University of Virginia’s McIntire School Tops BusinessWeek’s Fourth Annual Ranking of ‘The Best Undergrad Business Schools’

Last year’s No.1, University of Pennsylvania, falls to No.3; Ohio State University‘s Fisher College of Business rises 17 spots to No.42

NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ — University of Virginia’s McIntire School jumped to the top spot on BusinessWeek’s fourth annual ranking of “The Best Undergrad Business Schools.” Rounding out the top five are Notre Dame (Mendoza), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of Michigan (Ross), and Brigham Young (Marriott).

The results of BusinessWeek‘s fourth annual ranking of undergraduate business programs reflect the job market’s uncertainty. With 54% of responding seniors lacking an offer as of January (compared with 44% in 2008), the schools that excelled in BusinessWeek’s survey have put an intense focus on guiding students through the career search. Leading the way is No.1-ranked McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, where nearly three of four seniors have job offers, thanks largely to the school’s innovative efforts to build student-recruiter relationships. The same applies to second-ranked Notre Dame, where administrators tap the school’s well-connected alumni network to scout jobs and offer advice to students. Both overtook the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which fell to third place after three years at the top.

In general, student satisfaction was down, with more than half of the 101 ranked schools taking a hit. Institutions that succeeded in helping students navigate the difficult job market improved their standings the most. Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business rose 17 spots, to No.42, in large part because of a recruiting focus centered on regional banks and such large local companies as Procter & Gamble and Limited Brands. Others, including No.29 University of San Diego School of Business Administration, saw their fortunes rise due to a strong focus on accounting, where jobs are still plentiful. New York University’s Stern School of Business didn’t fare as well, falling to No.15 from No.8 after some students returned from summer internships on Wall Street without the job offers they had expected. Some who did receive offers are seeing start dates delayed and are now wondering if the jobs will be there when they graduate–and if the $38,686 a year they spent was worth it.

To rank these programs, BusinessWeek used nine measures, including surveys of 85,000 senior business majors and nearly 600 corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of graduates each program sends to top MBA programs. BusinessWeek also calculated an academic quality rating for each program by combining SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students devote to class work.

BusinessWeek’s ranking of “The Best Undergraduate B-Schools” is available in the March 9, 2009 issue of BusinessWeek, on newsstands March 2nd. Expanded content, including the full ranking and methodology, interactive tables, and a discussion forum are available on BusinessWeek.com at http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate.

                    The Top 50 Best Undergrad B-Schools

                  2009      2008       School
                  Rank      Rank
                    1         2        Virginia (McIntire)
                    2         3        Notre Dame (Mendoza)
                    3         1        Pennsylvania (Wharton)
                    4         6        Michigan (Ross)
                    5         7        Brigham Young (Marriott)
                    6        11        UC-Berkeley (Haas)
                    7         9        MIT (Sloan)
                    8         4        Cornell
                    9         5        Emory (Goizueta)
                   10        10        Texas-Austin (McCombs)
                   11        13        Villanova
                   12        20        Richmond (Robins)
                   13        12        North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
                   14        21        Wake Forest (Calloway)
                   15         8        NYU (Stern)
                   16        15        Washington U. (Olin)
                   17        14        Boston College (Carroll)
                   18        24        Miami U. (Farmer)
                   19        22        Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)
                   20        16        Indiana (Kelley)
                   21        17        USC (Marshall)
                   22        18        Illinois
                   23        28        Babson
                   24        19        Georgetown (McDonough)
                   25        33        U. of Washington (Foster)
                   26        25        Lehigh
                   27        34        Northeastern
                   28        n/a       American (Kogod)
                   29        47        San Diego
                   30        29        William & Mary (Mason)
                   31        23        SMU (Cox)
                   32        35        Santa Clara (Leavey)
                   33        30        Bentley
                   34        32        Texas Christian (Neeley)
                   35        43        Maryland (Smith)
                   36        26        Rensselaer Polytech (Lally)
                   37        31        Texas A&M (Mays)
                   38        38        Penn State (Smeal)
                   39        41        Case Western (Weatherhead)
                   40        37        Wisconsin
                   41        27        Fordham
                   42        59        Ohio State (Fisher)
                   43        42        Boston U.
                   44        54        James Madison
                   45        36        Baylor (Hankamer)
                   46        n/a       Chapman (Argyros)
                   47        n/a       Ohio
                   48        40        Binghamton
                   49        52        Syracuse (Whitman)
                   50        49        U. of Miami

SOURCE BusinessWeek