Wisconsin MBA Moves Up in Financial Times Ranking; Marketing Program Ranked Seventh

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business is ranked 53rd among all business schools in the United States in the newly released Financial Times rankings for full-time MBA programs. The school was ranked 57th in 2007. The Financial Times ranking also included “Top Ten” rankings of individual programs. The marketing program of the Wisconsin School of Business was ranked seventh in the category of “Top 10 Best in Marketing.”

The ranking evaluation included the class of students who entered in 2002 and graduated in 2004. Because the Wisconsin MBA program was redesigned in 2004, the current ranking does not capture the views or career progress of students who graduated from the new program.

“The Financial Times ranking has value as a relative measurement of how we compare to other business schools at a given point in time,” said Dean Michael M. Knetter. “We remain committed to improving our fundamentals and delivering outstanding educational experiences. We are confident that future rankings based on our redesigned MBA program will reflect progress in placement and student satisfaction.”

Key indicators show steady or upward trends in the full-time Wisconsin MBA program:

  • Student quality as measured by average GMAT score is 656 for students who enrolled in 2007; it was 658 in 2004.
  • Student satisfaction with academic program quality is at 95 percent for first-year students in the program in fall of the 2006-07 school year, compared to 88 percent in fall of 2004-05.
  • Career placement is at 96 percent for the class of 2007, with an average salary of $82,000. The class of 2004 had 82 percent placement, with an average salary of $72,720.

The Financial Times’ ranking methodology includes data provided by the school and a survey of MBA/MS alumni primarily from the class of 2004, as well as data from the 2003 and 2002 classes. The ranking is based on three major categories:

  • Alumni career development and salary purchasing power
  • Diversity
  • Research Capabilities

To view the entire Financial Times report, visit: http://www.ft.com/businesseducation/globalmba2008.