US News & World Report ranking reflects quality, reputation of NC State MBA

The Jenkins MBA program in the NC State University Poole College of Management rose to No. 52 among full-time MBA programs in the United States, according to the 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best Business Schools ranking released today.

The Jenkins Professional Evening MBA program also rose in the rankings, to No. 34 among the nation’s top part-time MBA programs.

In January, US News ranked the Jenkins Professional Online MBA program No. 15 among online MBA programs.

The 470 master’s programs in business administration accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business were eligible for the US News ranking, of which 129 provided the data needed to calculate the full-time ranking. To participate in the part-time ranking, a program was required to have at least 20 students enrolled in the fall of 2015; 296 programs met the criteria.

These latest results reflect an upward trend in ranking and reputation for the NC State Jenkins MBA, which also rose to the top 30 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Business Schools 2015 ranking of U.S. -based MBA programs.

“We do what very few MBA programs are able to do – provide a world-class MBA education at an incredible value. In fact, more than half of our full-time MBA students receive tuition assistance in the form of graduate assistantships or scholarships, and NC residents can complete any of our MBA programs for less than $45,000,” said Ira Weiss, Poole College dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair.

“On the other side of the return on investment equation, the Jenkins MBA is making a real difference in the lives of our students and alumni. Ninety-two percent of our full-time MBA 2015 class accepted job offers within three months of graduation, and our part-time MBA graduates realized an average 25 percent increase in salary,” Weiss said

“Our graduates’ ability to bring value to their employers reflects our focus on experiential learning in the Jenkins MBA program,” said Steve Allen, associate dean for graduate programs and research.

“As a result, our MBA students are identifying actionable opportunities and providing solutions as part of their coursework, showing our partner companies and recruiters that they are ready to think and do from day one.” One recent example of this is the model created by a team of MBA students for determining the economic impact of a state’s supply chain industry on the state’s economy.

The US News ranking of full-time MBA programs is comprised of results from surveys of business school deans and directors and corporate recruiters, in addition to career placement and admissions selectivity statistics. The Jenkins MBA’s year-over-year jump in rankings reflects improvements in the recruiter assessment, career placement statistics, average GPA of entering students and acceptance rate.

The part-time ranking is based on results of a survey of deans, as well as selectivity, student experience and enrollment metrics. The Jenkins MBA improved significantly year-over-year on all metrics.

Additional information about the US News Best Business Schools ranking can be found on the US News & World Report website.

NC State is currently accepting applications for the MBA programs starting in fall 2016. For more information, visit https://www.mba.ncsu.edu. The NC State Jenkins MBA is available in three formats: full-time, profession and professional online.