MBA Program Ranked 46th Nationally by Forbes

MBA Program Ranked 46th Nationally by Forbes

Forbes magazine recently released its rankings of Master of Business Administration programs placing UA's Manderson Graduate School of Business at 46th overall among full-time MBA programs and 20th among public MBA programs nationwide. The program is also ranked 28th among public institutions by U.S. News and World Report.

Manderson was third among SEC programs trailing only Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Harvard University leads the 2003 Forbes rankings, followed by Columbia University and the University of Chicago.

The Forbes ranking, which focuses on MBA program return on investment, compares graduates' post-MBA compensation against program costs, specifically tuition and foregone salary, and estimates of what the same students would have made in their old jobs. UA MBA alumni experienced an average gain of $67,000 over tuition and foregone salary since 1998.

"The rankings confirm our belief that the Alabama MBA program deserves mention among the top programs in the Southeast," said Dr. J. Barry Mason, dean of UA's College of Commerce and Business Administration.

Forbes also assessed MBA programs based on time to recapture the investment of program costs and foregone earnings, and the Manderson MBA program tied for ninth in the country with Columbia University and the University of Virginia with a 2.5 year recapture period.

UA M.B.A. class of 1998 graduates, on average, earned $26,000 prior to entering the two-year program and were earning average salaries of $72,000 five years later.

The Manderson program weighed in at number four among all Forbes respondents for tuition affordability, with total out-of-state tuition and fees for the entire two years of the program at just over $21,000 and in-state costs of $11,000.