• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
LeadershipBusiness School

10 most lucrative MBA degrees

By
Poets&Quants
Poets&Quants
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Poets&Quants
Poets&Quants
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 14, 2014, 2:40 PM ET
2013 Harvard University Commencement
CAMBRIDGE, MA - MAY 30: General atmosphere at 2013 Harvard University 362nd Commencement Exercises at Harvard University on May 30, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images)Paul Marotta—Getty Images

1 Harvard Business School

Commencement at Harvard University in 2013.

20-Year Income: $3,233,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $138,346

Top Five Industry Choices:

  • Financial Services: 27%
  • Consulting: 22%
  • Technology: 18%
  • Manufacturing: 7%
  • Consumer Products: 6%

Data courtesy of Payscale.

2 Stanford Graduate School of Business

Students walk past Stanford University's Graduate School of Business

20-Year Income: $3,011,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $137,525

Top Five Industry Choices:

Technology: 32%
Financial Services: 26%
Consulting: 19%
Healthcare: 6%
Non-Profit: 5%

3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

20-Year Income: $2,989,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $141,243

Top Five Industry Choices:

Financial Services: 39%
Consulting: 29%
Technology: 11%
Consumer Products & Retail: 7%
Healthcare: 4%

4 UC-Berkeley (Haas)

20-Year Income: $2,858,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $134,078

Top Five Industry Choices:

Technology: 33%
Consulting: 17%
Financial Services: 11%
Healthcare: 11%
Consumer Products & Retail: 7%

5 Columbia Business School

Columbia University

With a staggering breadth of course offerings and a New York location, Columbia has a faculty of young rising superstars and practiced and accomplished veterans. Though the school has a reputation as a "corporate law firm factory," public interest law is still a strong suit.

20-Year Income: $2,796,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $137,654

Top Five Industry Choices:

Financial Services: 38%
Consulting: 30%
Technology: 12%
Consumer Products & Retail: 8%
Real Estate: 3%

6 MIT (Sloan)

20-Year Income: $2,858,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $137,057

Top Five Industry Choices:

Consulting: 32%
Technology: 19%
Financial Services: 16%
Consumer Products & Retail: 14%
Healthcare: 5%

7 University of Virginia (Darden)

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia School of Law has a solid academic reputation, but another factor convinces many prospective students to enroll: current students don't want to leave. "They all typically wish they could be here forever, which is unheard of among people who go to law school," says Anne Richard, senior assistant dean for admissions. In fact, UVA has the highest rate of alumni giving among law schools—a sign of happy graduates, if there ever was one.

20-Year Income: $2,705,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $136,102

Top Five Industry Choices:

Consulting: 27%
Financial Services: 26%
Technology: 14%
Manufacturing: 12%
Consumer Products & Retail: 13%

8 Dartmouth College (Tuck)

20-Year Income: 2,703,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $139,036

Top Five Industry Choices:

Financial Services: 30%
Consulting: 27%
Technology: 13%
Consumer Products & Retail: 10%
Manufacturing: 6%

9 New York University (Stern)

Stern - NYU

Index: 90.4 2012 rank: 5 Total program cost: $157,000 Format: Alternating Friday-Saturday classes, with two global study tours Length of program: 22 months Class of 2014: 60 students Average age: 38 Average years of work experience: 14

20-Year Income: $2,639,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $131,975

Top Five Industry Choices:

Financial Services: 42%
Consulting: 23%
Consumer Products & Retail: 13%
Entertainment/Media/Technology: 10%
Non-Profits: 6%

10 UCLA (Anderson)

UCLA - Anderson

Index: 88.8 2012 rank: 6 Total program cost: $129,500 Format: Alternating Friday-Saturday classes, with five residential sessions Length of program: 22 months Class of 2014: 75 students Acceptance rate: 57% Average age: 36 Average years of work experience: 13 Average undergraduate GPA: 3.33 Average GMAT: 668

20-Year Income: $2,593,000

2013 Starting Salary & Bonus: $123,353

Top Five Industry Choices:

Technology: 26%
Financial Services: 20%
Consulting: 14%
Consumer Products & Retail: 14%
Entertainment/Media/Technology: 9%
Healhcare: 6%

About the Author
By Poets&Quants
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon says 2026 is the year AI agents go mainstream—and the smartphone’s and the smartphone’s reign as your primary device is ending
AIFortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon says 2026 is the year AI agents go mainstream—and the smartphone’s and the smartphone’s reign as your primary device is ending
By Fortune EditorsMay 10, 2026
2 hours ago
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
SuccessCareers
Blackstone CEO admits his first big investment loss nearly brought him to tears—but the lesson put him on a path to now being worth $47 billion
By Emma BurleighMay 10, 2026
7 hours ago
nicole
MPWWealth
Meet Goldman’s athlete whisperer: the woman who stands guard against $1 billion of fraud targeting sports fortunes
By Nick LichtenbergMay 10, 2026
10 hours ago
Young man working on laptop with headphones in modern coffeeshop
Future of Workskills gap
AI generated identical résumés for a man and a woman: Hers was more likely to be labeled ‘weak,’ while his got a 97% approval rating
By Eleanor PringleMay 10, 2026
12 hours ago
‘I lost more money than anybody in the history of capitalism!’: Remembering Ted Turner
C-SuiteFinance
‘I lost more money than anybody in the history of capitalism!’: Remembering Ted Turner
By Shawn TullyMay 10, 2026
12 hours ago
As hantavirus outbreak unfolds, the CDC is missing in action, experts say. ‘I’m very sorry to say that we are not prepared’
PoliticsHealth
As hantavirus outbreak unfolds, the CDC is missing in action, experts say. ‘I’m very sorry to say that we are not prepared’
By Mike Stobbe and The Associated PressMay 9, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

'Employers are increasingly turning to degree and GPA' in hiring: Recruiters retreat from ‘talent is everywhere,’ double down on top colleges
Future of Work
'Employers are increasingly turning to degree and GPA' in hiring: Recruiters retreat from ‘talent is everywhere,’ double down on top colleges
By Jake AngeloMay 9, 2026
1 day ago
Ted Cruz says the quiet part out loud: Trump accounts are Social Security personal accounts as GOP senator reveals 'dirty little secret'
Politics
Ted Cruz says the quiet part out loud: Trump accounts are Social Security personal accounts as GOP senator reveals 'dirty little secret'
By Jason MaMay 9, 2026
1 day ago
‘This is the way’: Elon Musk endorses Warren Buffett’s famed 5-minute plan to fix the national debt
Economy
‘This is the way’: Elon Musk endorses Warren Buffett’s famed 5-minute plan to fix the national debt
By Jacqueline MunisMay 10, 2026
7 hours ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z and millennials are using ChatGPT like a 'life advisor'—but college students might be one step ahead
Tech
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z and millennials are using ChatGPT like a 'life advisor'—but college students might be one step ahead
By Sydney LakeMay 10, 2026
8 hours ago
Red flag test: former CEO explains why he rejects job candidates who say they can start right away
Success
Red flag test: former CEO explains why he rejects job candidates who say they can start right away
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 9, 2026
1 day ago
Trump thinks he's flying to Beijing with leverage. China spent 6 years making sure he doesn't have any
Commentary
Trump thinks he's flying to Beijing with leverage. China spent 6 years making sure he doesn't have any
By Steve H. HankeMay 10, 2026
9 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.