Wall Street Journal Ranks BYU MBA Third

PROVO, Utah — Sep 20, 2006 — The Wall Street Journal ranked Brigham Young University’s Master of Business Administration Program third among regional schools in the paper’s 2006 report of top business programs, up from sixth in 2005. The Marriott School was listed second as the best place to hire MBAs with high ethical standards. Recruiters also said BYU was underrated, and they cited three disciplines where the school shines nationally and internationally.

“We are elated that recruiters think so highly of our students and MBA program,” says Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School. “There are hundreds of excellent business schools in the country, which makes this ranking particularly rewarding. We’re also very pleased that our graduates continue to be known for their high ethical standards.”

The Marriott School placed fourth best on the ranking’s “accounting” honor roll, fifth in “consumer products,” and seventh in “corporate responsibility,” a category added this year. Additionally, recruiters placed the program sixth on the list of schools that are most often “underrated,” and gave the Marriott School its top scores for students’ teamwork skills, work ethic, and analytical and problem-solving abilities.

“Our professors are vigilant at developing and refreshing their respective areas of expertise,” says Michael Thompson, associate dean. “This expertise is helping our students distinguish themselves in the organizations they enter after graduation.”

This is the sixth year The Wall Street Journal has evaluated MBA programs around the world. More than 4,100 recruiters who hire full-time business school graduates participated in the 2006 survey. Recruiters evaluated schools on three components. Equal weight was given to perceptions of the school and its students, the likelihood of recruiting and hiring at the school in the future, and mass appeal — the total number of participating recruiters who recruit at the school.

The top-ten regional schools for 2006 are: Thunderbird, Ohio State University, BYU, Purdue University, Michigan State University, University of Rochester, Wake Forest University, University of Maryland, Louisiana State University and University at Buffalo/SUNY.

The top-ten national schools for 2006 are: University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, University of California – Berkeley, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Yale and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The list of schools eligible for the rankings came from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and discussions with experts in the field of MBA recruiting. Only 264 schools met the Journal's rating requirements. Of those, 85 schools were ranked.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.