Lerner College Business, Economics Programs Ranked Among Nation’s Best

The University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics moved up two spots to No. 84 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Undergraduate Business Program rankings, which were released in September.

The survey ranked a total of 523 accredited undergraduate business programs across the nation, putting the Lerner College in the top 16 percent of accredited schools.

Additionally, Lerner was ranked No. 99 out of 309 schools for Best Undergraduate Economics Programs, a new category introduced for the first time in 2024.

“The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings show that Lerner continues to be on the right trajectory to being listed among the top business colleges in the nation,” said Lerner College Dean Oliver Yao. “The integration of technology and experiential learning is critical to the Lerner education that enables our students to learn not only from their professors in the classroom, but also get real world experience that will enable them to hit the ground running when they enter the labor force.”

Ninety-three percent of graduates from Lerner undergraduate programs in 2022 are either employed or pursuing further education. They are earning a median salary of $65,000 and are employed by top companies such as JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, EY, Deloitte, PwC, and Bank of America.

U.S. News made significant changes to the methodology for the 2024 edition of the Best Colleges ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs. Five ranking factors that were in the previous edition’s formula – alumni giving, class size, high school class standing, the proportion of instructional faculty with terminal degrees, and the proportion of graduates who borrowed federal loans – were removed from the formula to place greater focus on outcomes measures and to rely on data universally reported by schools or obtainable from third-party sources.

UD jumped 13 slots to rank No. 76 among the nation’s best overall universities, while it ranked No. 36 among top public national universities, up two spots from last year.

The September U.S. News rankings are for undergraduate programs only; the publication also releases rankings for MBA, Online MBA and Graduate Business programs throughout the year.

In all, 22 UD graduate programs were ranked among the best in the nation, including Lerner’s Online MBA which placed 33rd and received a no. 1 overall ranking for how well faculty are prepared to teach remotely. Other recognized programs include Lerner’s Online Graduate Business programs (66th), full-time MBA (119th), and part-time MBA (133rd) programs.

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