UC Undergraduate Business Programs Rankings
High school students interested in attending a UC and majoring in business may not have quite as many options as they imagine. In contrast to the CSU system where business is the most popular major, most of the UCs do not offer a comprehensive undergraduate business program. While four of the UCs do offer a ‘pure’ business major, the other five UCs do not. The good news is that recent changes at UC Berkeley and UC Davis have improved the options for majoring in business.
The rankings below are designed to help students who want a high quality, comprehensive business program to identify which of the UCs will be the best fit for them. For this reason, a low ranking does not mean that the school does not have an excellent economics department, it just means that it’s not likely the best fit for an undergraduate student wanting to take as many business courses and gain as many business skills as possible.
Each UC is given an overall rating based on the following 3 considerations:
1) Breadth of Business Courses: based on the number of business courses required for the major, variety of business concentrations available, and overall access to business and management courses
2) Internship and Professional Opportunities: based on the availability and accessibility of internships due to campus location, access to graduate level Business School faculty and resources, and number and accessibility of student run business clubs
3) Prestige/Reputation: based on admission selectivity, program reputation, and reputation of the Business School
Based on each school’s overall rating, the UCs were then ranked in order from 1 through 9.
The Rankings
#1: UC Berkeley
By expanding their business program in 2023 from a 2-year to a 4-year program, high school students have just recently been allowed to apply directly to the newly created Spieker Undergraduate Business Program through Berkeley’s highly prestigious Haas School of Business. Unfortunately, the program’s relatively small cohort size (191 students in 2024) and incredibly low admissions rate, greatly limits access to this program. Interested students should note the program’s additional application requirements, including a supplemental essay and a recorded video interview. Additional undergraduate majors offered in conjunction with the Haas Business school, include the 1) Global Management Program, 2) Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Program (M.E.T.), and 3) Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program (LSBE). Students not only benefit from their access to a world-class faculty, but also from UC Berkeley’s proximity to Bay Area industries, which offer a wide variety of internship opportunities.
Overall Rating: A
- Breadth of Business Courses: A
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: A
- Prestige/Reputation: A+
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#2: UC Irvine
Undergraduate business majors take all of their business classes through the Paul Merage School of Business. Students working on a B.A. in Business Administration select one (or more) of the 6 available business concentrations, which include: accounting, finance, information systems, marketing, operations and decision technologies, and organization and management. UCI also offers a B.S. in Business Information Management. In addition to the career counseling services offered to all undergraduate students at UCI, students majoring in business have full access to the career counselors and career services of the Merage School of Business. With a cohort size of approximately 300 students, admission to the program is more difficult than the overall UCI undergraduate admissions rate but still achievable for high performing students. Due to a robust variety of student business clubs and the presence of several major corporate headquarters within minutes of campus, students report consistent success in gaining internships.
Overall Rating: A
- Breadth of Business Courses: A
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: A
- Prestige/Reputation: A
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#3: UC Riverside
Students enter UCR as Pre-Business majors and then apply to the Business Administration Program at the end of sophomore year (most students will likely not find the cumulative 2.7 gpa requirement for the Business Administration program a particularly difficult threshold to meet). The business major offers 7 concentrations: Accounting & Auditing, Business Analytics, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing, Operations & Supply Chain Management. Students in the major are required to take 10 core courses, 5 concentration courses, and 3 upper division courses. Offered through the UCR School of Business, this is the largest of all the UC business programs.
Overall Rating: A-
- Breadth of Business Courses: A
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: A
- Prestige/Reputation: B+
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#4: UC Davis
Starting in the fall of 2025, UC Davis will offer a comprehensive business program for the first time. The program will allow students to specialize in 1 of 4 concentrations: accounting, finance, marketing and business analytics, or management and strategy. Because many details of this program are still unknown, rating this program would be difficult. Because this is one of only four comprehensive business programs available among the UC schools, it is a welcome addition to the current options available. The high overall quality and reputation of UC Davis as an institution suggests that this will be a strong and rising program as it fully develops in the years to come.
Overall rating: too early to determine, but ranked above the other UC's that do not have a comprehensive business program
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#5: UC San Diego
While UC San Diego does not offer a stand alone business major, it does offer two majors that include a substantial number of business courses through the highly esteemed Rady School of Management. The first is an International Business major, offered through the International Studies department. Requirements for this major include: foreign language proficiency, 3 courses from the international studies department, and 8 business courses through the Rady School of Management. For students who have an interest in thinking from a global perspective, this program could be a great option. This program offers less flexibility than a general business administration major so students entering this program need to be sure that they really want to focus on international business. UCSD also offers a Business Economics major, an interdisciplinary degree program between the Rady School of Management and the Department of Economics. Rather than just an economics degree with just a few business courses sprinkled in, this program requires students to take ten management courses, which is much more substantial when compared to the business economics majors at other UCs. Alternatively, students interested in applying psychological principles to the workplace may want to check out the Business Psychology major. In addition to offering a beautiful campus and easy access to downtown San Diego, both UCSD and the Rady School of Management are both highly regarded among professional communities.
Overall Rating: A-
- Breadth of Business Courses: B+
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: A
- Prestige/Reputation: A
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#6: UCLA
While UCLA offers students tremendous educational opportunities including a highly prestigious economics department, it does not offer a comprehensive business program for undergraduate students. UCLA does offer a Business Economics major but students should realize that the course requirements are predominantly focused on economics with 2 required management courses and a maximum of 3 management electives. Business courses are offered through the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management. Students enter as Pre-Business Economics then apply to the Business Economics major and must complete the pre-major courses with a 3.0 minimum gpa and a “C” or higher in each course. For students seeking an economics major with exposure to some business courses this could be an excellent option at a highly prestigious school, but for students preferring to focus more on business skills over economic theory, this may not be the best fit.
Overall Rating: B+
- Breadth of Business Courses: C
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: A
- Prestige/Reputation: A
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#7: UC Merced
The closest option to a business major is the school’s B.S. degree in Management and Business Economics. This program is run through the recently created Gallo School of Economics. The major’s requirements include 7 lower division courses, 5 upper division courses, and 3 upper division electives. Required courses consist of a mixture of economics, accounting, and business courses. While high school students often overlook UC Merced because it is considered less prestigious than the other UC's, students who attend UC Merced consistently report having positive experiences and those looking for a smaller campus will likely enjoy the school’s strong sense of community. Because of the location, however, business economics majors will likely find less variety and availability of internships opportunities in comparison to the UC’s located in more urban areas, which is something to consider.
Overall Rating: B
- Breadth of Business Courses: B
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: B-
- Prestige/Reputation: B-
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#8: UC Santa Cruz
The school offers a major in Business Management Economics. The requirements for the program include 6 lower division economics and math courses, 2 computer science courses, 4 upper division economics courses, 1 finance elective, and 3 business management electives, and 1 economics elective. Because UC Santa Cruz does not have a business school and the major is offered through the economics department, the perceived quality of the business courses is negatively impacted. Students seeking an economics major with exposure to some business courses, may like this as an option, but students looking for a more robust business program and access to the faculty and resources of a graduate level business school, may be disappointed.
Overall Rating: B-
- Breadth of Business Courses: C
- Internship and Professional Opportunities: B-
- Prestige/Reputation: B
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#9: UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara offers degrees in Economics, Economics and Accounting, Actuarial Science, and Financial Mathematics and Statistics, but the school does not offer a business major.