BusinessWeek ranks undergraduate business program No. 2

The Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame is ranked No. 2 nationally in BusinessWeek’s fourth annual ranking “The Best Undergrad B-Schools.” The rankings were announced Feb. 26 and will be available in the magazine’s March 9 issue on newsstands March 2.

Notre Dame jumped a spot from its No. 3 slot in 2008. The University of Virginia’s McIntire School finished first, while last year’s No. 1, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, fell to third.

A high rating in the area of student satisfaction was one of the main reasons the Mendoza College moved up to second, according to BusinessWeek.  The college also earned “A+” ratings in teaching quality, facilities and service, and job placement.

“While I am delighted for Notre Dame to be recognized, I feel privileged to work with incredibly dedicated colleagues on the bigger purpose of developing young leaders who will lead with uncompromising integrity and professionalism,” said Carolyn Woo, the Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business. “The current environment shows that principled business leadership is absolutely essential to the health of our country.  This has been the Mendoza mission since our founding.”

Woo further commented that while the Mendoza College is named in the ranking, the University as a whole and Notre Dame’s strong alumni base deserve credit, as well, particularly in view of the efforts put forward toward student satisfaction and job placement.

In fact, BusinessWeek noted that the schools that excelled put an intense focus on guiding students through the career search. The editors noted that this was especially true of Notre Dame, where administrators tap the school’s well-connected alumni network to scout jobs and offer advice to students.”

This focus was particularly important this year, given the job market’s uncertainty, said the editors. In the 2009 survey, 54 percent of responding seniors nationwide lacked an offer as of January, compared with 44 percent in 2008.

BusinessWeek ranked 101 programs using 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. The magazine 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. To view the story and all the rankings information, visit http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate.

The Mendoza College of Business currently enrolls 1,669 undergraduate students in four majors: accountancy, finance, management and marketing. After completing the University’s innovative First Year of Studies program, Notre Dame business majors enter the Mendoza College in their sophomore year.

The Mendoza College also offers graduate degree programs, including a master of business administration, executive master of business administration, master of science in accountancy, and master of nonprofit administration.

For more information, contact Carol Elliott, director of newswriting, Mendoza College of Business, (574) 631-2627 or Elliott.37@nd.edu. 

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