Academics

Bloomberg Businessweek ranks Smeal MBA Program No. 2 in return on investment

Business Building, Penn State University Park campus. Credit: Annemarie Mountz / Penn State. Creative Commons

The Penn State Smeal's Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program ranks No. 2 in return on investment (ROI) according to the latest Bloomberg Businessweek rankings. Businessweek based its ROI measure on the cost of the program, two years of foregone wages, and the average salary increase students experience after graduating. The only school to rank above Penn State was the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

According to the Businessweek ranking, Penn State MBA graduates get back close to half what they invested in business school the first year after graduation.

A complete listing of this ranking is available at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-11/best-business-schools-2014-is-my-mba-worth-it-roi-at-top-schools

In a similar assessment of MBA years-to-payback conducted by Forbes in 2013, Smeal ranked No. 7.

“A Smeal education ranks among the very best for both value and quality. For our many student with scholarships and graduate assistantships, that ROI is even faster,” said Carrie Marcinkevage, managing director of the Penn State Smeal MBA Program.

Smeal ranked 40th overall in Businessweek’s most recent MBA assessment and 16th among public business schools. The publication’s final rankings were based on the results of student and employer surveys and a measure of faculty research.

The internationally ranked residential Penn State Smeal MBA Program positions students from around the world for their future careers. The two-year program, based on the University Park campus, begins with a focus on business fundamentals. Through summer internships with top companies and specialties in areas such as supply chain management, corporate finance, marketing, strategic leadership, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and sustainability and social innovation, students then personalize their Smeal MBA experiences to align with their career aspirations. Learn more at www.smeal.psu.edu/mba.

Last Updated November 25, 2014

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