Where Business Minds Are Built for a Lifetime of Leadership, Innovation, and Impact
March 26, 2025
At the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, success isn’t just measured in starting salaries — it’s measured in momentum, transformation, and lives changed.
RPI, recently ranked #13 on U.S. News & World Report’s list of Colleges with the Best Return on Investment, provides Lally School of Management students with an education environment rooted in innovation, collaboration, and purpose, delivering lasting value — both professionally and personally.
According to estimates from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, RPI graduates earn a projected 40-year Return on Investment (ROI) of over $3.4 million — a figure that places the university among the top 15 institutions in the country. That return starts early, with Lally alumni reporting significantly above-average starting salaries.
“At Lally, we’re not just preparing students for their first job — we’re preparing them for leadership across a lifetime,” said Dr. Liad Wagman, Dean of the Lally School of Management. “This ranking underscores what makes Lally unique: a combination of academic rigor, real-world experience, unmatched levels of technology and alumni leaders in top-tier firms per student, and deep interdisciplinary collaborations and technology integration that drive transformation.”
Empowering Students from Day One
From the moment students arrive, they’re immersed in a transformative educational experience that fuses business acumen with technological innovation. Housed within one of the world’s leading STEM universities, Lally offers undergraduate majors in Business and Management; Finance, Markets, and Emerging Technologies; Marketing and Advanced Computing; and Business Analytics, all of which emphasize core business areas such as finance, marketing, analytics, human behavior, and technological transformation — preparing students to lead in any industry. Lally is highly ranked in analytics, finance, business administration, and supply chain management.
For students with diverse interests, dual majors offer exciting opportunities to customize their education. Whether combining Business with Sustainability Studies to drive change or pairing Business Analytics with Computer Science or Industrial Engineering to power the future of technology and data-driven decision-making, Lally students design paths as unique as their ambitions.
“The skills that I learned at RPI showed up in my everyday experiences,” Victory Abraham BMGT ’24
Business Beyond Borders
Lally students take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real life business problems. Through experiential learning they engage in consulting projects, co-ops, internships, and startup incubators. Courses in global strategy and entrepreneurship prepare them to think beyond borders, while an extraordinary alumni network connect them to opportunity around the world — from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.
The Lally HUB, a student success center, provides support through every stage. They offer academic advising, leadership coaching, mentorship, and personal development workshops to ensure every student has what they need to thrive.
Celebrating Excellence, Service, and Ambition
Lally fosters a culture of excellence, leadership, and community engagement. Students are annually inducted into management honor societies:
“These honor societies recognize students who are not only academically exceptional, but deeply committed to using business as a force for good,” said Dr. Kevin Fletcher, faculty advisor for BGS and EDS.
Outside the classroom, students lead and collaborate through active organizations like the Rensselaer Finance Club, Women in Business, and the Rensselaer Consulting Club, building networks and sharpening their skills with guidance from faculty, alumni, and industry mentors.
Outcomes That Speak for Themselves
Graduates of the Lally School go on to shape industries, launch ventures, and lead global teams. Recent alumni have secured positions at:
- Amazon
- Deloitte
- EY
- PwC
- Goldman Sachs
Lally graduates report an average starting salary significantly higher than the national average, reflecting both the caliber of its graduates and the value placed on their skill sets.
A Return on Investment — and a Return on Purpose
The ROI ranking is more than just a statistic—it’s a testament to the transformational power of an RPI and Lally education. It reflects the confidence our students gain, the mentors who guide them, the networks they build, and the meaningful paths they pursue after graduation. At Lally, students don’t just earn a degree; they discover their purpose—equipped to innovate responsibly, lead ethically, and make a lasting impact. We’re more than a business school; we’re a community committed to shaping the future through education, innovation, and leadership.
Shape your future with the Lally School of Management. Guide the cutting edge.