BYU Undergraduate Business Programs Again In Top 10

PROVO, Utah — Mar 13, 2007 — BusinessWeek magazine ranked Brigham Young University’s undergraduate management program eighth overall and second among recruiters in the most comprehensive ranking of U.S. undergraduate business programs to date. The school was also ranked first in return on tuition for private colleges. The magazine cited the program’s ethics-based education and high-caliber recruiters as strengths.

“We are very honored to be listed among the top 10 undergraduate business schools for the second year in a row,” says Ned C. Hill, Marriott School dean. “This is tough competition. I’m thrilled that our students and faculty are being recognized for their tremendous efforts.”

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School ranked No. 1 followed by No. 2 University of Virginia, No. 3 UC—Berkeley, No. 4 Emory, No. 5 Michigan—Ann Arbor, No. 6 MIT, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 BYU, No. 9 NYU and No. 10 Cornell.

“We’re grateful that our faculty is so committed to the success of our students,” says Joan Young, director of the BYU undergraduate management program. “But our secret weapon is the great students that come to BYU—they’re mature, bright and eager to work hard.”

Only 123 colleges met BusinessWeek’s stringent criteria to be considered for the undergraduate business rankings. Schools had to offer an undergraduate business program, be accredited by AACSB and exceed cutoffs for at least two of the following: SAT and ACT scores, percentage of applicants accepted and percentage of students coming from the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Colleges were ranked according to five weighted sets of data: a survey of nearly 80,000 students, a survey of 466 corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates, the number of graduates admitted to 35 top MBA programs and an academic quality measure that consists of SAT/ACT test scores for business majors, full-time faculty-student ratios in the business program, average class size in core business classes, the percentage of business majors with internships and the number of hours students spend preparing for class each week.

Young also attributes part of BYU’s success to the constant attention given to curriculum and ethics. “Our faculty is continually coming up with new and innovative ways to teach,” Young says. “We have also integrated ethics as a key component in the undergraduate core and in case discussions.”

BYU’s Marriott School was included as one of the top five hardest working colleges where students spend an average of more than 18 hours per week on class work. This is the second year BusinessWeek has ranked undergraduate business schools. Complete rankings of the Best Undergraduate Business Schools are available in the March 19, 2007 issue of BusinessWeek.

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, entrepreneurship, public management, information systems and organizational behavior. 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 in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.