Indiana University's Kelley School of Business made a major move upward in the Financial Times' annual survey of the top 100 MBA programs in the world. In rankings released on Jan. 30, the school rose by 27 positions into the top 50 worldwide. Kelley achieved the largest improvement of any business school in the U.S. and the second largest improvement among all schools in the ranking. Kelley's Full-Time Master of Business Administration Program ranks 46th overall among more than 8,000 business schools around the world and is fifth among all U.S. public institutions.
Helping to bolster Kelley in the rankings were placement activities for graduates during a challenging global economy. The school ranked fourth in the world in terms of its placement success - 90 percent of MBA graduates were employed within three months following graduation.
Kelley School Dean Dan Smith said the progress has come at a time when many traditional MBA programs in the United States have faced growing competition from new schools worldwide. Half of the MBA programs in the top 50 overall rankings are based outside the U.S., across Europe and increasingly in India, China and elsewhere in Asia. "We are in a global competition, and these rankings reflect the extraordinary quality of our faculty, who possess a world view and are committed to constant innovation," Smith said.
The Kelley School was also recognized for the research productivity of its faculty. The school was ranked 20th for its research activities. The Financial Times also recognized the global diversity of the Kelley faculty, one-fourth of whom are from nations other than the U.S., and more than half of the faculty has international experience.
The school also ranked in the top 10 for its accounting and marketing programs (ranked 8th and 2nd in the world).
The Financial Times rankings follow similar recognition by Bloomberg Business Week, which ranked the program 19th; and U.S. News & World Report, which ranked it 23rd.
Tihana Baždar Gašljević
