BYU Undergraduate Business Jumps to No. 5

PROVO, Utah – Feb 27, 2009 – Brigham Young University's undergraduate business programs rank fifth overall and first among recruiters according to BusinessWeek magazine's comprehensive ranking of U.S. undergraduate business programs. The school was also ranked first in return on tuition for private colleges.

"I'm elated to see BYU recognized as one of the very best places to earn a degree in business," says Gary Cornia, Marriott School dean. "I have long felt our secret weapon is our students. We owe much of our success to their parents who shaped the characteristics that have attracted so many recruiters — hard work, integrity and a determination to succeed."

University of Virginia's McIntire School ranked No. 1 followed by No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Pennsylvania, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 BYU, No. 6 UC–Berkeley, No. 7 MIT, No. 8 Cornell, No. 9 Emory and No. 10 Texas–Austin.

"It's an honor to be consistently ranked among the very best," says Brent Wilson, undergraduate program director. "We believe this ranking reflects the quality of our students who are constantly involved in the educational process and for the faculty who push to help them reach their potential."

Only 137 colleges met BusinessWeek's stringent criteria to be considered for the undergraduate business rankings. Schools must have an accredited undergraduate business degree program that meets criteria for program size, age, test scores, and grade point averages for business majors and number of full-time tenured faculty, among other things.

Colleges were ranked according to five weighted sets of data: a survey of more than 85,000 students; a survey of 580 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.

"Cracking the top five isn't something that happens overnight." Cornia added. "We know that we continue to build on the firm foundation that was laid by a generation of faculty and staff and that was strongly influenced in the past ten years by former dean Ned Hill and his associates."

BusinessWeek has ranked undergraduate business schools for four years. Complete rankings of the best undergraduate business schools are available in the March 9, 2009, issue of BusinessWeek, on newsstands March 2 or online at www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate.

"My educational experience at the Marriott School has been very demanding but even more rewarding," says Daniela Michalkova, a junior majoring in accounting from Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. "My professors continually motivate me and my classmates to excel both personally and academically. I know that the education I'm receiving is one of the best to prepare me for my business career."

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 and information systems. 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.