QS Ranks UC Davis Full-Time MBA among Top 20 at U.S. Public Universities

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Key Takeaways

The UC Davis Full-Time MBA is ranked:

• 44^th overall in the U.S.
• 20^th among MBA programs at U.S. public universities.
• 25^th for diversity. The metric is based on the gender ratio among students and faculty, and international student and faculty ratio.

The Full-Time MBA at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management ranks among the top 20 programs at U.S. public universities, in the top 50 in the U.S. overall, according to the latest QS MBA rankings.

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) describes itself as the world's largest global higher education network, connecting universities, business schools and students. 

This year’s QS Global MBA rankings included 390 programs from 67 locations around the world, including 124 in the U.S.

Their rankings methodology is based on 13 subindicators that form the basis of five weighted key areas that programs were evaluated: employability (40%), value for the money (20%), alumni outcomes (15%), thought leadership (15%) and diversity (10%). The rankings were released on September 17, 2025.

Under Thought Leadership, QS scored the Graduate School of Management's faculty among the top 15% globally for research impact, a measure of citations per paper published in top business and management journals.

More QS Business School Rankings

UC Davis MSBA No. 1 in the World for ROI

The UC Davis Master of Science in Business Analytics is once again the No. 1 program in the world for return on investment for the degree, an honor it has held for the fourth consecutive year, according to the 2026 QS Global Business Masters rankings.

In addition, QS ranked the UC Davis MSBA:

• No. 5 globally for “Value for the Money”—the seventh year in the top 10—as measured by tuition costs, salary growth, opportunity costs, career progression and payback period.
• No. 17 in the U.S. and No. 39 globally among the 201 programs considered.
• No. 1 in the world for gender balance of students, which represents the percentage of women.

UC Davis Online MBA Top 10 in U.S., Top 20 Globally

QS ranked the UC Davis Online MBA program No. 9 in North America and No. 16 globally in their rankings. It was third consecutive year that QS has ranked the UC Davis Online MBA among the top 10 in North America/The Americas. 

UC Davis Position on Rankings: Weigh All Factors

A world-class university, UC Davis is highly ranked for how it transforms students’ lives, the impact of its research, the excellence of its academic programs, sustainability and more. The university performs self-evaluations and also appreciates the value of third-party assessments.

However, ranking methods vary, change over time and can be subjective. UC Davis focuses on those rankings that most closely align with its mission and values—including serving the public good, inclusiveness and equity, and social mobility—and in national rankings looks most closely at its standing among public universities.

UC Davis encourages prospective students and their families to weigh rankings among other factors in their college decision, talk with counselors and UC Davis admissions advisors, and, if possible, visit the campus.