Daniels School of Business affirms standing as Indiana’s No. 1 business school, based on Times Higher Education global rankings

Purdue’s Mitch Daniels School of Business continues to solidify its claim as Indiana’s strongest business school and its place among the best programs nationally in several key disciplines, equipping the next generation of technologically savvy leaders and entrepreneurs to build the viable and thriving economies of the future.

Standing out through its strategy to more deeply integrate business education with STEM fields, the Daniels School is drawing on Purdue’s powerhouse programs in engineering, data science and technology to bolster learning and scholarship for students in business analytics, supply chain management, quantitative analysis and tech-driven entrepreneurship.

The Daniels School was Indiana’s top-rated business school overall in the 2026 report of more than 1,000 institutions, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In addition to its innovative programming that marries business and STEM, THE cited the Daniels School for excelling in industry engagement and research quality.

“This ranking speaks to the thoughtful, strategic work underway to move the Daniels School into the very top tier of business schools in the country,” said Jim Bullard, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Daniels School of Business. “We are preparing students to contribute ethical leadership and managerial excellence in the most technologically complex fields.”

Prospective Boilermakers are taking notice. Beginner enrollment has surged over 150% the past six years, while applications grew 13% last year, with a record-high yield rate for applicants choosing to attend the Daniels School. Student demand is expected to continue growing, also aided by last fall’s launch of the Integrated Business and Engineering program in Indianapolis.

“Every company today is a technology organization, and business leaders must understand how specific technologies can create a competitive advantage,” Bullard said. “Undergraduate programs in Integrated Business and Engineering and Business Analytics and Information Management, and the Master of Business and Technology, allow students to maximize Purdue’s STEM brand and own the intersection of business and technology.”

To accommodate student and programmatic growth, a six-story, 183,000-square-foot building for the Daniels School is expected to open in August 2027 at the intersection of Mitch Daniels Boulevard and Sheetz Street.

The $168 million facility will provide sophisticated lab space for behavioral research, financial training and data visualization, and dynamic conference venues accompanied by studios to enable online and hybrid pedagogies. Once completed, the Daniels School also will house three of the top 10 largest classrooms at Purdue, meeting a campuswide demand for larger learning spaces.

Five foundational pillars are steering the Daniels School, bolstering its strategic focus in data, analytics and tech-focused business fields — enhancing academic prowess, integrating STEM and business areas, creating transformational experiences for students, emphasizing free market and capitalism curriculums, and enhancing collegewide focus on business partnerships.

At the same time, Bullard said, the college’s tech-business intersection is better preparing students for modern data-driven industries, with recent rankings amplifying the Daniels School’s successes in recruiter feedback, job placement rates, employer reputation and industry partnerships. The school’s traditionally popular career fairs and corporate partnerships also advance student connections with major companies in consulting, finance, tech and operations.

The Daniels School also is revamping its two-department structure, moving from economics and management to nine departments: accounting, economics, finance, management information systems, marketing, organizational behavior and human resource management, quantitative methods, supply chain and operations management, and strategic management.

“This new structure will enable departments to respond to the evolving needs of our students, faculty and industry partners,” Bullard said. “It will also assist in attracting top-tier faculty and in the engagement of development activities.”

Nationally, Purdue was ranked No. 32 by Times Higher Education for best business and economic programs, while Indiana University was at No. 34. Notre Dame wasn’t ranked nationally by THE, but landed in the range of 151-175 globally.

In related rankings, the Daniels School’s undergraduate business program rose to No. 24 in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings, led by its operations management program at No. 4 and supply chain management at No. 9. Four areas within the Daniels School placed in the top 12: production/operations management, No. 5; quantitative analysis, No. 10; supply chain management/logistics, No. 10; and analytics, No. 12.