Archives
Wall Street Journal again ranks SOM as one of world's top business schools
By JACQUELINE GHOSEN
Reporter Contributor
For the third consecutive year, the School of Management has been ranked as one of the world's "top business schools" by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper ranked the SOM 43rd among the top 50 business schools in the world. Among business schools in the United States, the school ranked 39th.
The Wall Street Journal ranking differs from other business school rankings in that it is based exclusively on surveys of employers, the "consumers" of MBA talent. In this year's survey, nearly 2,200 recruiters assessed schools based on a variety of attributes. Among the student attributes most important to employers were communication and interpersonal skills, team skills and leadership potential. A new attribute, personal ethics and integrity, appeared on this year's list, and 84 percent of employers ranked it as very important.
"This is a ringing endorsement from the employers who hire our graduates," said John M. Thomas, SOM dean. "Employers have been telling us for years that they value our graduates because they possess more than just technical and quantitative skills, and this ranking is proof that they mean it."
Last year, the school ranked 41st in the overall ranking and 36th among U.S. schools.
"This is a very competitive ranking," said Thomas. "It's common to see some fluctuation but the fact that we've been ranked in the top 50 for three years in a row shows that this is not a fluke," he added. "It demonstrates the commitment of our faculty and staff and the consistent quality of our graduates."
According to Thomas, SOM has made a concerted effort to enhance the quality of its academic programs and its global reputation by focusing its resources on the recruitment of top students and faculty. The new Alfiero Center, now under construction on the North Campus, will provide a boost to the school's educational facilities and technologies, as well.
The UB School of Management is the only Western New York business school to be included in The Wall Street Journal ranking. The school also has been cited by Business Week as one of the "best business schools" in America, and by Forbes for "best return on investment."