2025 Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Ranked #1 in popularity,
business administration & management is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 37 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for business administration & management students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 5,643 master's degrees in business administration & management to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Business Administration & Management School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of business administration & management for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on business administration & management students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of business administration & management students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for business administration & management to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized business administration & management related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for business administration & management students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Business Administration & Management Schools
The business administration school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in Illinois.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Business Administration & Management in Illinois
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in business administration & management.
10 Top Illinois Schools for a Master's in Business Administration
Northwestern University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in business administration & management. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.
Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Northwestern University get an earnings boost of around $140,446 over the typical income of business administration & management majors.
More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Northwestern University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get $34,843 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DePaul University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from DePaul University earn $17,754 more than the typical business administration grad.
More information about a master’s in business administration & management from DePaul University
Every student who is interested in a master's degree in business administration & management has to check out Loyola University Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago get an earnings boost of about $17,656 above the typical earnings of business administration & management majors.
More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Loyola University Chicago
Located in the large suburb of Lisle, Benedictine U is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the business administration program report average early career income of $81,812.
More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Benedictine University
