SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Executive and Professional MBA Programs at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business finished first among all Utah business schools in the biennial Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings. In addition to being No. 1 in Utah, the Executive MBA ranked No. 25 in the nation, No. 5 in the West, and No. 33 in the world, of more than 300 global executive MBA programs. The Executive MBA program, which features a weekend format, also recently ranked No. 33 in the United States by the Financial Times.
The Professional MBA program – with its personalized format and high completion rates – ranked No. 65 in the nation. This year’s ranking placed the David Eccles Professional MBA program as No. 15 in graduates reporting a salary increase, with the average increase amounting to 34 percent higher salary compared to their pre-MBA income. The program also received special recognition as an excellent value for career switchers. Earlier this year, the Professional MBA program was ranked in the top 15 percent of the nation’s nearly 300 part-time programs by U.S. News & World Report.
“We are extremely pleased to once again be ranked as the best business school for working professionals and executives in Utah and among the top executive and professional MBA programs in the nation,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business. “The rankings are clearly a tribute to our stellar faculty, and to the exceptional students who year after year choose the David Eccles Business School as the place to go for an MBA.”
Executive and professional MBA programs differ from traditional, full-time offerings in that they are designed for professionals who intend to work while attending school.
“This ranking is a great affirmation of the work we have been doing to drive the MBA programs to the highest levels of excellence. We are committed to providing our students with action-based learning taught by influential thought leaders who bring cutting-edge research into the classroom, and provide students with opportunities to solve real-world business problems,” Randall added.
Businessweek’s Executive MBA rankings are based on surveys of EMBA graduates and program directors. Responses by graduates account for 65 percent of the final ranking, while the survey of program directors contributes 35 percent. The magazine’s rankings for part-time MBA programs are based on a 50-question student satisfaction survey and a six-part academic quality questionnaire completed by the schools. The school survey measures GMAT scores, work experience, percentage of tenured faculty, average class size, number of electives, and graduation rates.
“David Eccles School of Business Executive and Professional MBA alumni obtain a competitive advantage through the education they receive and the connections they develop at the school,” said Brad Vierig, associate dean of Executive Education at the David Eccles School of Business. “As a result, our students find their supporting organizations achieve a better financial return on their investment than any other part-time MBA program in Utah.”
The David Eccles School of Business MBA students benefit from the school’s distinguished faculty, who bring years of research and real-world business experience to the classroom.
One Executive MBA survey respondent said, “I would strongly encourage working professionals to consider the EMBA at the University of Utah. I visited many other MBA programs when considering my schooling, including Wharton, Harvard, Tuck, and Berkeley. In all my visits, I never saw the caliber of discussion and interaction I routinely experienced at the University of Utah EMBA. This program would be a steal at three times the price, but when you look at the cost, it is a no brainer. I cannot recommend this program highly enough.”
For more information about BusinessWeek and its rankings, visit http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings. More information about the executive and professional MBA programs at the David Eccles School of Business can be found at www.emba.utah.edu and www.pmba.utah.edu.
About the David Eccles School of Business
Founded in 1917 in Salt Lake City, the David Eccles School of Business has programs in entrepreneurship, technology innovation and venture capital management. Emphasizing interdisciplinary education and experiential learning, it launched the country’s largest student-run venture capital fund with $18.3 million (the largest in the U.S.), and is home to the Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Center and the Sorenson Center for Discovery and Innovation. Approximately 3,500 students are enrolled in its undergraduate, graduate and executive degree programs as well as joint MBA programs in architecture, law and health administration. For more information, visit www.business.utah.edu.