Jones Graduate School of Management ranked among top 25 in nation

By Cindy Dinh     11/20/08 6:00pm

In a time when job security is questionable, it is comforting to know that at least one degree at Rice can earn you money. The Financial Times and The Economist have both ranked Rice MBA programs at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management within the past two months among the top 25 in the nation this year based largely on post-graduate salary, and U.S. News and World Report ranked the Jones School 40th in the nation. These rankings have increased from last year and have been steadily on the rise since 2004, Sean Ferguson, Jones School assistant dean of degree programs, said.

"We've had four consecutive years of significant growth," he said. "If you disaggregate the rankings and look at the individual components, historically, we've been the top 25 schools from the starting salary standpoint."

The Financial Times has named Rice's Executive MBA program, which is offered to upper-level executives, upper-level middle managers and CEOs, the 15th best Executive MBA program in the nation and the 46th best in the world last month. This ranking is based on salaries three years after graduation and employment rates. The salaries of Rice Executive MBAs typically rank between 22nd and 25th in the nation, Ferguson said.

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In September, The Economist ranked the full-time MBA program, which is targeted toward people who have between three and six years of work experience and are trying to change careers, as 25th in the nation, making the the full-time MBA program the highest ranked in Texas. The average starting salary for Rice's full-time MBA students who graduated in May is $93,000 with an average bonus of $20,000.

Overall, U.S. News and World Report ranked the Jones School 40th in the nation based on peer institution and recruiter assessments, average starting salary, employment rate and student selectivity measures, which include average undergraduate GPA and GMAT scores.

Though each ranking is based on different parameters, the Financial Times surveyed alumni three years after graduation. The survey asks about starting salaries, fulfillment of goals and the diversity of students in the MBA program which includes the number of international students, minorities and women, research productivity, faculty publishing record and more, Ferguson said.

High rankings are often correlated with the level of prospective student interest in the program, he said.

"An increase in rankings can result in an increase in application volume," Ferguson said. "It creates a positive buzz about the program. That's the audience that uses [the rankings] the most to make decisions."

However, he warns that the criteria for rankings may not always line up with program initiatives.

"One of the things we try to be careful of here is to not play the rankings game at the expense of common sense and what's good for the business," Ferguson said.

For example, some schools may accept students who score high on the GMAT and will have an advantage on initial rankings, but these students may not be well-rounded enough to be placed with a company after graduation, Ferguson said.

"I think some schools have played that game," he said. "You get a short-term bump, but there's no net long-term gain. The test-taking scores are the immediate impact, but the placement issue is a long term impact because it can tarnish reputation and degrade the quality of the brand."

Lina Bell, director of the Rice MBA for Executives program, echoes this philosophy. She said the Jones School might have improved in the rankings by being more proactive in reaching out to ranking organizations to fully understand their methodology and respond accurately to their requests.

"A lot of the success can also be attributed to an engaged and tight-knit Jones School community," Bell said. "Students can easily build close relationships with colleagues, faculty and the wider business community, which makes for a better experience."

She emphasized the rigor of the curriculum as classes within the Executive MBA program are taught by Rice MBA full-time faculty as well as top industry leaders like Anadarko CEO Jim Hackett.

"The community of students is just as impressive like Michael Cordúa of Cordúa Restaurants," she said.

Cordúa graduated in May from the Executive MBA program.

The Jones School administration plans to expand its class size to attract more students to its program. In particular, Ferguson said the school plans to expand the evening MBA for Professionals program , which targets full-time people who are in their early to mid-careers. The program, which was established in 2006, draws an average of 225 students each year.

"We want to continue to grow the student body, grow the quality of the students, and focus on our areas of expertise in energy and healthcare," Ferguson said.

In another round of expansion, the Jones School will launch a Ph.D program in management fall 2009.

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