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Best Management Science Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

118 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Management Science, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Management Science graduate earns $62,729/yr across 118 schools.

What do Management Science graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why Wisconsin Wins: A Public Powerhouse with Private Sector Pay

The University of Wisconsin-Madison secures the #1 spot by combining the resources of a massive public research university with graduate outcomes that rival elite private schools. Its $83,260/yr average earnings are a direct result of a powerful regional recruiting pipeline into major Midwest industries like manufacturing, insurance, and healthcare—sectors hungry for data-driven decision-makers. With a strong business school and a reputation as a Big Ten academic leader, UW-Madison provides a direct path to high-paying analyst and management roles for a public school price, delivering an impressive 27.3x return on investment.

The ROI Surprise: Florida's Publics Outperform on Value

The most stunning financial wins in this ranking belong to Florida State (#6) and the University of Florida (#7), which boast incredible ROIs of 42.9x and 38.3x, respectively. While their graduate earnings are strong, the real story is their remarkably low tuition—both under $26,000 for four years. This creates a powerful value proposition: you get a degree from a top-tier state flagship that leads to a solid career, but with a tiny fraction of the debt you'd incur elsewhere. CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (#10) follows the same playbook, leveraging its NYC location and low cost to deliver a 31.5x ROI and the best debt-to-earnings ratio in the nation.

AI Isn't Replacing You; It's Changing Your Job Description

The 100% high AI exposure rate for this field isn't a threat—it's a signal of evolution. For a management science professional, AI automates the grunt work: cleaning data, running initial analyses, and generating reports. Your future value won't be in doing the calculations, but in directing the AI. This means framing the right business questions, auditing the AI's output for flaws, and—most importantly—translating complex quantitative insights into actionable strategy for leadership. This degree is no longer about being the best analyst; it's about being the best manager of analytical tools.

The Public School Landslide: Why No Private Universities in the Top 20?

The complete dominance of public universities in the top 20 is no accident. This field sits at the intersection of high-powered research and practical business application, a sweet spot for large state flagships. These institutions have the scale to build deep corporate partnerships and the research funding to stay on the cutting edge of quantitative methods. More critically, for a career-focused degree like this, the math is simple: public schools deliver comparable or better earnings for a fraction of the cost, making their return on investment almost impossible for expensive private universities to beat.

Programs Ranked

118

Avg Earnings

$62,729/yr

Avg DW Score

71/100

AI Risk

Very High

58% task exposure

All Management Science Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	91 86–92	$83,260/yr	27.3x
2	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE · Public	89 85–90	$75,137/yr	26.0x
3	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	88 84–89	$72,304/yr	22.9x
4	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	88 84–89	$70,903/yr	24.3x
5	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	87 84–88	$73,618/yr	20.0x
6	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	87 84–88	$62,578/yr	42.9x
7	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	87 83–87	$60,290/yr	38.3x
8	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	87 83–87	$70,324/yr	21.0x
9	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	87 83–88	$78,177/yr	16.2x
10	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY · Public	87 83–87	$62,306/yr	31.5x
11	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	87 83–88	$77,877/yr	16.7x
12	Ball State University Muncie, IN · Public	86 82–87	$67,350/yr	20.9x
13	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	85 81–85	$72,527/yr	14.7x
14	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	85 81–85	$68,804/yr	16.9x
15	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	85 81–86	$68,049/yr	16.8x
16	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public	84 80–85	$66,099/yr	15.5x
17	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	84 80–84	$62,069/yr	17.4x
18	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA · Public	84 80–85	$62,069/yr	17.6x
19	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT · Public	84 80–85	$71,600/yr	13.8x
20	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT · Public	84 80–85	$71,600/yr	13.8x
21	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT · Public	84 80–85	$71,600/yr	13.8x
22	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT · Public	84 80–85	$71,600/yr	13.8x
23	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	83 79–84	$57,257/yr	21.1x
24	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public	83 79–84	$55,596/yr	23.2x
25	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA · Public	83 79–84	$59,150/yr	18.0x
26	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT · Public	82 79–83	$71,600/yr	11.7x
27	Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN · Public	82 78–82	$67,267/yr	17.1x
28	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	82 79–83	$66,149/yr	14.4x
29	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	82 78–83	$74,770/yr	11.7x
30	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	82 79–83	$68,814/yr	15.0x
31	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	82 78–83	$74,778/yr	10.7x
32	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN · Public	82 78–82	$59,501/yr	15.4x
33	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL · Public	81 77–82	$60,832/yr	15.7x
34	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX · Public	81 78–82	$47,528/yr	25.1x
35	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA · Public	80 76–81	$60,973/yr	13.1x
36	National Louis University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	80 76–81	$59,084/yr	15.0x
37	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX · Public	80 77–81	$61,303/yr	13.6x
38	Drake University Des Moines, IA · Private nonprofit	79 74–79	$80,044/yr	4.9x
39	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private nonprofit	78 74–79	$79,777/yr	29.7x
40	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	78 73–78	$81,377/yr	21.1x
41	Bentley University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit	76 71–77	$81,103/yr	3.5x
42	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	76 71–76	$78,978/yr	3.7x
43	Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit	75 71–75	$69,590/yr	6.5x
44	Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, OK · Public	74 72–75	$44,959/yr	21.2x
45	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	73 69–73	$51,128/yr	11.9x
46	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	73 69–74	$74,357/yr	3.0x
47	Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	73 70–74	$65,627/yr	3.8x
48	Appalachian State University Boone, NC · Public	72 68–72	$56,340/yr	17.7x
49	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH · Public	72 69–73	$47,040/yr	12.5x
50	Texas A & M University-Commerce Commerce, TX · Public	72 68–73	$63,945/yr	14.9x
51	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public	72 68–73	$93,565/yr	10.1x
52	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY · Public	72 70–73	$45,090/yr	19.5x
53	Illinois State University Normal, IL · Public	71 68–72	$47,553/yr	10.6x
54	Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA · Public	71 69–72	$45,720/yr	13.4x
55	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit	71 67–72	$76,718/yr	10.7x
56	Auburn University Auburn, AL · Public	70 66–71	$64,841/yr	11.9x
57	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	70 66–71	$73,420/yr	10.4x
58	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS · Public	70 66–71	$62,993/yr	12.5x
59	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI · Public	70 66–70	$69,446/yr	10.8x
60	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	70 66–70	$51,384/yr	16.8x
61	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public	69 65–70	$49,830/yr	16.6x
62	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	69 66–70	$46,886/yr	10.4x
63	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	69 65–69	$69,443/yr	9.9x
64	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	69 65–69	$58,615/yr	12.1x
65	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	68 64–68	$48,546/yr	15.3x
66	Western Connecticut State University Danbury, CT · Public	68 67–69	$42,454/yr	12.3x
67	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL · Public	68 66–69	$45,665/yr	10.4x
68	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO · Public	68 64–69	$61,709/yr	10.5x
69	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit	67 63–67	$65,070/yr	8.3x
70	North Central College Naperville, IL · Private nonprofit	67 62–68	$85,168/yr	3.8x
71	Roosevelt University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	67 64–68	$48,715/yr	7.2x
72	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit	67 62–68	$99,843/yr	3.1x
73	University of Michigan-Dearborn Dearborn, MI · Public	67 63–67	$61,297/yr	9.3x
74	New York University New York, NY · Private nonprofit	67 63–68	$102,572/yr	3.2x
75	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	67 63–67	$104,502/yr	3.0x
76	Georgetown University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	66 61–66	$92,963/yr	2.6x
77	St. John's University-New York Queens, NY · Private nonprofit	66 61–66	$82,432/yr	3.1x
78	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	66 62–66	$73,618/yr	—
79	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL · Public	65 65–66	$42,711/yr	10.8x
80	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN · Private nonprofit	65 60–65	$83,810/yr	2.3x
81	William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne, NJ · Public	65 63–66	$44,322/yr	9.3x
82	Manhattan College Riverdale, NY · Private nonprofit	65 62–66	$51,113/yr	3.0x
83	University of Portland Portland, OR · Private nonprofit	65 61–66	$53,136/yr	2.7x
84	Mid-America Christian University Oklahoma City, OK · Private nonprofit	65 63–66	$45,047/yr	7.5x
85	DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	64 60–65	$51,522/yr	3.1x
86	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY · Public	64 60–65	$49,823/yr	9.9x
87	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	63 59–64	$52,684/yr	7.6x
88	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit	63 59–64	$80,046/yr	2.0x
89	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY · Private nonprofit	63 59–64	$51,494/yr	2.5x
90	Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA · Private nonprofit	63 59–64	$73,497/yr	2.7x
91	Villanova University Villanova, PA · Private nonprofit	63 59–63	$76,606/yr	2.0x
92	Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL · Public	62 62–63	$42,500/yr	9.7x
93	Benedictine University Lisle, IL · Private nonprofit	62 58–62	$58,820/yr	3.3x
94	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN · Private nonprofit	62 58–63	$67,129/yr	2.6x
95	Creighton University Omaha, NE · Private nonprofit	62 58–62	$65,365/yr	2.5x
96	University of St Francis Joliet, IL · Private nonprofit	61 58–62	$45,735/yr	3.6x
97	Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA · Private nonprofit	61 57–62	$49,039/yr	3.4x
98	Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ · Private nonprofit	61 57–61	$58,890/yr	2.8x
99	La Salle University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	61 57–62	$57,783/yr	3.1x
100	University of Denver Denver, CO · Private nonprofit	60 57–61	$65,557/yr	1.8x
101	George Washington University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	60 56–61	$66,362/yr	1.6x
102	McKendree University Lebanon, IL · Private nonprofit	60 58–61	$45,899/yr	3.8x
103	Northwood University Midland, MI · Private nonprofit	60 56–61	$54,298/yr	3.1x
104	Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Winona, MN · Private nonprofit	60 56–60	$57,558/yr	2.3x
105	Bryant University Smithfield, RI · Private nonprofit	60 56–60	$60,162/yr	1.9x
106	Seattle University Seattle, WA · Private nonprofit	60 57–61	$63,496/yr	1.9x
107	California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA · Private nonprofit	59 55–59	$57,276/yr	1.8x
108	Siena College Loudonville, NY · Private nonprofit	59 55–59	$54,855/yr	2.1x
109	Jacksonville University Jacksonville, FL · Private nonprofit	58 54–58	$48,375/yr	2.5x
110	University of Rochester Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit	58 54–58	$56,463/yr	1.2x
111	Trinity University San Antonio, TX · Private nonprofit	58 54–59	$55,887/yr	1.7x
112	Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit	56 56–57	$41,787/yr	2.9x
113	Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC · Private nonprofit	55 53–56	$45,534/yr	2.7x
114	Ohio Northern University Ada, OH · Private nonprofit	53 51–54	$45,730/yr	2.6x
115	Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA · Private nonprofit	49 49–50	$42,127/yr	1.1x
116	La Roche University Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit	49 53–50	$37,911/yr	3.5x
117	Coppin State University Baltimore, MD · Public	46 48–47	$39,510/yr	4.8x
118	Texas Wesleyan University Fort Worth, TX · Private nonprofit	45 53–46	$33,097/yr	3.5x

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Management Science?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, University of Wisconsin-Madison ranks #1 for Management Science with a score of 91/100 and graduate earnings of $83,260/yr.

How much do Management Science graduates earn?

Across 118 schools, Management Science graduates earn an average of $62,729/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $104,502/yr.

Is Management Science a good major for AI resistance?

Management Science has an average AI task exposure of 58%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.