Daniels School of Business named No. 25 globally, No. 17 in U.S. among world’s best business schools

Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business remains positioned in elite company with its programs ranked No. 25 worldwide and No. 17 in the U.S. in a 2025 survey of the best business schools globally.

The annual ranking, released by CEOWORLD magazine on April 6, placed the Daniels School of Business third among its Big Ten peers, behind Northwestern (No. 9) and UCLA (No. 23).

Separately, the Daniels School’s online MBA program jumped two spots to No. 7 in North America and was tops among its Big Ten peers in CEO Magazine’s Global MBA Rankings survey. Purdue’s online MBA program also rose a single spot to 28th globally in that magazine’s survey, which was released March 24.

“These rankings reflect the positive momentum that the Daniels School has been building over the past months,” said Jim Bullard, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business. “Our link between business and technology has resonated with students and industry alike. Demand for our programs is skyrocketing, and we continue to produce graduates who are ready to lead great companies and solve tomorrow’s greatest challenges.”

For its global rankings of the best business schools, CEOWORLD surveyed 250,000 business executives, graduates, global business influencers, industry professionals, business school academics, employers and recruiters in 176 countries and territories. Participants were asked to rate institutions on a scale of 1 (“marginal”) to 100 (“outstanding”).

CEO Magazine’s Global MBA Rankings, published annually since 2012, profiled MBA, executive MBA and online MBA programs from business schools across North America, South America, Central America, Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Middle East. The growth in the number of schools offering online MBAs was most noticeable, the magazine cited, with 10 new programs entering the online rankings in the past year.

Purdue’s online MBA, a key component of the reimagined Daniels School, draws from the Big Ten university’s major strengths as a leading STEM institution recognized for the persistent pursuit of innovation and excellence in business and technology.

The online MBA program is designed to provide the analytical, strategic and problem-solving expertise to lead teams and organizations. The program also highlights how dynamic global environments are transforming modern business, imparting the management skills to tackle new challenges, drive change and inspire others.

These emphases set the Daniels School’s online MBA apart from its U.S. and global peers:

• Balance: While online courses can be completed when it’s convenient, the program also provides one-on-one support from staff and faculty who host virtual sessions and office hours.
• Community: Learning is doing through esteemed faculty in a connected, collaborative online environment, providing the full, immersive Purdue student experience while joining the university’s worldwide network of students from over 135 countries.
• Growth and support: Students work closely with a certified executive coach from the college’s Career Services Office who provides specialized support for achieving career goals. One-on-one guidance also is provided by a student success coach who’s dedicated to students’ educational and career advancement.

In response to growing enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the Daniels School of Business on Friday (April 11) celebrated the groundbreaking of the college’s 164,000-square-foot building near the intersection of Mitch Daniels Boulevard and Sheetz Street.

The $168 million facility, which is set to be finished in 2027, will provide modern teaching and research labs for financial trading, data visualization, behavioral research and experiential learning. The six-story building also will feature three large general purpose, centrally scheduled classrooms — one accommodating 500 students and two accommodating 250 students apiece.

Lilly Endowment Inc. approved $50 million in January 2024 to go toward the new building’s construction.

Last week, Purdue’s production operations, business analytics and supply chain management graduate programs offered by the Daniels School of Business also had strong showings in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report survey of over 500 U.S. institutions with master’s level business programs:

• Production operations: No. 6
• Supply chain management: No. 11
• Business analytics: No. 16 

Participation in CEO Magazine’s MBA survey was up 10%, with 153 schools and 309 programs (100 online, 74 EMBA and 135 full-time and part-time MBA programs) across 24 countries. Its rankings were based on quality of faculty (34.95%), international diversity (9.71%), class size (9.71%), accreditation (8.74%) and faculty/student ratio (7.76%) as well as price, international exposure, work experience, professional development, gender parity and delivery methods.

For the CEOWORLD rankings, several parameters were measured including the satisfaction levels of individual students, industry professionals and corporate recruiters. Its metrics centered on academic reputation, admission eligibility, job placement rate, recruiter feedback, specialization, global reputation and influence, and annual tuition and fees.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.