Isenberg School MBA program ranked first among public MBA programs in the Northeast

Mon., Apr 9, 2007
In a just-released national survey of graduate business school programs by US News and World Report, the Isenberg School of Management’s full-time residential MBA program has placed first among public MBA programs in the Northeast. In the same survey, the Isenberg School moved up in the national rankings to 55th in a field of 113 MBA programs.

In the US News survey, the Isenberg School program achieved other distinctions: it was the nation’s 12th most selective program; and it ranked 15th in former students employed within three months after their graduation. The program’s new graduates had another reason to be pleased: they entered the job force with the second least school-related debt in the nation.

For its rankings, US News began by surveying all 406 master’s degree programs in business accredited by AACSB International, the nation’s leading accreditor of business schools. The publication received responses from 382 schools; 113 provided data that satisfied US News’ requirements for its weighted multivariate survey.

The survey’s categories included Quality Assessment, which comprised peer assessments from fellow business school deans and MBA directors on one hand and corporate recruiters on the other. The survey also measured Placement Success, by mean starting salaries and bonuses and by employment rates for 2006 graduates. Finally, the survey incorporated Student Selectivity, measured by mean GMAT scores, mean undergraduate GPAs, and program acceptance rates.

“Our progress in the US News and other national surveys reflects our ongoing strategic investment in our program and our students,” observes Isenberg School Associate Dean of Professional Programs Eric Berkowitz. “Earlier this year, the Princeton Review honored us with four top ten national rankings--2nd in the category, Best Overall Academic Experience; 4th in the category, Best Professors; 5th in the category, Greatest Opportunity for Women; and 10th in the category, Toughest to Get Into.

“Our program’s increasing success is attributable to a number of factors,” Berkowitz continues. “These include our growing selectivity in admissions, our faculty’s high standards and dedication, and our curriculum’s careful balance between the classroom and practica, and between traditional business and interdisciplinary perspectives. As the US News survey indicates, our success has increasing visibility with business schools and the business community. That, in part, has helped us to achieve all-time high placement rates for our graduates. Students who join our program can count a valuable experience while they’re here and heightened career prospects after graduation.”