One of the top things an MBA looks for when choosing a business school is the return on investment. Return on investment, or ROI, is one of the most common profitability ratios, and an easy way to determine if an MBA is “worth” your time and money. We took a look at the Houston metro, and ranked the top business schools in the area based on their ROI, comparing average starting salaries with tuition costs.
The Houston MBA Return on Investment Rankings
#1.) University of Houston – Downtown
Founded in 1974 when the University of Houston acquired the assets of South Texas Junior College, the University of Houston-Downtown comprises five buildings on 24 acres near the Buffalo and White Oak bayous on the north end of downtown Houston.
MBA tuition at UHD varies depending on a student’s concentration: Finance, human resource management, leadership management, or business development/sales management students pay $21,840 in tuition fees. Meanwhile, concentrations in supply chain management, international business, or accounting cost $23,940. An MBA with a general management concentration costs $18,088. Out-of-state students pay about $28,300 and out-of-country students pay around $28,500.
Students who earn an MBA go on to make an average starting salary of $100,000, according to PayScale estimates. To help recent grads earn high paying jobs, UHD offers students career counseling in its College of Business Career Development Center. Experts at the Center provide students with advice on career opportunities and interview skills and also help with internships and job placements.
#2.) Rice University – Jones Graduate School of Business
Rice is located on a 295-acre campus in Central Houston, Texas, close to the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business offers three MBA programs: A full-time MBA, MBA for Executives, and an MBA for Profession.
The projected tuition for the Rice University full-time MBA is $55,500 for the 2017-18 school year, and graduates earn an average starting salary of $112,158. Employment statistics provided by the school also show that 86 percent of recent alumni received job offers within three months after graduation, and that 70.4 percent of accepted job offers were facilitated by Rice. Along with the high salary, Rice alumni enjoy an average signing bonus of $25,475.
Rice student have opportunities to attend recruiting events through the school’s Career Development Office, including Fortune 500 networking events, which encourage quick job placement and high salaries.
#3.) C.T. Bauer College of Business – University of Houston
Located on the 667-acre campus of University of Houston in Southeast Houston, the the C.T. Bauer College of Business offers three MBA programs, a full-time MBA, a Professional or Flexible MBA program, and an Executive MBA program.
Tuition costs for Bauer’s full-time program are estimated at $41,000 for Texas residents and $65,500 for non-resident students. The cost for full-time international students increases to $69,500. These costs can change depending on how many classes a student is taking and their student status.
MBAs earn an average starting salary of $81,316. According to statistics provided by the school, many alumni work at companies like Shell, Chevron, and Schlumberger in fields like business development, finance, and accounting.
MBA students can access career services and find their dream jobs through the Rockwell Career Center. The center even has a special team dedicated helping MBA students with their job search via internship information, career fairs, opportunities for networking, and individualized career guidance
#4.) Mays Business School – Texas A&M University
The Mays Business School is located on Texas A&M’s west campus, just two hours outside of Houston. The school, which first offered a general MBA degree in 1951, comes in at fourth on our return on investment list.
The estimated cost for the first year of the 2017 Texas A&M full-time MBA program, including tuition and fees is $60,071 for in-state residents, $77,073 for out of state residents, and $77,200 for international residents, which includes tuition, room and board, books, supplies, and other travel and miscellaneous expenses. The estimated cost for the second year of the program is $26,638 for in-state students and $32,119 for out-of-state students. Add these together and you get a total of $86,709.
Recent MBA grads go on to earn an average starting salary of $103,299. This doesn’t include an average signing bonus of $15,559 and another $9,310 in other guaranteed compensation. There’s more good new for prospective MBAs, too: Mays features one of the highest job placement rates in the Houston metro. About 94 percent of graduates secure employment within three months after graduation. Top companies hiring Mays MBAs included Dell, Deloitte, HP Enterprise, and North Highland.
There’s plenty more to learn about all of the business school and MBA offerings in the Houston metro. Check out our guide on Houston’s top Executive MBA programs, or about schools in the area that don’t require a GMAT or GRE.
At MetroMBA, we urge anyone and everyone to donate to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort that has tragically disaffected the Houston metro. The New York Times has a list of appropriate charity destinations, which can be read here.