Business Schools in Michigan

    Table of Contents

    1 – Best Programs
    2 – Undergraduate
    3 – Graduate
    4 – Job Outlook

    When it comes to business degrees, Michigan, like the Midwest region where it is located, is solid and down-to-earth. There are no flashy Ivy League schools here, but Michigan offers many good programs to students interested in starting a career in the business field.

    According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), there are 44 public and private non-profit schools in the state, of which 22 have accredited undergraduate business programs, and 19 have accredited graduate business programs. The Association accredits all schools on our list to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and/or International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE). The schools listed below are all public or private non-profit and regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

    It’s important to seek out a business degree program that has been accredited by external institutions. This ensures that their programs have clear goals and have demonstrated proven outcomes and that the school follows national and international standards. Accredited schools must also prove that they offer students opportunities to interact with established businesspeople, allowing them to learn in ways beyond the classroom.

    Below you will find critical information to help you decide on a school based on various important criteria, such as tuition, financial aid, entrance exam scores, acceptance rates, and much more. The three sections that follow cover undergraduate programs, graduate schools, and job prospects for business school graduates in Michigan.

    Best Business Schools in Michigan

    Fast facts on some of the best business schools in Michigan according to US News Rankings.

    • University of Michigan-Ann Arbor – #7 in Best Business Schools, #28 in Best National Universities, #50 in Best Value Schools, #3 in Best Business Programs, #4 in Top Public Schools
    • Michigan State University – #37 in Best Business Schools, #24 in Best Business Programs, #143 in Best Value Schools, #33 in Top Public Schools, #21 in Best Online Graduate Business Programs
    • Central Michigan University – #249 in Best Business Programs, #207 in Best National Universities, #113 in Top Public Schools, #54 in Best Online MBA Programs
    • University of Michigan-Dearborn – #6 in Top Public Schools, #183 in Best Business Programs, #20 in Best Value Schools, #68 in Best Online MBA Programs
    • University of Michigan-Flint – #26 in Top Public Schools, #249 in Best Business Programs, #101 in Best Part-time MBA Programs

    Undergraduate Business Schools in Michigan

    Michigan is one of the more affordable states for undergraduate business schools, with the programs’ average tuition cost on our list at around $18,000 before financial aid. This average is skewed higher by a handful of more expensive programs – $58,420 at the Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration and roughly $40,000 each at Kettering University and University of Detroit Mercy – so 17 of the 22 programs in the state are below our average. The median tuition cost is only around $12,000 before financial aid. The most inexpensive schools are Jackson College, which charges just $5,640 for tuition while offering financial aid of up to $5,039. Saginaw Valley State University costs $9,345 for tuition and offers $6,252 for financial aid.

    We have acceptance rate information for 16 of the 22 undergraduate programs, and they are generally high. The average acceptance rate is 73%, and all the schools but one have acceptance rates of over 65%, with the highest being Lake Superior State University at 91%. The one school below 65% is well below that figure at 29%: the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. It is worth noting that the Ross School is considered one of the top business schools in the entire country, so a 29% acceptance rate is relatively high. By way of comparison, the similarly rated Columbia University accepts just 7% of its applicants.

    Graduation rates tend to be on the low side for undergraduate business degrees in Michigan. The average graduation rate of the 19 schools for which we have information is 51.5%, with 10 of the 19 graduating fewer than half of their students; Northwood University has the lowest graduation rate at 35%. As is often the case, the school that is the hardest to get into also has the highest graduation rate: the Ross School grants diplomas to 91% of its students.

    Scan the table below to find all the important data about undergraduate business schools, including annual in-state tuition costs, average financial aid per student, acceptance rates, median SAT and ACT scores of accepted students, and graduation rates. Click on any column header to sort the table based on that value.

    Popular undergraduate programs in Michigan: Bachelor of Science in Accounting – Managerial Accountancy | Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources | Bachelor of Arts in Project Management

    SchoolCityTuitionAidMedian SATMedian ACTAccept. RateGrad. Rate
    Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant$12,150$6,468890-114020-2572%58%
    Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti$11,209$6,632910-114019-2541%
    Ferris State UniversityBig Rapids$11,290$7,484910-118019-2578%44%
    Grand Valley State UniversityAllendale$11,520$5,280940-116521-2682%66%
    Jackson CollegeJackson$5,640$5,039
    Kettering UniversityFlint$39,790$17,3181120-134025-2972%53%
    Lake Superior State UniversitySault Ste Marie$11,019$8,302860-106020-2591%42%
    Lawrence Technological UniversitySouthfield$31,140$14,0301040-126022-2969%51%
    Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing$14,062$10,570990-126024-2966%79%
    Michigan Technological UniversityHoughton$14,634$10,9171068-133525-3037%
    Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette$9,766$6,915760-94019-2576%47%
    Northwood UniversityMidland$25,130$10,573880-111020-2435%
    Oakland UniversityRochester Hills$12,064$6,408805-111020-2786%47%
    Saginaw Valley State UniversityUniversity Center$9,345$6,252901-110020-2576%38%
    South University-NoviNovi$17,434$3,777
    University of Detroit MercyDetroit$39,882$22,880960-128022-2778%68%
    University of Michigan-Ann ArborAnn Arbor$14,402$16,8421310-150029-3329%91%
    University of Michigan-DearbornDearborn$12,032$6,356520-67022-2765%54%
    University of Michigan-FlintFlint$10,344$7,069978-117319-2665%37%
    Walsh College of Accountancy and Business AdministrationTroy$58,420$5,677
    Wayne State UniversityDetroit$12,269$7,276983-126020-2781%39%
    Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo$11,493$7,698900-111519-2582%53%

    Popular Articles: Accounting Schools in Michigan | Online MBA Programs in Michigan | Online Business Degrees in Michigan

    Graduate Business Schools in Michigan

    Business is also a popular course for graduate-level study. Many people choose to add an MBA (or its equivalent) to their resumes, either directly after receiving a bachelor’s degree or after getting a few years of work experience. Michigan offers 19 choices for masters-level business study, with a moderately affordable average cost for tuition and fees of about $37,000. As with undergraduate program costs, this average is skewed by the most expensive program, the Ross School of Business, which costs nearly $114,000 per year. Excluding this school drops the average tuition cost in Michigan to around $32,700 for the other 18 institutions, with Central Michigan University the most affordable graduate program, at $18,972.

    Our data includes average admission GMAT scores for 14 graduate business schools in Michigan. The average scores cluster in a fairly tight range, from 437 at Detroit Mercy to 674 at Michigan State University. These same 14 schools reported figures for the percentage of faculty with doctoral degrees, ranging from 70% at Central Michigan University to 94% at Eastern Michigan University. Most of the schools have excellent student-to-faculty ratios. The University of Michigan-Flint the lowest at just 0.46 students per faculty member, and Michigan State University the second highest at 2.6 students per faculty member. The one outlier here is, interestingly enough, the Ross School at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, which has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1.

    As mentioned earlier, many students go back to school for a graduate business degree after obtaining work experience, and some prefer to keep working while studying at their own pace. There are a number of excellent online MBA programs in Michigan that suit this need nicely. Central Michigan University offers a highly-rated online program, and good options can also be found at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Michigan-Flint, among others. Most online programs offer the same basic curriculum and courses as their offline equivalents.

    The table below shows graduate business school tuition costs, average GMAT scores for accepted students, the percentage of faculty with a doctoral degree, and student-to-faculty ratios. Click any column’s header to sort the table based on that criteria.

    SchoolCityTuitionAvg. GMATFaculty
    with Doct.
    Degree
    Student/
    Faculty
    Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant$18,97251370%2.04
    Detroit MercyDetroit$53,60443788%1.97
    Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti$31,318450
    Ferris State UniversityBig Rapids$27,072
    Grand Valley State UniversityGrand Rapids$25,53652476%0.88
    Kettering UniversityFlint$42,72000%0
    Lawrence Technological UniversitySouthfield$40,86000%0
    Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing$56,626
    Michigan Technological UniversityHoughton$31,27280%1.58
    Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette$23,42952082%0.63
    Northwood UniversityMidland$37,080
    Oakland UniversityRochester$31,44055088%1.65
    Saginaw Valley State UniversityUniversity Center$20,48845085%1.25
    University of MichiganAnn Arbor$113,837664
    University of Michigan-DearbornDearborn$39,813583
    University of Michigan-FlintFlint$28,091549
    Walsh College of Accountancy & Business AdministrationTroy$32,340
    Wayne State UniversityDetroit$27,466
    Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo$20,938

    Popular graduate programs in Michigan: Online MBA in Digital Marketing | Online MBA in Supply Chain Management | Online MBA in Project Management

    Job Outlook for Business School Graduates in Michigan

    Business graduates have a bright future across the United States. According to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, from 2016 to 2026, total growth of at least 5% is projected in 32 out of 37 business and management occupations listed.5 Market analysts and marketing specialists are predicted to have the most growth nationwide, at 22.8% over that ten-year-period, with financial managers coming in second place at 18.7%.5

    Michigan’s overall unemployment rate remains stable and low; it has been near or slightly below 5% for the last two full years, after spiking to nearly 15% during the Great Recession.8 In the state, a total of about 260,000 people were employed in the business and management sector in 2016.6 General and operations managers comprise the largest subgroup by far, with 58,040 employed, well ahead of accountants and auditors at 30,510 and business operations specialists at 26,280.6

    BLS data shows that the average annual wage in 2016 across all Michigan occupations was $45,981, ranking the state 35th out of 51 in the US (including the District of Columbia).6 For the business-related occupations shown below, the weighted average annual salary was around $94,360, more than double the overall state average.6 As is usually the case, chief executives led the field by a wide margin, with average salaries of $184,740, well ahead of sales managers, which came in second at $133,370.6 Tax preparers were the lowest-paying subcategory at $42,850.6

    Occupation TitleBLS.gov
    Code
    2016
    Total
    Employment
    Michigan
    Mean
    Hourly
    Wage
    Michigan
    Mean
    Annual
    Wage
    Michigan
    National
    Growth
    2016-26
    Accountants and Auditors13-20113051035.757436010.0%
    Administrative Services Managers11-3011611043.078959010.1%
    Advertising and Promotions Managers11-201165049.261024605.8%
    Agents and Business Managers13-101125033.73701504.9%
    Engineering Managers11-90411009061.481278705.5%
    Budget Analysts13-203187040.85849706.5%
    Business Operations Specialists13-11992628032.16668908.8%
    Chief Executives11-1011626088.821847408.0%
    Compensation and Benefits Managers11-311134055.871162105.0%
    Compensation and Job Analysis Specialists13-1141162031.23649508.5%
    Compliance Officers13-1041564032.95685408.2%
    Information Systems Managers11-3021873060.0312486011.9%
    Construction Managers11-9021390045.259412011.4%
    Cost Estimators13-1051648030.156270010.6%
    Credit Analysts13-2041123028.63595508.4%
    Credit Counselors13-207189022.964776013.9%
    Financial Analysts13-2051580038.588024010.8%
    Financial Examiners13-206169034.8723809.8%
    Financial Managers11-30311367057.881203800.187
    Operations Managers11-10215804056.881183209.1%
    Human Resources Managers11-3121377051.641074008.9%
    Human Resources Specialists13-10711416029.25608507.1%
    Insurance Underwriters13-2053176029.9262230-5.2%
    Labor Relations Specialists13-1075424031.8166170-7.8%
    Logisticians13-1081750038.27796106.9%
    Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists13-11611479031.936641022.8%
    Marketing Managers11-2021387060.1412510010.0%
    Public Relations Managers11-2031130053.311087010.4%
    Purchasing Managers11-3061264051.471070705.6%
    Sales Managers11-20221009064.121333707.4%
    Tax Examiners and Revenue Agents13-208160035.1273040-0.6%
    Tax Preparers13-2082244020.64285010.8%
    Training and Development Managers11-313168052.3110880010.3%
    Training and Development Specialists13-1151537028.735976011.5%

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    References:
    1. National Center for Education Statistics: https://nces.ed.gov/
    2. AACSB, Best Business Schools:https://bestbizschools.aacsb.edu/aacsb-accredited
    3. ACBSP, Business Schools:https://acbsp.org/page/accreditation-overview
    4. IACBE, Business Schools: https://iacbe.org/accreditation/
    5. US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Occupational Outlook Handbook, Business and Financial Occupations: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/home.htm
    6. US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Employment and Wage Estimates Michigan: https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes_mi.htm
    7. US News & World Report, 2019 Best Business Schools: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools
    8. Chicago Fed Blogs – Michigan Economy: http://michiganeconomy.chicagofedblogs.org/?p=939