Walton M.B.A. Program Climbs to 22nd Among Public Business Schools, Highest Ranking Ever

The Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program at the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business has reached its highest ranking in program history, climbing to 22nd among public business schools in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report list of Best Graduate Schools. The program also rose to 48th overall among both public and private institutions. This is the second consecutive year that the Walton M.B.A. program has achieved its highest ranking ever.

“This recognition reflects the strength and momentum of the Walton M.B.A.,” said Brent Williams, dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “To reach our highest ranking ever for the second year in a row speaks to the quality of our students, the dedication of our faculty and staff, the engagement of our industry partners and the leadership guiding this program forward.”

U.S. News & World Report also ranked the Walton M.B.A.’s supply chain management and information systems tracks #15 and #21 respectively among public business schools. The finance and marketing M.B.A. tracks both had top-50 placements. And, for the first time, newly introduced specialty master’s rankings placed Walton’s Master of Accountancy at 36th and Master of Science in Business Analytics at 39th among public programs.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News & World Report surveyed 508 graduate business programs accredited by AACSB International, an American professional and accreditation organization widely considered the gold standard of business school accreditation. Rankings place significant emphasis on career outcomes such as employment rates, starting salaries and job placement success, alongside assessments from peer business school leaders, corporate recruiters and measures of student selectivity.

This ranking adds to a growing list of accolades for the Walton M.B.A. program, including offering the 11^th best return on investment out of 600 M.B.A. programs (Wall Street Journal), ranking in the top 6% of M.B.A. programs accredited by the AACSB (Poets&Quants), and being named one of the best On-Campus M.B.A. Programs (Princeton Review).

"Reaching our highest ranking ever, for the second straight year, is a reflection of the caliber of students we attract and the faculty who teach them," said Adam Stoverink, executive director of Walton M.B.A. programs and associate professor of management. "The Walton M.B.A. programs team is constantly finding new ways to put students in rooms with senior executives, give them real problems to solve, and push them to grow as leaders. When you combine outstanding students, world-class faculty, and experiential learning that you simply can’t find anywhere else, the results speak for themselves."

About the Sam M. Walton College of Business: The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas is one of the nation's leading public business schools, serving more than 10,300 students across undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs. Through applied learning, impactful research, and deep industry partnerships, Walton prepares leaders to compete and innovate in a global economy.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.