The MBA program in Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business advanced six spots in BusinessWeek magazine's biennial survey of MBA programs nationwide, from a No. 26 ranking in 2006 to No. 20 in 2008.
The survey ranks the top 30 MBA programs and the top 10 non-U.S. MBA programs. The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business earned the No. 1 spot, followed by Harvard Business School, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Two year MBA candidate Mirjam Wit said she was pleased to see Notre Dame move up in the rankings.
"It definitely feels good to pay money and have my degree get more value as I continue my education here," she said.
BusinessWeek Magazine uses surveys of students and corporate recruiters as well as an intellectual capital rating to determine its rankings. The 45-question student survey is conducted online via e-mail, and in 2008 BusinessWeek surveyed 7,264 students.
The survey asks students to rate the teaching quality, career services, alumni network and recruiting efforts of their MBA program. BusinessWeek averages all of the answers and calculates a student survey score for each school. Students also get the chance to give personal opinions on their school's program.
BusinessWeek posted the anonymous responses of some of the survey-takers on its Web site:
"The MBA program [at Notre Dame] and school as a whole has a very deep sense of community and purpose," one survey respondent wrote. "The quality of the education and classes are very good, and the program's focus on problem solving and social responsibility are a great mix. Finally, the alumni are incredibly supportive."
BusinessWeek gave the Mendoza College of Business' MBA program an "A" for its career services, and an "A+" in the teaching category.
Notre Dame currently offers both a one-year and a two-year MBA program. The one-year program offers a year-round curriculum and requires undergraduate prerequisite course hours in mathematics, accounting, economics, finance, marketing and management. The two-year program consists of four semesters of classes and a summer internship between the first and second year study.
An inter-term in every semester permits students to enroll in one-week courses to broaden field expertise. During fall and spring break weeks, the program offers inter-term studies in China and Europe.
Wit graduated from Boston College with a degree in marketing and a minor in International Politics through Boston College's Faith, Peace and Justice program. She served in the Peace Corps and then decided to return to business and enroll in an MBA program. She said she looked at the rankings before selecting Notre Dame for business school.
"I looked at a combination of ranking and supplemented that with the Web site BeyondGreyPinstripes.org that ranks schools according to how the incorporate social and environmental values into their program. Because of their scores in both these aspects, Notre Dame was one of the schools I selected to apply to." Wit said. "I ended up look at mostly higher ranked schools such as Michigan, Darden [The University of Virginia's Graduate School of Business Administration] and Duke. Notre Dame's financial aid package ultimately persuaded me to come here."
BusinessWeek announced the rankings last Thursday. The list will be featured in the magazine's Nov. 24 edition.
In BusinessWeek's March 2008 survey, Notre Dame's undergraduate program in the Mendoza College of Business ranked No. 3 behind Wharton and the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
