UC Davis MBA among Top 12 in U.S. with Highest Return for Grads Earning $100,000-Plus

(Davis, CA) — The UC Davis Full-Time MBA ranks among the top 12 U.S. programs with the highest return on investment for recent graduates earning more than $100,000, according to U.S. News & World Report data.

To help prospective students better evaluate potential earnings with an MBA, U.S. News ranked 27 business schools where 2020 full-time MBA graduates made $100,000 on average within three months of graduation and what they borrowed for their education.

The data is from 2022 U.S. News Best Business Schools rankings released earlier this year.

“One way to gauge income potential is to look at a school's salary-to-debt ratio. That rate of return is calculated by dividing the average salary and signing bonus of recent grads by the average student debt of those who borrowed,” U.S. News editors explained in their article.

UC Davis MBA Salary-to-debt Ratio

The UC Davis Full-Time MBA salary-to-debt ratio for 2020 graduates is 2.3-to-1, which is tied for the 12th highest return on investment for graduates earning more than $100,000, according to the U.S. News report.

The salary-to-debt ratio is based on the UC Davis Full-Time MBA class of 2020 average salary and signing bonus within three months of graduating, which was $130,317, and their average borrowed student debt of $55,531.

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management is one of only three business schools in California included on the list of schools where recent full-time MBA grads had at least a 160% average return.

U.S. News noted that a Graduate Management Admission Council survey showed that the vast majority of alumni of two-year, full-time MBA programs—93%—said their degree was professionally rewarding, and 83% said that their degree was financially beneficial.

Top Full-Time MBA at Public B-schools

U.S. News also recently spotlighted the UC Davis Full-Time MBA among the best in the U.S. at public universities. UC Davis was ranked No. 27 in U.S. News’ “47 Best Public B-Schools for a Full-Time MBA.”

The U.S. News recognition follows Fortune's debut full-time MBA rankings published in July 2021 that placed the UC Davis Full-Time MBA program among the highest ever in a major media survey. 

Fortune ranked the UC Davis MBA  No. 27 overall and No. 12 among programs at public institutions. Nearly two-thirds of the Fortune ranking score is based on starting salaries and class of 2020 career placement.