Rice MBA ranked among top 25 by U.S. News and World Report

by Jeff Falk

MBA program moves up 8 and is now among top 25 in three major rankings

The Master of Business Administration program at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business is ranked No. 25 (up from No. 33 last year) in U.S. News and World Report’s new analysis of the best full-time MBA programs in the nation for 2017.

The Rice MBA is the only full-time MBA program in the last decade to go from below the top 40 to the top 25 in the U.S. in all three top rankings of business schools: from 2006 to the present, Bloomberg Businessweek, from unranked to No. 19; U.S. News, from No. 44 to No. 25; and Financial Times, from No. 41 to No. 24 (in the U.S.).

The Jones School’s graduate entrepreneurship program was ranked No. 14 in U.S. News’ MBA specialty rankings.

“With the support of Rice, our alumni, and the Houston community, we moved the Rice MBA from top 50 to a solid top 25,” said Jones School Dean Bill Glick. “Today’s ranking reflects our long-term success in increasing research productivity and impact, graduates’ career success, programmatic excellence and attracting the best students.”

U.S. News ranked MBA programs based on quality assessments by employers and AACSB accredited schools, placement success and student selectivity. Businessweek rankings emphasize employer perception, alumni and student satisfaction and career success. Financial Times gives more weight to career success, faculty research and global diversity.

The biggest contributor to Rice’s rise in the most recent ranking was increased recognition of the school’s programs and graduates among corporate recruiters, an increase in graduates’ average starting salary and bonus and the percentage of graduates employed at graduation.

The Rice MBA full-time program provides students with a comprehensive MBA learning experience that combines specialized coursework and real-world experience to improve and amplify their strategy, leadership and critical decision-making credentials. The program features innovative classes, expert faculty and a diverse group of candidates who often become colleagues for a lifetime.

The Jones Graduate School of Business is consistently recognized by several rankings publications for its programs, including the Rice MBA, Rice MBA for Executives and Rice MBA for Professionals. The school is internationally known for the research and thought leadership of its faculty, which can be found on ricebusinesswisdom.com.

For more information on Rice MBA programs, visit http://business.rice.edu. To view the complete U.S. News and World Report rankings and methodology information, visit http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduateschools/top-business-schools.