Leaps and Bounds

Bauer Full-Time and Professional MBA Make Impressive Strides in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools List

By Julie Bonnin

Published on April 25, 2023

Photo: Bauer Full-Time and Professional MBA Make Impressive Strides in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools List

The most recent U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings affirm the impressive strides made by the C. T. Bauer College of Business Full-Time and Part-Time MBA degree programs, with the Full-Time program tied for 33rd among public universities in 2023-2024 followed by an overall ranking leap of 22 places, to 63rd (Bauer tied for 85th last year).

The PMBA program is also ascending significantly in the rankings, placing 26th among public business schools after tying for 32nd last year (Bauer tied for 41st overall after being tied for 48th last year, a 7-place leap).

The rapidly improving rankings, Bauer’s historic best, indicate that Bauer MBA graduates are making demonstrable professional gains in the key areas of career placement and salary lift, and that innovative investments in the programs are paying off, said Bauer College Dean and Cullen Distinguished Chair Professor Paul A. Pavlou.

Bauer’s FTMBA graduates from the 2022-2023 program experienced a 40 percent compensation boost after completing the program. Ninety-three percent were employed at graduation, and 97 percent were employed six months following graduation.

“The Bauer MBA programs are designed to transform the lives of our graduates, while preparing them for leadership positions in a continuously evolving business world,” Pavlou said. “Curricular innovation and experiential learning are hallmarks of our MBA programs that enable our students to be job ready on Day 1.”

“We are privileged to attract an extraordinarily diverse group of MBA graduates (Bauer is among the Top 5 most diverse MBA programs), and the Bauer College is producing a new generation of leaders who will transform lives, advance organizations, reinvent industries and better society. This is a key reason we can safely say, ‘The Future is Our Business!’” Pavlou said.

Associate Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs and Associate Professor of Decision & Information Sciences Leiser Silva said the programs’ remarkable growth reflects a team approach employed by faculty, staff and administrators.

“Our faculty are among the best and put forth an extraordinary effort. The Rockwell Career Center also plays a key part in why we are seeing such strong improvement in our graduates’ outcomes, which is reflected in the ranking,” Silva said. “As the reputation of the programs grow, we attract increasingly strong candidates, which also plays a role. We continually ask students for feedback and strive to improve, and it is wonderful to see these efforts paying off.”

Full-Time MBA Faculty Director Olivia Miljanic, a faculty member in the Department of Management & Leadership and the college’s Director of Global Studies, said the breadth of academic and co-curricular offerings facilitates a very personalized educational experience that students are looking for.

“We work closely with our students, meet with them regularly, listen to their concerns and continuously look for ways to elevate their experience,” she added.

MBA specialty areas are:

U.S. News & World Report bases its rankings on two types of data: reputational surveys of deans and other academic officials, as well as employer and recruiter assessments, using statistical indicators that measure the quality of the incoming class for both Full-Time MBA and Professional MBA rankings, and placements of its graduates in the Full-Time MBA ranking.