Freeman rises in latest U.S. News MBA ranking

Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business climbed eight spots to No. 54 in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s best full-time MBA programs.

The ranking, part of U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Graduate Schools, was released April 8.

This year’s rise follows a 19-point jump in last year’s ranking, reflecting an upward trend rooted in Freeman’s strategic investments in curriculum innovation and student success.

“Over the last several years, we’ve devoted significant resources to creating a new MBA program, one that rigorously prepares students for the challenges of a rapidly evolving business environment,” said Paulo Goes, dean of the Freeman School. “I’m pleased to see this positive momentum reflected in our ranking, but what matters more are the quantifiable improvements we’re seeing in student quality, career outcomes and reputational metrics — key performance indicators that define our success.”

U.S. News & World Report based this year’s ranking on nine quality indicators spread across three areas: employment success, institutional reputation and student selectivity. Driving Freeman’s rise in this year’s ranking were significant gains in graduate employment rate, average starting salary, and peer and recruiter assessment scores.

Based on this year’s survey, the Freeman School now ranks No. 28 among private business schools nationally and No. 6 among private business schools in the South. In addition, Freeman’s 27-point rise since 2023 represents the sixth-biggest improvement among schools over that period.

In 2023, the Freeman School unveiled a major revision to its MBA curriculum, with a new emphasis on data-driven decision making, cross-functional experiential learning and future-focused course content. During the school’s AACSB re-accreditation, the redesigned program was praised for its focus on data and business analytics. The review team also singled out the Schwartz Family Center for Experiential Business Learning, a new center of excellence within the business school that connects MBA students with consulting projects for local, regional and national companies.

“We are deeply encouraged to see the students, employers and our peers validate the impact of our innovative curriculum, exceptional classroom experience and career success,” said Venkat Subramaniam, senior associate dean for academic programs. “There’s still a lot we want to accomplish, but this ranking shows we’re making significant progress.”

The full-time MBA isn’t the only Freeman program on the rise in U.S. News. The Freeman School’s Professional MBA program climbed five places to No. 68 on the magazine’s list of the Best Part-time MBA Programs.

To learn more about the Freeman School’s MBA programs, visit https://freeman.tulane.edu/graduate#mba-programs.