and $40,700 at private nonprofit 4-year institutions. The public figures are in-state or in-district rates, so check what each school charges students from outside the state.

Where to study business administration

Miami has the most schools in this directory (four), followed by New York, Baltimore, San Diego and Denver (three each). The list includes large public universities such as The Ohio State University, the University of Florida, the University of Washington, San Diego State University and Florida International University; private universities such as Northeastern University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Miami; and community colleges such as Broward College in Florida and Johnson County Community College in Kansas. No official ranking of U.S. colleges and universities exists.

Careers

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), about 13.7 million people with a business degree were employed in 2023: 25% in management occupations, 23% in business and financial operations and 12% in sales. BLS projects employment in both management occupations and business and financial occupations to grow faster than the average from 2025 to 2035, with about 1.1 million and 886,600 openings a year respectively. Top executives typically need at least a bachelor's degree and considerable work experience, and those of large corporations may have an MBA.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start a business degree at a community college?

Yes. According to EducationUSA, a bachelor's degree can be earned with two years of community college followed by two years of university study. Choose a transfer programme, not a career programme, if that is your plan.

How long does an MBA take?

A full-time MBA usually takes two years, as at Northeastern University. Schools also offer part-time, online and executive formats with other durations.

What does AACSB accreditation mean?

It is a specialised accreditation for business schools, based on self-assessment and peer review against AACSB's standards. It is separate from the accreditation of the university as a whole.