Money Lists UMW Among Best MBA Programs for Quality and Value

The University of Mary Washington is recognized among the “Best Graduate Schools in America” by Money, earning a spot as one of 33 colleges nationwide in the “Best MBA Programs for Your Money” category for 2025.

Money’s annual ranking of post-baccalaureate programs helps students and professionals look at graduate schools through the lens of quality and value. The publication’s analysis considered quality and costs, with a focus on annual tuition and fees, debt burdens, employment rates and recent graduate salaries.

Mary Washington made the list for its master’s in business administration (MBA) program, earning four stars on a five-star scale. UMW was one of four Virginia colleges on the MBA list, all with four-star ratings. Other Virginia schools on Money’s list were James Madison University, Longwood University and the University of Virginia.

“This recognition is a powerful affirmation of the exceptional value and quality we deliver to our MBA students,” said UMW College of Business Dean Filiz Tabak. “It highlights our commitment to providing a rigorous, relevant and affordable graduate business education.”

To determine the rankings, Money included all graduate school programs in the United States that reported degree completions in 2022 to the federal government’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. From there, the ranking methodology filtered the list to public, private and not-for-profit schools that are accredited with at least 20 students in the degree program. The rankings did not consider mostly online schools, defined as schools with 80% or more of their students entirely online.

Money defined a “good value” program as one that delivers a quality education for a low cost, with double weight attributed to quality to ensure those schools were favored over simply inexpensive ones.

The rankings aim to answer questions many students have when evaluating graduate schools, such as does the school offer a robust program that’s in demand, do students graduate with a reasonable amount of debt they can successfully pay off, will they get a job and how much will they get paid after graduation.

At UMW, 94% of graduates are either employed or enrolled in additional education and $95,800 was the mean reported salary for 2024 graduates. With just 30 credits needed to complete the MBA at UMW, students typically graduate within two years.

Mary Washington’s MBA program provides a distinctive blend of opportunities for learning, scholarship and professional development to create the next generation of innovative leaders. The program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, a global nonprofit association connecting educators, students and businesses, and is among only 6% of business schools worldwide to earn this recognition.

For more information, visit Money’s “Best MBA Programs for Your Money” list” or Mary Washington’s College of Business MBA graduate program website.