Texas is big on business. Graduates of the best business schools in Texas have excellent opportunities for getting the jobs they want at better than average salaries and while enjoying a cost of living lower than the national average.
Every year about 7,600 undergraduates earn their degrees from Texas business schools. The average salary of their first jobs is $39,456 per year. But you may earn substantially more than an average salary right out of school when you graduate from one of the best business schools in Texas.
Top 5 Business Schools in Texas
Rank | School | Location |
---|---|---|
1 | Baylor University | Waco, Texas |
2 | Texas Christian University | Fort Worth, Texas |
3 | Southern Methodist University | Dallas, Texas |
4 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas |
5 | Texas A & M University | College Station, Texas |
How much higher? Take a look at this list we adapted from College Factual:
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of Texas Christian University in 2020 was $61,200. The average student debt load for a Texas Christian grad was $21,480, with a monthly payment of $249.
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of the University of Texas at Austin in 2020 was $57,900. The average student debt load for a Cal Poly business grad was $19,267, with a monthly payment of $204.
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of Texas A & M University in 2020 was $53,100. The average student debt load for a Texas A & M grad was $19,361, with a monthly payment of $202.
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of LeTourneau University in 2020 was $52.400. The average student debt load for a LeTourneau University grad was $30,363, with a monthly payment of $313.
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of SMU in 2020 was $50,700. The average student debt load for a SUM grad was $26,096, with a monthly payment of $270.
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of Baylor University in 2020 was $48,700. The average student debt load for a Baylor grad was $19,290, with a monthly payment of $202.
- The average first-year salary for business graduates of the University of Houston in 2020 was also $48,700. The average student debt load for a U of H grad was $19,759, with a monthly payment of $192.
As you can see, choosing the right undergraduate business school can make a huge difference in your future earnings, starting the year you graduate. Future earnings aren’t the only factor in your choice of business school for your undergraduate degree, but it pays to check out career potential before you choose your school.
We calculated the rankings of best business schools in Texas on the basis of multiple criteria including tuition, how many students graduate, and other factors we explain at the end of this article. Now let’s dive into our list of the best business schools in Texas.
The Best 10 Business Schools in Texas
Baylor University
Undergraduates in the Hankamer School of Business have excellent networking possibilities (although most of them are in Dallas, not in Waco) and opportunities to pursue majors not available at most universities, including Media Business, Sports Sponsorship and Sales, and Business German. The Hankamer School of Business offers 24 areas of concentration for undergraduates, allowing motivated students to pursue an early start to the career of their dreams.
Business students at Baylor earn their degrees in three parts. First, there is a general education requirement for all students. Baylor students are expected to have strong writing skills, some exposure to math, science, and the fine arts, and usually competence in one language other than English.
Then Baylor business students complete a Professional. Business Core, mastering topics that are needed in all business careers, and finally they take their courses in their area of specialization. The Hankamer School puts a premium on mastering core courses and consistently displaying good ethics.
School Overview
Texas Christian University
The Neeley School of Business at TCU prepares undergraduate students for success both locally and globally.
The school’s Premium Credentials program works with employers in Dallas and Fort Worth to identify the characteristics and preparation they identify with on the job success. Then the Neeley School of Business helps students in their undergraduate program to develop the skills and work characteristics that local employers identify in their best employees.
TCU also offers its undergraduate business students opportunities to study and observe employers in China, Mexico, Chile, France, Italy, Germany, and India. The Neeley School of Business maintains university and employer connections in over 20 countries so students can gain an international perspective and sometimes pursue international employment.
School Overview
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private university in Dallas, Texas, affiliated with the United Methodist Church. One of the attractions of SMU’s business program is that it is at the center of one of the best job markets in the United States.
SMU offers seven majors in its undergraduate business program. Students can study accounting, finance, a finance major with a specialization in alternative asset management, financial consulting, marketing, management, real estate, risk management, and general business. The Cox BBA Scholars Program offers outstanding students an opportunity to start working with mentors early in their undergraduate program.
School Overview
The University of Texas at Austin
Undergraduate business majors at the University of Texas at Austin have their choice of thousands of courses in over 170 fields to complement their degree programs. But they aren’t left on their own when it is time to get a job. The McCombs School of Business has a proactive placement department that helps students constantly improve their interviewing skills with just the right potential employers — and Austin consistently ranks the best city in the USA for jobs.
Undergraduate students at UT Austin can study accounting, finance, international business, management, management information systems, marketing, science and technology management, and supply chain management. They may also qualify to study in the Canfield Business Honors program at Texas A & M, designed to create small cadres of students with accelerated professional opportunities, or in the iMPA program, which leads to a master’s in accounting within five years of first enrollment.
School Overview
Texas A & M University
At any given time, there are about 6,000 Aggies enrolled in the Texas A & M undergraduate business program. Texas A & M undergrads can go for a BBA with a major in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, or supply chain management. Students can apply for a program that awards an MPA in accounting in as little as four years. There is also a Business Honors program at Texas A & M with some impressive statistics:
- 70% of students in the Business Honors program at Texas A & M complete their degrees and have a job or are in graduate school within 5 years of first enrollment.
- 90% of students in the Business Honors program at Texas A & M serve as officers in student organizations.
- 90% of students in the Business Honors program at Texas A & M study, travel, or do volunteer work outside the United States.
- 100% of students in the Business Honors program at Texas A & M complete an internship.
- 100% of students graduating from the Business Honors program at Texas A & Ms accept a job or go to graduate school.
School Overview
The University of Texas at Dallas
Undergraduate students at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas can major in accounting, business administration (general business), finance, global business, healthcare management, human resource management, information technology and systems, marketing, or supply chain management. They can also pursue fast-track programs that allow them to pursue work toward an MS focusing on hot fields like healthcare leadership, energy management, and innovation and entrepreneurship. The Davidson Management Honors Program places students into a small cohort that empowers building lifetime connections and powerful business networks.
School Overview
Abilene Christian University
In a world where global connectivity and technological advancement are continually changing the problems that need solving, ACU’s College of Business Administration (COBA) ensures that students are equipped with the skills necessary to excel at developing creative solutions. Students receive an AACSB-accredited degree of the highest caliber from a program that reflects the latest developments in the global business environment and features the integration of faith, leadership, ethics, and technology. COBA faculty teach courses and conduct research to both educate and prepare students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.
COBA is home to 7 majors: accounting, finance, marketing, management, information systems, computer science, and digital entertainment technology. This blend of business and technology provides students a unique opportunity that may not be available at other institutions. Within COBA are two centers that create opportunities for students to look beyond what they are learning in the classroom: The Lytle Center for Faith and Leadership and the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy. Students are also given opportunities to develop their professional skills through business-focused study abroad programs, real-world consulting projects, and various student organizations. The continuous investment in professional development resulted in 96% of last year’s graduates securing employment or enrollment in graduate or professional school within six months of graduation.
School Overview
The University of Texas at Tyler
One of the major reasons undergraduate business students take more than four years to graduate — and have to absorb tens of thousands of dollars in opportunity costs from lost wages — is their universities don’t have openings in one or more required courses at critical times in their college careers. UT Tyler spares students these lost opportunities by offering core courses and required courses in business majors on a rolling basis. If you can’t take a course in the fall semester, it will be available in the spring semester, and maybe even in summer school. Students can combine business courses with industrial technology majors after completing core courses in both fields.
School Overview
University of Houston
The C. T. Bauer School of Business is designed for students who have never gone to college before — it’s not open to students who already have a bachelor’s degree — to give them competencies in four areas for the rest of their professional lives:
- The skills to identify legal and ethical issues in business as well as a framework for resolving them
- Disciplinary competence
- The ability to communicate effectively in a business environment utilizing proper structure, language, and grammar
- The aptitude to think critically and apply problem-solving models to a given business situation
The School of Business is strictly a day program and outside employment, other than internships, is discouraged. On the other hand, the School of Business does everything it can to match students to scholarships. You only need to fill out a single form to be considered for every scholarship for which you are eligible.
School Overview
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University’s Jerry S. Rawls College of Business prepares a diverse student body for successful careers as leaders, managers, executives and innovators in their chosen fields. With seven majors and nine certificates at the undergraduate level, students are empowered to tailor their studies to match their personal interests and career goals.
Rawls College students receive an education that centers on academic rigor, creative thinking, hands-on learning and service opportunities. From studying abroad, living in the business learning community, applying for the Scovell Business Leadership Program and joining student organizations, students have the opportunity to be uniquely involved in real-world business experiences.
To ensure student success upon graduation, Rawls College has its own dedicated Career Management Center, which consistently boasts job placement rates well above the national average. Top employers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurial firms, turn to Rawls College to recruit, hire and promote business leaders. With a worldwide network of more than 55,000 graduates, Rawls College’s supportive alumni help students succeed through meaningful networking and mentoring.
School Overview
Other Great Schools That Didn’t Make the Top of Our Rankings
These 10 schools aren’t all your options for an excellent undergraduate business education in Texas. There are other excellent programs that didn’t make the top of our list because they are extremely selective, or because they cater to working students who have difficulties finishing their programs so the school doesn’t have a high retention rate, or because they don’t have a lot of scholarship money. But if you don’t find a match in our top 10, consider five more really good undergraduate business programs.
Rice University
Rice offers a core of general business courses for students majoring in engineering, the sciences, and other fields who anticipate that may want to study for an MBA or they may want to pursue executive careers
School Overview
Southwestern University
Southwestern University is a small liberal arts school associated with the United Methodist Church in Georgetown, just north of Austin. Business courses are taught from a liberal arts perspective at Southwestern, but that doesn’t mean that students aren’t given the tools they need to do everything from mastering a balance sheet to finding the role of artificial intelligence in the management responsibilities. Business majors from Southwestern and Southwestern London Program and have interned with the Texas Bowl, theFederal Reserve Bank, Southwest Airlines, Accenture, and the Smithsonian.
School Overview
LeTourneau University
LeTourneau graduates get great salaries. They also get a firm grounding in business ethics in a Christian atmosphere in East Texas.
School Overview
St. Edward’s University
St. Edward’s University is a small, close-knit university in Austin. The School of Business emphasizes finding win-win resolutions in business and in society.
School Overview
Dallas Baptist University
Dallas Baptist University students can pursue majors in hotel and hospitality management as well as camp and recreation management in addition to the usual accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing, and systems technology and information management. The university offers federally funded work-study programs on campus, as well as grants, loans, and scholarships.
School Overview
How did we compute our rankings?
We gathered data on the best business schools in Texas from U.S. News and World Report,the Higher Education Institute at UCLA,, PayScale.com, and the National Center for Education Statistics. We parsed those data sets to identify the following factors:
- Tuition data: How many students receive scholarships, total amount of scholarship money available, how fast tuition rates are going up.
- Program popularity: How many students are enrolled in the undergraduate business program, how many programs are offered.
- Student-to-faculty ratio.
- Retention rate: Graduation rate, transfer-out rate.
We list typical SAT and ACT scores for the classes that entered in 2020, but we did not weigh them as a factor in ranking schools, since none of the top business schools uses them as an absolute way to include or exclude your application for admission.
Then we gave all of these factors equal weight in computing a score for each undergraduate program. Giving greater weight to a low student-to-faculty ratio produced a few surprises in our list, such as the inclusion of the business program at LeTourneau University in Longview in our top 10.
Have you graduated from one of these programs? Is there a great program we need to know more about? We welcome your comments below, and invite any updates on the information we provide for each school.