Forbes Magazine Moves Boston University School of Management (SMG) Up 12 Places in MBA Rankings

BOSTON, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The School of Management (SMG) at Boston University today announced that it has achieved another significant leap in rankings by two major media outlets. Forbes Magazine has placed SMG 46th for the return on investment of an MBA, a 12-position gain from Forbes' previous ranking two years ago.

U.S. News and World Report has rated the best Undergraduate Business Programs and ranked Boston University 40th, which is an eight place improvement over last year's ranking.

SMG's striking climb in position follows an equally impressive jump in this year's annual Financial Times ranking, in which the School shot up 16 places to number 27, for domestic business schools.

SMG's soaring status represents the fifth highest gain in rankings for all U.S. business schools evaluated by Forbes, and the most significant improvement in numbers of any school in the Northeast. There are over 800 American business schools.

Additional recent recognition of the excellence of the SMG MBA program includes The Wall Street Journal's ranking of SMG's information systems offerings among the top 10 in America.

"While published rankings seem to lag several years behind the reality of a school's value, nonetheless, our quantum leaps in the major rankings reflect growing recognition of the special strengths of SMG, in particular its unique MS-MBA," said Louis E. Lataif, Dean of the School of Management at Boston University. "This School emphasizes the art, science, and technology of business. We teach management as an integrated system, encompassing the technologies that are transforming business. These strengths are in growing demand. The job placement success of our MS-MBA graduates points to the need for tomorrow's business leaders to be trained in this rigorous way."

The MS-MBA's singular approach to business education enables highly motivated graduate students to earn both a traditional Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in one of the various business disciplines, as well as a Master of Science in Information Systems. In this intensive, integrated program, the two degrees can be earned in the same 21- month period normally required to earn a full-time MBA. The MS-MBA enables future business leaders to bridge technology and business, and its strength draws upon the School's Information Systems department, recognized by MIS Quarterly as the sixth best department in the U.S.

"My regret is that we can't hire more graduates of the MS-MBA program at Boston University School of Management," said Lonny Spitz, Recruiting Manager at BearingPoint . Based in McLean, VA, BearingPoint is one of the world's largest business consulting, systems integration and managed services firms. "The training they receive in the MS-MBA program is a perfect match for the consulting work we do, because the focus of what they learn is that technology exists to address the pain of business. That's what we tell all our clients."

SMG's soaring rankings confirm Lonny Spitz's claim that the School's unique, forward-thinking approach to management meets the changing demands of today's employers and markets.

Forbes' school rankings are based on return on investment -- meaning compensation five years after graduation minus tuition and the salary forgone during school. For more information, go to http://www.forbes.com/.

Among the criteria in the U.S. News and World Report ranking are acceptance and graduation rates, retention, class size, faculty resources, SAT scores, and alumni giving. For more information, go to http://www.usnews.com/.

About Boston University School of Management

Founded as the College of Business Administration in 1913, Boston University School of Management develops leaders and builders for the networked-era, emphasizing management as a system of interdependent functions, decisions, people, and technologies. It is the worldwide leader in offering a unique MS-MBA program, which is a rigorous dual degree, next-generation MBA fusing a traditional management education with expertise in the information technologies that are transforming all businesses. The School's other offerings include undergraduate degrees in business administration; full- and part-time MBA and Executive MBA programs; a Master of Science program in Investment Management; a Doctoral program; International Management programs; and executive education.

The School of Management at Boston University is located at 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. For more information, visit http://management.bu.edu/.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Pete Arnold Peter Arnold Associates (781) 239-1030 parnold@parnold.com