BusinessWeek ranks undergraduate business program No.3

The Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame ranked No. 3 nationally on BusinessWeek magazine third annual ranking “The Best Undergrad B-Schools.” The magazine announced the rankings Feb. 28 and will make them available in the March 10 edition on newsstands March 3.

Notre Dame leapt four spots from its No. 7 slot in 2007. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the University of Virginia retained the top two spots.

In the article accompanying the survey, BusinessWeek noted that the academic quality of Notre Dame’s program improved, but it primarily attributed the rise in rankings to the students’ success in the job market. Median annual starting salaries rose to $53,500, a nearly 10 percent increase from the previous year. Mendoza also was rated No. 2 in the student survey ranking. Students said Notre Dame’s “die-hard alums and an emphasis on ethics separated Mendoza from the pack.”

“Educating young people to become effective and compassionate leaders is a tremendous privilege and responsibility,” said Carolyn Y. Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean of Business, noting that the recognition is the achievement of the entire Notre Dame community. “I want us to give our best to be worthy of our students and for them to be worthy of their blessings.  If we do this, we will give life to the mission of Notre Dame.”

The magazine’s methodology utilizes nine sources of data for the ranking, including surveys of some 80,000 business majors and more than 600 corporate recruiters, the median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of graduates each program sends on to the preeminent MBA programs. BusinessWeek also calculates an academic quality score for the undergraduate schools by combining SAT scores, faculty-student ratios, class size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students spend on class work each week.

BusinessWeek noted that the news is good on many fronts for undergraduate business education.  The number of high schools seniors who say they intend to earn a business degree is increasing. Those entering programs in 2007 boasted higher standardized test scores than 2006 freshmen. Graduates are also leaving with higher salaries.

The Mendoza College of Business currently enrolls 1,626 undergraduate students in four departments: accountancy, finance, management and marketing. After completing the University’s First Year of Studies program, Notre Dame business majors enter the Mendoza College in their sophomore year. Mendoza 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.

Contact: Carol Elliott, director of newswriting, Mendoza College of Business, (574) 631-2627 or Elliott.37@nd.edu.

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