The Paul Merage School of Business is the

business school A business school is a higher education institution or professional school that teaches courses leading to degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, s ...

at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

(UC Irvine). The business school is housed in two buildings located on the eastern side of the UC Irvine campus, which is often ranked among the safest large campuses in the United States. It is one of the university's 14 academic units. In addition to an undergraduate

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

, the school offers graduate degree programs that include full-time, part-time and executive

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA),

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(Ph.D.),

Master of Accountancy The Master of Accountancy (MAcc, MAcy, or MAccy), alternatively Master of Science in Accounting (MSA or MSAcy) or Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcy, MPAcc, MPA or MPAc), is a graduate professional degree designed to prepare students for pu ...

(MPAc), Master of Science in Biotechnology Management (MSBTM),

Master in Management The Master of Management (MM, MiM, MMgt) is a master's degree comprising one or two years graduate level coursework in business management. In terms of content, it is similar to the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree as it contain ...

(MIM),

Master of Finance The Master of Finance is a master's degree awarded by universities or graduate schools preparing students for careers in finance. The degree is often titled Master in Finance (M.Fin., MiF, MFin), or Master of Science in Finance (MSF in North Am ...

(MFin), full- and part-time

Master of Science in Business Analytics A Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) is an interdisciplinary STEM graduate professional degree that blends concepts from data science, computer science, statistics, business intelligence, and information theory geared towards commercial ...

(MSBA), and Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE). The school's Leadership Development Institute also offers certificate programs.

Leadership

Ian O. Williamson has served as dean of the Merage School since January 1, 2021. The following individuals have served as dean of the Merage School: * Richard C. Snyder (1965-1967) * George W. Brown (1967-1972) * Lyman Porter (1972-1983) * Newt Marguiles (1983-1988) * Dennis J. Aigner (1988-1997) * David H. Blake (1997-2002) * Jone L. Pearce (interim dean, 2002-2004) * Andrew J. Policano (August 2004-June 2013) * Rajeev Tyagi (interim dean, 2013-2014) * Eric Spangenberg (June 2014-December 2020) * Ian O. Williamson (2021-present)

History

The school originated as the Graduate School of Administration in 1965, offering graduate degrees in Master of Science in Administration, Master of Public Administration, and Master of Business and Public Administration. In 1981, the school changed its name to the Graduate School of Management and offered its Master of Business Administration degree. In 1987, the school earned its accreditation from the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to busines ...

(AACSB) accreditation, which it has continuously maintained. In 1997, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Merage School within the top 50 business schools for the first time. In 2005, the Graduate School of Management officially changed its name to the Paul Merage School of Business after

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and Orange County

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Paul Merage Paul Merage (born 1943) is an American billionaire businessman who co-founded Chef America Inc., the company that popularized the microwavable frozen snack Hot Pockets. In 2015, his net worth was estimated at $1.8 billion. Biography Merage was ...

donated $30 million to the school. In the same year, the alumni network reached 5,000. In 2007, the school announced that it would offer undergraduate courses starting in fall 2008. In January 2015, the school opened its new Platinum-level LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified building. The 78,000-square-foot Merage School building serves as home to a high-tech 300-seat auditorium, several of the Merage School’s Centers of Excellence, a Charles Schwab Trading and Technology Lab, and a 70-seat Lyman W. Porter Colloquia Room & Executive Terrace. Other features include 70-seat and 90-seat case-study classrooms, a multi-purpose classroom and 20 small group study rooms providing new student learning opportunities, faculty research, community engagement, and facilities and grounds.

Academic programs

The Merage School offers numerous degree and certificate programs. Along with classroom learning, the school offers experiential learning and internships hosted by local employers.

Undergraduate program

The school's undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration program was ranked #27 in the United States by U.S. News and World Report in 2025.

MBA programs

The school offers the following

(MBA) programs: * Full-Time MBA (ranked #43 by U.S. News & World Report in 2025) * Flex MBA (ranked #23 by U.S. News & World Report in 2025) * Executive MBA (ranked #36 by Fortune Magazine in 2024)

Master's programs

The school confers the follow

master's degrees A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

: *

(MFin) * Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) *

Master of Professional Accountancy The Master of Accountancy (MAcc, MAcy, or MAccy), alternatively Master of Science in Accounting (MSA or MSAcy) or Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcy, MPAcc, MPA or MPAc), is a graduate professional degree designed to prepare students for pu ...

(MPAc) *

(MSBA) * Part-Time Online

(PTOMSBA) *

(MIM) * Master of Science in Biotechnology Management

Doctoral program

The school offers a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Management. Doctoral alumni have pursued areas of specialization that include accounting, economics, finance, information systems, marketing, operations and decision technologies, organization and management, and strategy.

Leadership Development Institute

The school’s Leadership Development Institute offers specialized programs directed at working professionals. Programs include: * Generative AI for Business Application * Generative AI Driven Business Transformation * Corporate Governance for Human Resource Officers

Centers of Excellence

The school’s Centers of Excellence provide academic programming, resources, and events relating to specific industries. As of 2025, the school hosts six Centers of Excellence: * Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship * Center for Digital Transformation * Center for Global Leadership * Center for Health Care Management and Policy * Todd and Lisa Hallbrook Center for Investment and Wealth Management * Center for Real Estate

Notable alumni

As of 2025, the school has 18,577 alumni. Notable alumni include: *

Diana Ramos Diana Ramos is an American obstetrician and gynecologist who was appointed to serve as the Surgeon General of California by Governor Gavin Newsom. Education Ramos earned both a Bachelor's Degree and Doctor of Medicine from the University of So ...

, California

Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

. * Greg Autry, space advocate and author *

Jillian Kraus Jillian Amaris Kraus (born December 18, 1986) is a water polo player. She won a gold medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships, won four straight NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships with UCLA, and has played with the United States women's nat ...

, water polo player * Luis Villalobos, investor * Leon J. LaPorte, retired United States Army general

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report * Full-Time MBA program ranked #43 nationally (2025) * Part-Time MBA program ranked #23 nationally (2025) * Undergraduate business program ranked #27 in the United States (2025) Financial Times * Full-Time MBA program ranked #27 overall in the United States and #9 among public institutions in the United States (2024) * Ranked #1 among United States institutions in percentage of women faculty (2024) * Executive MBA program ranked #19 in the United States (2023) Fortune Magazine * Full-Time MBA program ranked #32 in the United States (2024) * Part-Time MBA program ranked #17 in the United States (2024) * Executive MBA program ranked #36 in the United States TFE Times * Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program ranked #10 in the United States (2025) and #2 in California (2024) * Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) program ranked #10 in the United States (2025) and #2 in California (2024) * Master of Finance (MFin) program ranked #15 in the United States (2025) and #2 in California (2024) LinkedIn * MBA program ranked #26 in the United States (2023) and #77 globally (2024)

References

Sources

businessweek.com

merage.uci.edu/

usnews.com

External links

University of California, Irvine , Paul Merage School of Business website
{{authority control Business schools in California University of California, Irvine Educational institutions established in 1965 University subdivisions in California 1965 establishments in California