Whitman Rises to No. 37 in Poets&Quants 2026 Business Rankings
The rose to No. 37 in the Poets&Quants 2026 Best Undergraduate Business Schools , up two spots from No. 39 in 2025. The advancement marks continued progress toward the school’s strategic goal of becoming a top 25 business school by 2030.
Poets&Quants is the authoritative source for undergraduate business school rankings, news and analysis. The publication bases its undergraduate rankings on three equally weighted categories: admissions selectivity, academic experience and job placement.
“This is the ranking that matters most to us in measuring our progress, and moving to No. 37 is a meaningful signal that we are heading in the right direction,” says Alex McKelvie, interim dean of the Whitman School of Management. “Transformation 2030 is not a traditional five-year academic strategic plan. It is a commitment to doing things differently across every dimension of what we offer students. The improvement in rankings is recognition reflecting the hard work of our faculty, staff, alumni and the students themselves. It gives us momentum in our upward trajectory to the top 25.”
Transformation 2030: A Blueprint for Ascending to Excellence
Publicly launched in November 2025, emphasizes commitments and investment in the academic and student experience, admissions and career outcomes, among other priority areas.
Progress is already visible across these important areas. Recognizing student success extends well beyond the classroom, Whitman has invested in the academic team, including hiring a director of academic advising and an assistant director of student success to ensure students receive the ongoing support they need, from tutoring and time management to building resilience and prioritizing mental wellness. Whitman also created a required one-credit business and technology course that includes Excel and AI-related certifications, to ensure students have the technical acumen for a changing digital work environment.
this month, emphasizing Whitman’s commitment to infusing industry focused, practical and meaningful experiences throughout the entire program. The center provides a robust infrastructure for Whitman’s many impactful programs such as the Goodman IMPRESS professional development program, study away and study abroad, the Whitman Industry Readiness & Excellence (WIRE) certification initiative and a growing portfolio of case competitions and simulations.
On the admissions front, Whitman welcomed its most academically qualified incoming class on record this fall, with the Class of 2029 posting the highest-ever average SAT (1349), ACT (31) and GPA (3.84) in the school’s history. Applications reached 8,596, surpassing the previous record and representing 16 applications per available seat, making Whitman the most in-demand school on the University campus.
Career outcomes have also strengthened. Whitman’s 180-day undergraduate placement rate stands at 98.1%, with an average starting salary of $71,024. The school has restructured Career Services and Employer Relations under unified leadership, expanding impactful career readiness programs like Design Your Future and the Finance Career Accelerator Program, while deepening relationships with premier employers our students aspire to join.
“Every initiative we are building, whether in the classroom, through career services or experiential learning, reflects our commitment to preparing students for long-term success,” says Mike Haynie, Syracuse University chancellor-elect. “Being in the top 25 is a tangible milestone that is part of a larger goal to deliver world-class educational outcomes for our students. This ranking movement confirms what we already know: Whitman is ascending.”
—Story by Danielle Rosenburgh
