UT's Haslam College of Business ranked 26th among public universities, 54th nationwide

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville's, Haslam College of Business MBA program has been ranked No. 26 among public universities and No. 54 among all business schools nationwide by Bloomberg Businessweek.

The rankings are based on employment data and surveys from 26,699 MBA students, alumni and recruiters, as well as compensation and job-placement data. New methodology was introduced for 2018 and this year, looked at compensation, learning, networking and entrepreneurship, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

“What’s particularly exciting about Haslam’s position in Bloomberg Businessweek this year is that the ranking methodology has changed and better reflects our focus on learning that is highly relevant to the workplace,” said Bruce Behn, Haslam College of Business' associate dean for graduate and executive education.

“This has long provided powerful networking opportunities for our students and alumni, as well as opportunities for significant growth in terms of salaries, career position, and job satisfaction.”

Last year was the first time the college was ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek. In 2017, the college was ranked 57th among all business schools nationwide. However, the methodology for rankings has changed, and Bloomberg said "it does not allow us to compare these rankings to our findings."

Mary Goss, the executive director of graduate business programs, said she thought the high rankings "set the stage for going forward."

"It just shows the effort that we're putting into our program," Goss said. "It certainly speaks to the caliber of our faculty members, the caliber of our students and the caliber of our staff."

Goss also pointed to increased curriculum that is relevant to the workplace, adding, "It certainly tells us about the quality of the education we have here."

The rankings also looked at median starting salaries compared to other schools. Students graduating from the Haslam College of Business earn between $80,000 in financial jobs to $133,000 in consulting jobs as their starting salaries. The compensation category was given the most weight in the rankings at 38.5 percent.

Bloomberg ranked 124 business schools globally and 92 business schools in the United States. Nationwide, there are close to 2,000 business schools, Amy Cathey, Executive Director of Business Development for the Graduate and Executive Education Programs in the Haslam College of Business.

Cathey said "it's a point of pride" to have the school ranked highly.

"We are really, even at that national ranking, in the top few percentages," Cathey said.

Undergraduate program also highly ranked

Bloomberg Businessweek also included quotes from students and alumni in their rankings. Students and alumni said the best things about UT's MBA program were "the collaborative nature of the work and the opportunity to build relationships with classmates and alumni."

In September, the undergraduate program in the Haslam College of Business was also highly ranked, at 39th among public universities and 62nd in the nation, in the 2019 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges Rankings.

For the fall 2018 semester, there are 638 students enrolled in the Haslam College of Business graduate programs. There are 5,089 students enrolled in the undergraduate programs in the college, according to UT Knoxville's fact book.

Tuition and fees for in-state students in the full time MBA program is $40,114 and covers all three semesters of the program, according to the Haslam College of Business website.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, by Monica Kast

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

Published November 13, 2018