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2024 Best General Business Administration and Management Schools in California

98 Colleges in California
58,661 Business Administration Degrees Awarded
Ranked #1 in popularity, general business administration and management is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 98 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for general business administration and management students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 58,661 degrees in general business administration and management during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Business Administration and Management School

Best General Business Administration and Management Schools in California Your choice of general business administration and management school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Business Administration and Management School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

General Business Administration and Management Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Business Administration
Bachelor's Degrees in Business Administration
Master's Degrees in Business Administration
Doctor's Degrees in Business Administration

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Business Administration and Management Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for General Business Administration and Management in California

The schools below may not offer all types of business administration degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

14 Top California Schools in Business Administration

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
1,490 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

University of Southern California is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in general business administration and management. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1490 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from University of Southern California

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
37th Most Popular In CA
415 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you wish to pursue a degree in general business administration and management. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 415 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from University of California - Berkeley

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In CA
802 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo if you want to pursue a degree in general business administration and management. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.

There were approximately 802 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

4
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
69th Most Popular In CA
221 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat Santa Clara University if you want to pursue a degree in general business administration and management. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 221 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from Santa Clara University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
24th Most Popular In CA
598 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Pepperdine is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Malibu. A Best Colleges rank of #94 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 598 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from Pepperdine University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
176th Most Popular In CA
38 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 38 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from University of California - Los Angeles

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
1,570 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of San Diego, UAGC is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 50th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 1570 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at UAGC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from The University of Arizona Global Campus

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
127th Most Popular In CA
89 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 30th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 89 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from Saint Mary’s College of California

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
1,799 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were about 1799 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from San Jose State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
72nd Most Popular In CA
215 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #181 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a great university overall.

There were roughly 215 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at Golden Gate University - San Francisco in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from Golden Gate University - San Francisco

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
26th Most Popular In CA
560 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 560 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from University of California - Irvine

12
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
68th Most Popular In CA
222 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 29th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 222 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at USD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from University of San Diego

13
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
73rd Most Popular In CA
214 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 214 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from University of San Francisco

14
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In CA
554 Business Administration Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 32nd out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 554 general business administration and management students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business administration and management from Chapman University


 

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for General Business Administration and Management students in the state of California that almost earned our Best General Business Administration and Management Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
15 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
16 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
17 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
18 Coastline Community College Fountain Valley, CA
19 Cerritos College Norwalk, CA
20 University of Redlands Redlands, CA
21 National University San Diego, CA
22 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
23 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
24 California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA

Best General Business Administration and Management Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Business Administration and Management Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 3,071
Oregon 587 1,994
Nevada 354 1,000
Hawaii 267 867
Alaska 167 318

View All Rankings >

General Business Administration and Management is one of 16 different types of Business Administration & Management programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Interior Design Management 1,807
Organizational Leadership 1,709
Supply Chain Management 494
Office Administration 438
Project Management 387
Retail Management 300
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management 124
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management 115
E-Commerce 80
Operations Management 61

View All Business Administration Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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