Aug. 22, 2005

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the UW Business School’s Undergraduate Program 22nd in the nation, an improvement of three spots from last year. Among public universities, the School jumped from 16th to 11th.

Among undergraduate business specialties, U.S. News also ranked the Business School’s Undergraduate Program 9th nationally (6th among public universities) in international business, 15th (9th public) in accounting, 15th (9th public) in entrepreneurship, 15th (10th public) in finance, 18th (14th public) in operations management, 19th (14th public) in management information systems, 21st (16th public) in marketing, 22nd (16th public) in management.

“We’re thrilled to see our superb undergraduate program getting the recognition it so richly deserves,” said UW Business School Dean James Jiambalvo. “While the 22nd ranking is fantastic news, our rise in the many specialty areas is remarkable and very encouraging for the school overall. Never before has the UW Business School been listed so high in so many categories. Given that U.S. News included more than 450 schools with undergraduate business programs accredited by AACSB in this survey, these results suggest colleagues at other institutions believe the UW Business School is delivering excellence across all our disciplines.”

The Business School’s Undergraduate Program has been rated among the nation’s top 25 by U.S. News for more than a decade. Recent curriculum innovations across the program have fostered connections between academic learning and professional practice.

“I believe the improvement in rankings is in part the result of our efforts to be creative in furthering our students' ‘outside of the classroom’ learning experiences,” said Pete Dukes, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs. “We have created opportunities and strongly encourage students to pursue meaningful internships, to participate in real-world case competitions, and to be proactive in learning about the professional career opportunities that they pursue. Our students are doing these things in record numbers. The bottom line is they are prepared better than ever to enter the work force and make meaningful contributions.”

The rankings appear in U.S. News & World Report’s August 29 “America’s Best Colleges 2006” issue. In April, the magazine ranked the UW MBA Program 18th in the nation, and the Executive MBA program 22nd.