For current and prospective undergraduate business majors looking for the school with the most bang for its buck, the Haas School of Business just may not be the place to go.
Despite consistently being ranked as one of the best overall undergraduate business programs in the nation, new rankings from Businessweek place the Haas School of Business at a low 57 out of 124 on return on investment, or ROI. The rankings, released Friday, rate private and public undergraduate business programs by comparing median starting salaries of graduates to the rate of annual tuition for each school.
While UC Berkeley’s undergraduate business program was ranked 11th overall by Businessweek and third overall by US News, the programs gracing the top 10 for ROI include those at schools like the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Brigham Young University in Utah.
According to the report, the Haas undergraduate program is ranked low for return on investment due to an exceptionally high tuition rate despite being part of a public institution. UC Berkeley’s undergraduate tuition rate is the fourth-highest for a public university at $14,985 per year, the report states.
UC Berkeley graduates of Haas earned $4 per tuition dollar spent, which is lower than the average amount earned by graduates of other public universities, which was $5.99, according to the report.
This, however, does not seem to be much of a deterrent for many Haas students set to graduate in the coming weeks.
“Paying student loans is definitely concerning,” said graduating Haas senior Richard Tran. “But I’m fortunate enough to have found a job.”
Additionally, though tuition may be a high price to pay, many undergraduate Haas students said they were reassured by the connections, networking and recruitment opportunities that Haas has to offer.
“For most Haas graduating seniors, paying off tuition is not a problem, since most graduate with a job,” said graduating Haas senior Elaine Huang.
The median starting salary for Haas graduates is $60,000, according to Pamela Tom, the school’s business media relations manager. Among the schools ranked by Businessweek for ROI, this is the fourth-highest starting salary for public school graduates and 11th overall.
“Employers view Haas as one of the finest in the country,” said campus Career Center Director Tom Devlin. “Therefore, the average salary of Haas bachelor graduates is always within the top 10 of undergraduate schools.”
Devlin also stated that the average salary for Haas graduates has remained consistently high for many years.
“These numbers reflect what employers think and what employers are willing to pay for our graduates,” Devlin said.