For the third time in five years, Harvard Business School and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business have tied for the top spot in U.S. News's rankings of Best Business Schools. Stanford had sole possession of the top spot in last year's rankings after Harvard's overall score slipped from 100 to 98, placing the Cambridge, Mass., institution in second place.
Although Stanford and Harvard staking claim to the top spot has been commonplace in recent years, some business programs moved up in this year's rankings considerably. The Rice University Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business jumped nine spots from a tie for 34th to a tie for 25th; the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business climbed 12 spots from a tie for 37th to a tie for 25th; and the University of Rochester William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration leapt from a tie for 45th to a tie for 37th in the 2013 edition of the rankings.
[Check out photos of U.S. News's top 10 Best Business Schools.]
Movement in the rankings is only one of many shifts taking place in business programs today. Prospective M.B.A. students are looking for more than traditional business skills; many also desire knowledge to apply these skills to start-up companies they create. According to a 2011 survey of 476 prospective M.B.A.'s in 79 countries by CarringtonCrisp, a market research firm, entrepreneurship is one of the top five most sought-after areas of study.
This entrepreneurial shift is forcing M.B.A. programs nationwide to significantly alter how they approach M.B.A. instruction. For example, the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, ranked 11th for entrepreneurial programs and tied for 13th in the overall rankings, announced a new master's degree in entrepreneurship in conjunction with its College of Engineering, which is slated to welcome its first class in fall 2012.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, ranked fourth in entrepreneurship programs and tied for fourth overall, offers an Entrepreneurship and Innovation certificate for students interested in launching emerging technology companies. The F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College is this year's top-ranked entrepreneurial M.B.A. program, followed by Stanford and Harvard, respectively.
[Find out the risks and rewards for M.B.A.'s working at start-up companies.]
The hiring of M.B.A.'s has continued its positive turnaround as more companies feel comfortable bringing in new talent with an improving economy. According to a 2011 report by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which surveyed 216 companies nationwide, nearly 75 percent of companies plan to hire M.B.A. graduates in 2012, up from 58 percent in 2011.
Executive M.B.A.'s also continue to find plentiful opportunities after graduation, reporting an average of 1.6 job offers per degree recipient in 2011, according to a separate GMAC study. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania once again topped the executive M.B.A. list, followed by the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Much like E.M.B.A. programs, part-time programs can be a convenient alternative for professionals who want to attain a graduate business degree but can't afford to take time off work. Northwestern once again topped U.S. News's rankings of part-time programs, followed by the University of California—Berkeley Haas School of Business and the University of Chicago, which tied for second.
[Discover how to gain admissions to some of the country's top business schools.]
Online M.B.A. programs also continue to increase in popularity and reputation as business schools utilize new technologies to bridge traditional instruction to a digital audience. U.S. News ranked online graduate business programs earlier in 2012 and featured programs that are excelling in areas such as faculty credentials and training, admissions selectivity, student engagement and accreditation, and student services and technology.
A couple of well-regarded traditional M.B.A. programs, including the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University—Bloomington, which ranked 23rd overall among Best Business Schools, and the George Washington University School of Business, which tied for 57th in this year's rankings, also made the honor roll for Top Online Graduate Business Programs.
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sanoj kumar yadav of ME 5:14AM March 23, 2012