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Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region

97 Colleges
$46,236 Avg Salary
$26,191 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Business/Commerce School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, general business/commerce was ranked #16 in the country. In fact 56,042 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 97 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for general business majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best General Business/Commerce Schools

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for general business/commerce students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.

The average amount in student loans that general business majors at Notre Dame take out is $17,500.

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#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

The excellent programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general business/commerce schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#3

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

The excellent programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best general business/commerce schools in the Great Lakes Region . Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. IWU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.

On average, general business graduates from IWU take out $25,402 in student loans while working on their degree.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Indiana University - Bloomington is a great place for general business/commerce students. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, general business majors at IU Bloomington accumulate an average of around $19,594 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $581.

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#6

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, IL

Illinois Wesleyan University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general business/commerce programs. Located in the small city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general business/commerce students. It came in at #7 on the list. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.

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#8

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general business/commerce programs. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#9

Walsh College

Troy, MI

With a ranking of #9, Walsh College did quite well on this year’s best schools for general business/commerce students. Located in the small city of Troy, Walsh is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their degree, general business majors at Walsh accumulate an average of around $16,401 in student debt.

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With a ranking of #10, Macomb Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for general business/commerce students. Located in the medium-sized city of Warren, Macomb Community College is a public college with a large student population.

After completing their degree, general business graduates from Macomb Community College carry an average student debtload of $9,808.

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#11

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso, IN

Valparaiso University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Valparaiso, Valpo is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Miami University - Oxford ranked #12 on this year’s Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Miami University - Oxford is a large public school located in the fringe town of Oxford.

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#13

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Ball State University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general business/commerce programs. Ball State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Muncie.

After completing their degree, general business graduates from Ball State carry an average student debtload of $25,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $259, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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James A Rhodes State College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Lima, Rhodes State College is a public college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, general business majors at Rhodes State College accumulate an average of around $10,936 in student debt.

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Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Business & Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
15 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
16 Purdue University Global Indianapolis, IN
17 University of Cincinnati - Clermont College Batavia, OH
18 DeVry University - Illinois Chicago, IL
19 Cardinal Stritch University Milwaukee, WI

Best General Business/Commerce Colleges by State

Explore the best general business/commerce colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,060
Ohio 581
Illinois 877
Indiana 5,774
Wisconsin 529

General Business/Commerce is one of 21 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to General Business

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 416,590
Accounting 99,265
Finance & Financial Management 57,778
Marketing 52,916
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 43,382

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Consulate General Munich.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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