High scores from employers, alumni and students helped lift the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Full-Time MBA program to No. 29 in the U.S., according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
The Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas continues its climb to the top of business school standings with the Full-Time MBA program leaping forward 13 places in the 2016 Bloomberg Businessweek rankings of best U.S. business schools. Ranked No. 42 last year, the Jindal School program advanced to No. 29 in Bloomberg's newest list released this week.
The Jindal School’s major rise was predicated on improved scores in three component surveys of Bloomberg Businessweek data. The school’s ranking among employers rose from No. 36 to No. 24. Approval among graduates of the program lifted the alumni ranking from No. 57 to No. 38. And the ranking among students went from No. 36 to No. 23.
“To have this program move up significantly in this ranking is exceptionally gratifying. This validates our efforts to improve, innovate and always offer excellence.”
Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management and Caruth Chair
“To have this program move up significantly in this ranking is exceptionally gratifying,” said Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Jindal School and Caruth Chair. “This validates our efforts to improve, innovate and always offer excellence.”
The school “has been working diligently to address student, employer and alumni concerns and to incorporate their advice in making decisions,” said Dr. Monica Powell, senior associate dean of the Jindal School. “Obviously that paid off.”
Bloomberg Businessweek invites full-time MBA programs throughout the country to participate in the rankings process. The publication determines which programs and how many of them are ranked.
Of the 87 business schools in the list, nine were from Texas, with the Jindal school ranked fourth in the state.
“With this new ranking, we move to No. 12 among public university full-time MBA programs in the U.S.,” said Lisa Shatz, assistant dean in charge of all of the school's MBA programs. “Pair that with the economical cost of our program and a focus on developing highly marketable skills such as IT and data analytics — and it becomes clear that a Jindal School MBA offers exceptional value.
“Speaking to the high quality of the students we enroll,” Shatz added, “we consistently have more than 90 percent of them placed in jobs within 90 days of their graduation.”
MSIE Program Makes Debut in Princeton Review's Entrepreneurship Rankings
The Jindal School’s MS in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MSIE) program also got good rankings news this week. Previously unranked, the program established itself at No. 22 in the 2017 Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine list of top schools for entrepreneurship.
“Since its inception, MSIE has had a strong structure that takes into account students, employers, graduates’ goodwill and, in a major way, the concept of building viable businesses and long-term jobs,” Powell said.
Madison Pedigo, director of the MSIE program, was pleased by the ranking. “Continuous improvement is really what we have embraced,” he said. “We are trying to grow and continuously improve in all aspects of the program. That includes the academics, the research and the extracurricular — and that is exactly what we have been doing.”
The rankings were based on detailed surveys conducted with more than 300 schools during the last academic year. Harvard tops the list of the rankings. Other Texas schools that are ranked include UT Austin (No. 2), Rice (No. 3) and Texas A&M (No. 21).