The Freeman School’s full-time MBA program continued to climb in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking, rising eight spots to No. 54 on its list of the Best Business Schools.
The Freeman School climbed eight spots to No. 54 in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s top full-time MBA programs.
The ranking, part of U.S. News’s 2025 Best Graduate Schools, was released April 8. This year’s ranking represents a two-year jump of 27 spots, reflecting an upward trend rooted in Freeman’s strategic investments in curriculum innovation and student success.
“Over the last several years, we’ve devoted significant resources to creating a new MBA program, one that rigorously prepares students for the challenges of a rapidly evolving business environment,” said Paulo Goes, dean of the Freeman School. “I’m pleased to see this positive momentum reflected in our ranking, but what matters more are the quantifiable improvements we’re seeing in student quality, career outcomes and reputational metrics — key performance indicators that define our success.”
U.S. News & World Report based this year’s ranking on nine quality indicators spread across three areas: employment success, institutional reputation and student selectivity. Driving Freeman’s rise in this year’s ranking were significant gains in graduate employment rate, average starting salary, and peer and recruiter assessment scores. Based on this year’s survey, the Freeman School now ranks No. 28 among private business schools nationally and No. 6 among private business schools in the South. In addition, Freeman’s 27-point rise since 2023 represents the sixth-biggest improvement among schools over that period.
In 2023, the Freeman School unveiled a major revision to its MBA curriculum, with a new emphasis on data-driven decision making, cross-functional experiential learning and future-focused course content. During the school’s AACSB reaccreditation, the redesigned program was praised for its focus on data and business analytics. The review team also singled out the Schwartz Family Center for Experiential Business Learning, the new center of excellence within the business school that connects MBA students with consulting projects for local, regional and national companies. “
We are deeply encouraged to see students, employers and our peers validate the impact of our innovative curriculum, exceptional classroom experience and career success,” said Venkat Subramaniam, senior associate dean for academic programs. “There’s still a lot we want to accomplish, but this ranking shows we’re making significant progress.” The full-time MBA isn’t the only Freeman program on the rise in U.S. News. The Freeman School’s Professional MBA program climbed five places to No. 68 on the magazine’s list of the best part-time MBA programs.
