How does Fairfield Dolan School of Business rank?
Executive summary
Fairfield University’s Charles F. Dolan School of Business shows a pattern of strong specialty and regional performance alongside modest overall graduate-program placements: it ranks notably high in undergraduate and specialized master’s lists and posts competitive online and part‑time MBA positions, while its global and full‑time MBA standings sit lower on broader international lists [1] [2] [3] [4]. Institutional press releases and local reporting emphasize ROI, program-level top‑20 placements and climbing online rankings—messages that align with third‑party tallies but reflect the university’s promotional interests [5] [6] [7].
1. Undergraduate lift: a top‑40 national profile that matters for recruiters
Poets & Quants ranked the Dolan School No. 37 among the Top 100 undergraduate business programs for 2025, crediting experiential learning, career outcomes and admissions metrics that feed employer perception and regional recruiting strength [1] [2]; Fairfield’s own coverage amplifies these results and cites specialist program rankings in U.S. News that underline strengths in accounting, marketing, finance and analytics [8] [6].
2. Specialty and program rankings: business analytics, finance and accounting in the top 20
U.S. News specialty rankings place multiple Dolan undergraduate programs in the national Top 20—Business Analytics #14, Finance #14, Marketing #15, Accounting #17 and Management #17—positions that materially bolster the school’s academic reputation in those fields and support claims of targeted excellence [9] [8].
3. Graduate outcomes and ROI: strong signals from QS and internal reporting
QS’s 2026 Specialized Master’s Rankings for Best Value for Money highlight several Dolan graduate programs—MS in Business Analytics (#7), MS in Marketing Analytics and Strategy (#7), MS in Finance (#8)—and name the Online MBA among QS’s best‑value listings, a narrative Fairfield stresses to argue return on investment [3] [5]. The university and press materials lean on these ROI metrics to position Dolan as an efficient option for career payoff [3] [5].
4. MBA landscape: better in part‑time and online formats than in global full‑time lists
In U.S. News the Dolan part‑time MBA ranks No. 56 (tie) nationally—strong regionally and second in Connecticut behind Yale—while QS places Fairfield’s full‑time MBA lower in its domestic and global MBA listings (TopUniversities shows #86 U.S. full‑time MBA and TopMBA lists the school at #251–300 globally), a split that indicates the school’s competitive niche is flexible, career‑facing MBA delivery rather than elite full‑time global brand status [10] [4] [11] [5].
5. Online programs and upward momentum: climbing lists and local coverage
The Dolan School has gained traction in online rankings—U.S. News moved its online master’s business programs to No. 68 from 75, and Fairfield highlights QS Online MBA positions (#69 global, #30 U.S.) and other recognitions like Poets & Quants online program listings to show momentum in remote delivery and adult learners’ outcomes [7] [5] [3].
6. Perception, promotion and what the numbers don’t show
Much of the favorable narrative about Dolan is built from specialty rankings, ROI calculations and press releases; these are valid measures but reflect selective framing—QS’s “best value” metric emphasizes salary‑to‑cost ratios, Poets & Quants weighs career outcomes and U.S. News aggregates peer assessments and outcomes—so prospective students should treat aggregate prestige differently from demonstrated strength in particular programs or delivery modes [3] [1] [10]. Available sources do not provide a detailed, independent long‑term comparison of alumni earnings across cohorts or employer hiring share, so assertions about cost‑effectiveness beyond QS’s ROI methodology and institutional claims remain constrained by the published ranking methodologies and Fairfield’s own reporting [3] [5].
7. Bottom line: a focused, regionally strong school with program peaks
Fairfield Dolan ranks as a solid choice for undergraduates and for students seeking specialist master’s degrees or flexible MBA formats, backed by top‑40 undergraduate recognition and multiple top‑20 specialty rankings, plus strong ROI indicators for graduate programs; it does not, however, occupy the top tier of full‑time global MBA brand lists, where broader international rankings place it lower [1] [2] [8] [4] [11] [3].