Wall Street Journal Ranks BYU MBA Fifth

PROVO, Utah — Sep 22, 2004 — Brigham Young University’s Master of Business Administration program ranked fifth among regional schools in The Wall Street Journal’s 2004 ranking of top business programs. BYU ranked second in the ethical standards category, “best for hiring graduates with high ethical standards,” and fifth worldwide for its excellence in accounting.

“These high rankings are a reflection of the constant stream of exceptional students and faculty coming through our door,” says Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School of Management. “We’re thrilled that we continue to be known as a place to hire graduates with high ethical standards. And, we appreciate the added attention given to our specialization in accounting.”

In addition to the rankings, corporate recruiters gave BYU “very high marks for the likelihood of hiring ‘stars,’ students’ personal ethics and integrity and their team orientation.” A marketing manager at Dell Inc. was quoted saying, “The faculty really seem to hone the students’ analytical skills.” Recruiters were also impressed with BYU students’ global perspective and maturity.

“It’s gratifying to see our MBA program rated so highly by such a respected business publication,” says Cecil O. Samuelson, BYU president. “The Marriott School sets a high standard for training future leaders who possess integrity and great ability.”

For the first time since it began rating b-schools, the paper published three separate rankings: national (19 schools), regional (44 schools) and international (21 schools). North American schools were categorized as national or regional. National schools generally had large programs with more than 500 students, attracted a large number of recruiters, were private institutions and were located in the Northeast. Regional schools typically had smaller programs, attracted fewer recruiters and were spread more evenly across the country. The international rankings included eight European schools, 10 national schools and three regional schools.

This year’s top five schools in the regional category are: Purdue University, Vanderbilt University, Ohio State University, University of Maryland and BYU. The top five schools in the national category are: University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania and University of Chicago. The top five schools in the international category are: IMD International (Switzerland), University of London (United Kingdom), ESADE (Spain), HEC (France) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States).

The Journal’s 2004 rankings are based on responses from 2,849 recruiter surveys. 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 list of school’s 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 261 schools, 186 U.S. and 75 non-U.S., met the Journal’s rating requirements. Of those, only 71 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 at the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.