U.S News & World Report Ranks Smeal MBA Program In Top 50
U.S News & World Report Ranks Smeal MBA Program In Top 50
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA--The 2003 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Graduate Schools" ranks 352 accredited business schools in the U.S. Penn State's Smeal College MBA Program is 43rd overall, tied for 18th among public universities. Accounting and Production/Operations management were ranked 22nd and 23rd, respectively, in their specialty areas.
Smeal College's MBA program had an overall score of 57 out of a maximum of 100, tied with the MBA programs at the Universities of Maryland and Florida. The rankings are based on qualitative evaluations of reputation by deans and recruiters, input metrics (GMAT, grade point average, and selectivity) and output metrics (employment rates and starting salary / bonus) for incoming and outgoing students in 2001.
"There is quite a bit of compression in the rankings this year. The 20 schools ranked 31st to 50th were separated by only 5 points ranging from 55 - 60, with many ties at a given rank," says J. Edward Ketz, Managing Director of the Smeal College MBA Program.
Smeal College graduates' average starting salary and signing bonuses increased from last year-rising almost 10 percent from $83,997 to $92,122. The ranking, based on 2001 data, also shows that the percentage of graduates employed within 3 months after graduation is almost 92 percent, or 27th best in the ranking. Given the affordability of the Smeal MBA, these data explain the strong return on investment of a Smeal MBA.
"I am convinced that the many initiatives underway will further enhance the attractiveness of the program to prospective students, and the value of its graduates to potential recruiters," says Judy Olian, Dean of the Smeal College.
Smeal College renewed its full-time MBA in August 2001, building it around the convergence of the traditional disciplines of business with the transformational role of technology across functions and industries. Smeal is launching its new Executive MBA Program in Philadelphia in August 2002. With the support of the University, Smeal College is constructing a $60 million building and has received $15 million in private donor commitments over the last 10 months toward its new home. At an estimated 210,000 square feet, the new Smeal building will be the largest academic building on the University Park campus and one of the most advanced environments for business education in the nation.
REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
