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2025 Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

135 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
15,707 Master's Degrees
$79,504 Avg Early-Career Salary
Business Administration & Management is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 135 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 15,707 master's degrees in business administration & management to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Business Administration & Management School for Your Master's Degree

Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The business administration master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality business administration program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Business Administration Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Business Administration & Management in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in business administration & management. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Business Administration

1

It is hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Northwestern University earn $144,898 more than the standard business administration student.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Northwestern University

2

It's hard to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get an earnings boost of approximately $80,782 over the average earnings of business administration & management majors.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3
1,735 Annual Graduates
$118,799 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you wish to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $39,295 more than the standard business administration student.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4

It is hard to beat Ohio State University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $37,320 over the average earnings of business administration & management majors.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Ohio State University - Main Campus

5
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.

Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Michigan State University receive an earnings boost of about $38,252 above the typical income of business administration & management majors.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Michigan State University

6

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus make $23,776 more than the average business administration graduate.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Purdue University - Main Campus

7
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Master's recipients from the business administration & management degree program at DePaul University make $22,206 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from DePaul University

8

Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Loyola University Chicago earn $22,108 more than the standard business administration graduate.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Loyola University Chicago

9
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI

Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Milwaukee.

Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Marquette University get an earnings boost of around $38,230 over the typical earnings of business administration & management graduates.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Marquette University

10

Located in the town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Ohio University - Athens Campus get an earnings boost of about $19,593 above the average income of business administration & management majors.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Ohio University - Athens Campus

11
186 Annual Graduates

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Notre Dame

12

Located in the large city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Case Western Reserve University receive $13,056 more than the typical business administration student.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Case Western Reserve University

13

IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Marion.

Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global receive an earnings boost of approximately $3,111 over the typical earnings of business administration & management majors.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global

14

Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus earn $14,081 more than the standard business administration graduate.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

15
Xavier crest
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH

Located in the large city of Cincinnati, Xavier is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Xavier University earn $22,785 more than the average business administration graduate.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Xavier University

16
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI

Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the business administration program state that they receive average early career earnings of $77,865.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Central Michigan University

17

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Miami University - Oxford make $32,382 more than the standard business administration student.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Miami University - Oxford

18
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI

Located in the large suburb of Rochester Hills, Oakland is a public university with a large student population.

Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at Oakland University get $11,875 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Oakland University

19

Located in the distant town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at University of Wisconsin - Platteville make $15,586 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Wisconsin - Platteville

20

WMU is a large public university located in the city of Kalamazoo.

Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at Western Michigan University get $3,725 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Western Michigan University

21

Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Lisle.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Benedictine University make $2,308 more than the standard business administration grad.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Benedictine University

22

Located in the city of Detroit, Wayne State is a public university with a very large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Wayne State University receive $13,894 more than the typical business administration graduate.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Wayne State University

23

Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the business administration & management major at Northern Illinois University make $5,636 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Northern Illinois University

24

Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the business administration & management degree program at University of Illinois at Chicago get $8,544 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from University of Illinois at Chicago

25

Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the business administration program report average early career income of $75,645.

More information about a master’s in business administration & management from Kent State University at Kent

Rest of the Top Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

26
Elmhurst crest
Elmhurst University
Elmhurst, IL
27

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
28 Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH
29 Baldwin Wallace University Berea, OH
30 Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI
31 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
32 University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN
33 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
34 Concordia University, Wisconsin Mequon, WI
35 Davenport University Grand Rapids, MI
36 Northwood University Midland, MI
37 University of Toledo Toledo, OH
38 Butler University Indianapolis, IN
39 Ashland University Ashland, OH
40 Illinois State University Normal, IL
41 University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI
42 Purdue University Global West Lafayette, IN
43 Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL
44 University of Michigan - Dearborn Dearborn, MI
45 Concordia University, Chicago River Forest, IL

Best Business Administration & Management Colleges by State

Explore the best business administration & management colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Illinois 221 6,404
Michigan 211 3,723
Ohio 207 3,539
Indiana 191 2,542
Wisconsin 173 1,506

View All Rankings >

One of 21 majors within the Business, Management & Marketing area of study, Business Administration & Management has other similar majors worth exploring.

Business Administration Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Business Administration and Management 13,301
Interior Design Management 868
Organizational Leadership 808
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management 288
Project Management 199
Supply Chain Management 127
Operations Management 83
Research and Development Management 19
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management 7
Transportation/Mobility Management 6

Related Major Annual Graduates
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 7,639
General Business/Commerce 2,650
Accounting 1,646
Human Resource Management 947
Finance & Financial Management 815
Marketing 680
Management Information Systems 257
Other Business, Management & Marketing 110
Taxation 79
Entrepreneurial Studies 60

Notes and References

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