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College of Business named top undergrad program in Tennessee, top 50 in nation

Once again, Lipscomb is leading the way in business education.

Kim Chaudoin | 

Business professor and two students looking at computer screen

Lipscomb University’s College of Business has once again been ranked the top undergrad program in Tennessee and is among the top 50 in the nation by Poets&Quants for Undergrads, the leading online publication for undergraduate business education news. This is the fourth consecutive year for Lipscomb’s College of Business to be ranked nationally and the best in Tennessee. 

The organization unveiled its 2020 Best Undergraduate Business Schools ranking and is considered the most comprehensive assessment of undergraduate business programs. Lipscomb was ranked in the No. 46 in the nation and is the highest ranked in the state and one of only of two universities in Tennessee included in the entire ranking. Lipscomb has continued to move up the ranks over the last four years. Lipscomb is also No. 23 in the nation in the ranking in the alumni experience category.

“This is the fourth consecutive year that Lipscomb’s College of Business has been recognized nationally as a quality business school and a leader in Tennessee,” said Ray Eldridge, dean of the College of Business at Lipscomb University. “It is especially satisfying that we have continued to move up in the rankings for the last four years which is an indication of the increasing quality and relevance of the programs we offer. It’s a result of the diligent work of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, advisory boards and many friends of the college who believe in our mission. As this is a comprehensive review of undergraduate programs across the country, it is affirmation of the direction of the college and its pattern of innovation and engagement and that Lipscomb’s undergraduate business programs are among the best in the nation. ”

Also included on the list were the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, New York University Stern School of Business, Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and Boston College’s Carroll School of Management among others. Lipscomb was the only non-AACSB accredited institution on the list and the only undergraduate business program in Nashville included in the ranking.

Poets&Quants for Undergrads compiled the 2020 ranking based on a representative survey of nearly 13,000 recent graduates and school-reported data. Students across the 97 schools were surveyed on aspects of admissions standards, academic experience and career outcomes. This data does not exist together anywhere else in the world. This national ranking was launched four years ago by Bloomberg/Businessweek and is now administered by Poets&Quants.
 

Students sitting at desks in a classroom

The College of Business at Lipscomb University is recognized nationally as a leader in business education. This is the latest recognition for Lipscomb’s College of Business. Its accounting program was ranked the top program in Tennessee and among the top 10 percent in the nation in the 2019 College Factual rankings. It is the third year Lipscomb’s accounting program has been named the top program in Tennessee. The department of accounting also earned a ranking of 14th in the nation and number one in the state of Tennessee for the second consecutive year for Best Accounting Programs for Veterans. The college has been named the No. 1 Undergraduate Business Program in Tennessee in 2016 and 2017 by both Bloomberg Business Week and Poets & Quants and the No. 2 part-time MBA program in Tennessee in 2016 by Bloomberg Business Week. In addition, it was named the No. 1 accounting program in Tennessee and No. 2 in the nation in 2017 by Christian Universities Online. 

Other recent honors include: No. 2 Part-time MBA program in TN, Top 50 in the Nation (Bloomberg/Businessweek) - 2015; No. 1 accounting program in TN and top 10% in the Nation (College Online) - 2018; No. 1 Christian Accounting program in TN, #2 program in the Nation (Christian Universities Online) - 2017; No. 2 Bachelor's in Human Resources Degree program in TN and #26 in the Nation (College Choice) - 2016 and 2018; No. 1 in Tennessee and No. 36 in the Nation International Business Degree (College Choice) - 2017; and Top 50 marketing program in the Nation (College Choice) - 2016.

Developed in collaboration with business school deans and administrators, Poets&Quants for Undergrads’ methodology is based equally on admissions standards, academic experience, and employment outcomes.  No other ranking or school survey asks for the same amount of concrete data ranging from the percent of National Merit Scholars at each business school, to the percentage of students with global experience while at the school, to average debt upon graduation. While other services might ask these sorts of data questions at a university-wide level, no other organization asks at a business-school specific level. 
   
About the Lipscomb University College of Business
Fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, one of the two largest business-accrediting bodies in the world, Lipscomb University’s College of Business is recognized throughout the region and the nation as an outstanding source of highly skilled and highly trustworthy business leaders.
 
The College of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and undergraduate degrees in accounting, finance, management and marketing. Graduate studies programs include the Master of Business Administration, Master of Accountancy, Master of Management: Career Accelerator and Master of Management: Health Care.
 

Want to know more about Lipscomb's College of Business? Visit www.lipscomb.edu/business.

— Photos by Kristi Jones