by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 58 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for business, management & marketing students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 18,825 master's degrees in business, management & marketing to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of business, management & marketing 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
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.
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.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for business, management & marketing students working on their master's degree.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Business, Management & Marketing Master's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in business, management & marketing. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a master's degree in business, management & marketing. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of Southern California
It is difficult to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a master's degree in business, management & marketing. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in business, management & marketing. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of California - Berkeley
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in business, management & marketing needs to look into Pepperdine University. Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from Pepperdine University
SMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Moraga.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from Saint Mary’s College of California
UCSD is a very large public university located in the large city of La Jolla.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of California - San Diego
Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from Santa Clara University
Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of California - Davis
USD is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of San Diego
USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of San Francisco
Located in the small city of Redlands, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a master’s in business, management & marketing from University of Redlands
Here are some additional great schools for Business, Management & Marketing students in the state of California that almost earned our Best Business, Management & Marketing Master's Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 13 | Chapman University | Orange, CA |
| 14 | Golden Gate University - San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 15 | Brandman University | Irvine, CA |
| 16 | School Removed | |
| 17 | FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 18 | San Diego State University | San Diego, CA |
| 19 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
Explore all the Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 31 | 2,001 |
| Oregon | 29 | 954 |
| Hawaii | 27 | 238 |
| Nevada | 27 | 396 |
| Alaska | 21 | 119 |
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Business Administration & Management | 10,005 |
| Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 5,625 |
| Human Resource Management | 844 |
| Accounting | 742 |
| Other Business, Management & Marketing | 333 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 224 |
| Entrepreneurial Studies | 211 |
| Taxation | 203 |
| Management Information Systems | 141 |
| Hospitality Management | 116 |