A New Winner
The world's oldest business school took top honors in this year's Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive ranking of corporate recruiters' favorite M.B.A. programs.
The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, founded in 1881, jumped to first place from fifth last year, largely on the strength of students' financial and analytical skills. Wharton unseated Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, which slipped to No. 2 after two consecutive years as the most popular M.B.A. program.
This year's survey reflected the new era of financial and ethical accountability. Recruiters repeatedly praised schools that produce principled graduates and accounting whizzes. The Wharton School is a leader in both areas, with a long history of business-ethics courses and research and some of the top professors in the accounting field. In fact, recruiters named Wharton the second-best school for accounting, after the University of Chicago.
Wharton continues to attract the premier investment-banking and management-consulting recruiters, even in this weak M.B.A. job market. "Our track record at Wharton is one of unparalleled success," says Frank Pometti, a management consultant at A.T. Kearney Inc. "It's critical as a consultant to understand what's driving a company's financial performance, and you never have to worry about a Wharton student getting it."
While survey respondents praise Wharton as a superb training ground for ambitious leaders and strategic thinkers, some consider the school's culture too competitive and elitist. Virtually all of the recruiters, however, appreciate Wharton's academic prowess. It was among the top 10 nominees for excellence in every academic concentration in the Journal survey except for information technology.
Some scholastic stars, however, didn't fare well in the Journal ranking because recruiters care about more than the quality of the faculty and curriculum. They also highly value such attributes as students' communication and interpersonal skills and the level of service they receive from the career-services office.
Stanford University, for example, ranked 30th overall, even though recruiters placed it among the top 10 schools for five academic specialties. Stanford did move up significantly in the overall ranking, jumping from 39th place last year. Several recruiters noted improvements at Stanford's career-management office since Andy Chan took over as director, and they also observed more humility among students hungry for jobs. But Stanford clearly still suffers from the negative reputation it acquired during the booming 1990s when many students snubbed traditional recruiters in favor of sexier dot-coms and other technology start-ups.
This year's ranking is based on an online survey of 2,191 recruiters between November 2002 and March 2003. Respondents could rate only schools they know well through their recent recruiting experiences. Each respondent rated one to three business schools on 26 attributes, including students' analytical and problem-solving skills, personal ethics and integrity, leadership potential, and fit with the corporate culture.
In addition, a school's final score and ranking took into account its "mass appeal," based on how many survey respondents recruited from its M.B.A. program. Mass appeal reflects the size of a school's recruiter network, an important factor for students seeking a broad range of career opportunities.
For the second year, big business schools like Wharton made a much stronger showing than small M.B.A. programs. Seven of the top 10 schools offer large M.B.A. programs, and half of the top 10 are part of the Ivy League.
In addition to Wharton, two other Ivy League schools moved up in this year's ranking. Columbia University's business school advanced three spots to No. 7. "Columbia students tend to be interesting and well-rounded, and there's an international flavor to the M.B.A. program," says Mr. Pometti. "You want people who can relate to consulting clients in any situation, including multicultural settings." The largest Ivy League M.B.A. program, Harvard Business School, moved up one notch to eighth place, but it still stirs mixed feelings with many recruiters, who repeatedly cite students' arrogance as its chief shortcoming.
Mass Appeal
Some big schools ranked higher because they scored well on mass appeal. The weak job market also has clearly affected recruiters' feelings about some of the large M.B.A. programs. Recruiters who visited the bigger schools, particularly the most prestigious programs, reported greater success in hiring students and more considerate treatment from both the graduates and the career-services office during the 2002-03 academic year.
But one large school -- the University of Texas at Austin -- dropped out of the top 10 this year for the first time. Some recruiters cited inconsistent performance from Texas graduates they had hired recently.
The biggest decliners in this year's ranking include New York University, Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas (ESADE) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Many recruiters commented that student quality is "uneven" at NYU's Stern School of Business and that they sometimes feel as if they are interviewing "Columbia rejects." As for Spain's ESADE and Illinois, recruiters called for more student work experience and a stronger international perspective at both schools.
Schools making the biggest advances in the ranking: Brigham Young University, Vanderbilt University, and Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Brigham Young's Marriott School of Management stood out for its students' integrity in this era of corporate scandals. "Our recruiters return to Brigham Young year in and year out because of the school's high ethical standards," says Roger McCarty, corporate strategy development leader for Dow Chemical Co.
Recruiters singled out Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management for its finance program and its graduates' strong character and team orientation. And Mexico's ITESM, which topped the list of international schools in this year's ranking, earned kudos for its students' strategic thinking and analytical skills, as well as its global vision. "I've been working with ITESM graduates for the past 10 years," says Francisco Trevino Reyes, administration manager at the New Zealand Milk Distribution Center in Monterrey, Mexico. "Believe me, you can rely on the quality of their work, decision making, ethical values and leadership."
Top International Schools
This year, for the first time, The Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive created a separate ranking of the top 10 international schools. It includes the six foreign schools from the overall top 50, plus four others that received at least 20 recruiter ratings -- the minimum number required -- but didn't score high enough to make the main ranking. Two Mexican schools top the international ranking, while Europe places six schools on the list. Two Canadian M.B.A. programs round out the international leaders.
Surprisingly, INSEAD dropped out of the top 50 and ranked only ninth among the international schools. Some recruiters complained that graduates of the French school lack depth of knowledge because they complete the degree in just one year instead of the usual two years. The students also "are too arrogant," a survey respondent said. "They're not as good as they think they are." Another well-known international program -- IMD International in Lausanne, Switzerland -- also fell out of the ranking this year. An extremely small school with only about 90 full-time M.B.A. students, it failed to receive the minimum number of recruiter ratings to be eligible for this year's rankings.
Other schools that dropped out of the top 50 altogether in 2003: the University of Western Ontario, University of Toronto, University of California at Davis, University of Wisconsin, Boston College and University of California at Irvine.
This year's newcomers to the top 50 include the University of Pittsburgh, University of Florida, American University, University of Denver, Boston University, Texas A&M University and HEC School of Management. In addition, the University of Minnesota returned to the ranking after a one-year absence.
Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business placed highest among the schools making their debut in The Wall Street Journal ranking. Unlike INSEAD, Pitt is popular with some recruiters because of its fast-track one-year M.B.A. degree. "Pitt's one-year program is more indicative of the fast rate of learning required in the workplace, where you don't have two years to get up to speed," says Lawrence Lane, a finance supervisor at Ford Motor Co. "Pitt is also a good fit with the Ford culture of teamwork."
On a regional basis, U.S. business schools in the East and Midwest claimed 14 of the top 20 spots. Four Southern schools were among the 20, but Western schools fared poorly again. No Western schools made the top 20 in the first ranking, and the only one to do so in 2002 and 2003 was the University of California at Berkeley, in 14th place this year.
Private universities, as usual, dominate the rankings. But public business schools, led by the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, represent 40% of the top 50. "We like North Carolina because the students have a solid professionalism and sense of leadership -- they're very confident and assured," says Zohar Porat, who works in strategic marketing at Eli Lilly & Co. "They're also delightful people, and that's unusual for M.B.A.s."
沃顿商学院MBA荣膺全球第一
《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)/Harris Interactive所作的公司招聘人员青睐的MBA教育项目排名揭晓，全球历史最为悠久的商学院－－沃顿学院(The Wharton School)获得最高殊荣。
宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)的沃顿学院成立于1881年，该校主要凭借学生良好的财务素养和分析技能，从去年的排名第五跃居榜首，将已经连续两年在这项广受关注的调查中蝉联冠军的达特茅斯学院(Dartmouth College)塔克商学院(Tuck School of Business)甩在后面。 （下载排名表）
从本年度的调查中可以看出，对于财务素质和道德意识的评估进入新的时代。招聘人员对于那些能够培养和造就学生良好道德素养而扎实财务技能的院校赞不绝口。沃顿学院在这两方面都堪称表率，其开设商业道德课程并进行相关研究的历史悠久，而且会计领域也拥有一些顶级教授。实际上，在会计素质培养方面，招聘企业将沃顿学院名列第二，位居芝加哥大学(University of Chicago)之后。
对于全美顶尖的投资银行和管理咨询公司的招聘人员来说，沃顿的魅力持续不衰，即便是在目前MBA就业市场低迷的情况下也是如此。A.T. Kearney Inc.的管理顾问弗兰克?波梅蒂(Frank Pometti)说：“我们在沃顿的招聘记录是空前的成功。作为一名咨询人员，理解公司财务状况的驱动因素至关重要，而对于沃顿的学生，你在这方面从来不用操心。”
尽管接受调查者称赞沃顿是雄心勃勃的领导和具战略眼光思想家的训练场，但也有人认为该校的文化过于富竞争性，优越感也太强。然而，所有的招聘人员都欣赏沃顿的学术地位。在《华尔街日报》对大学学术实力的调查中，除信息技术外，该校在每个学术领域都进入了前十名。
然而，有些在学术研究方面赫赫有名的院校，在此次调查中却口碑不佳，因为招聘者关注的不仅仅是师资力量和课程设置。他们对于学生的沟通能力及人际关系技能也极其看重，而且很在意学生根据学校就业服务中心的要求提供服务的情况。
例如，斯坦福大学(Stanford University)在总体排名中名列第三十位，尽管招聘者在五个专业学术领域将该校列入了前十名。斯坦福的总体排名也显著提高，去年排在第三十九位。几名招聘人员指出，自Andy Chan担任主任以来，斯坦福就业管理中心的工作得到了改善。他们还注意到，该校急于找工作的学生多了几分谦逊。但显然，90年代互联网热潮时出现的情况仍让斯坦福承受著负面影响。当时许多学生对诱人的网络公司和其他新兴科技公司趋之若骛，而对传统企业招聘不屑一顾。
今年的排名是基于2002年11月至2003年3月期间对2,191名招聘人员的网上调查结果。受访者只能依据近期的招聘经验对他们熟知的学院进行排名。每名受访者在26个方面列出一至三所院校，这些方面包括学生的分析和解决问题能力，道德观念和诚信品质，领导潜力以及与公司文化的融合情况等。
另外，在学校的最终得分和排名中，还要考虑从该校招收MBA的招聘者数量多少，将该因素计入“总体印象”。总体印象反映的是该校在招聘企业中的影响，这对全面撒网寻求工作机会的学生十分重要。
像沃顿这样的大型商学院比小规模的MBA项目表现好得多，这样的结果已是连续第二年。排在前十名的院校中有七所提供大型MBA项目，五所是常春藤盟校(Ivy League)的成员。
除沃顿外，常春藤盟校另外还有两所学院进入了本年度的排名。哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)商学院前进了三名，名列第七。波梅蒂说：“哥伦比亚大学的学生兴趣广泛，素质全面，具有国际化意识。你需要对咨询客户任何情况应对自如的人才，包括多元文化背景下的客户。”常春藤盟校MBA项目规模最大的哈佛商学院(Harvard Business School)前进了一名，跃居第八，但许多招聘人员反复说到该院学生态度傲慢，认为这是他们最大的缺点，因而对其毁誉参半。
总体印象
有些大型院校排名靠前得益于总体印象方面的良好得分。疲软的就业市场显然也影响著招聘者对一些大型MBA项目的感受。在2002－2003学年，前往规模较大、特别是最知名MBA项目学院的招聘者，感到招聘工作更有成效，同时也受到了毕业生和求职服务办公室更周到的款待。
但今年有一所大学却首次未能进入前十名，这就是得克萨斯州大学奥斯丁分校(University of Texas at Austin)。有些招聘人员表示，他们最近招收的该校毕业生表现不稳定。
今年排名下降最多的大学包括纽约大学(New York University)，Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas(ESADE)和伊利诺斯州大学厄巴纳-尚佩恩分校(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)。许多招聘人员表示，纽约大学斯特恩商学院(Stern School of Business)的学生素质良莠不齐，有时让他们感觉好像在面试哥伦比亚大学淘汰下来的学生。对于西班牙的ESADE和伊利诺斯州大学，招聘人员呼吁这两所大学注重培养学生在校期间的工作经验和国际视角。
排名提前幅度最大的院校有：杨百翰大学(Brigham Young University)，范德比尔特大学(Vanderbilt University)和蒙特雷高等教育与理工学院(Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM)。在公司丑闻迭出的时代，杨百翰大学Marriott School of Management以学生诚实的品质脱颖而出。陶氏化学公司(Dow Chemical Co.)战略发展领导罗杰?麦卡蒂(Roger McCarty)说：“我们公司的招聘人员年年到杨百翰大学招聘，因为该校学生道德水准较高。”
招聘人员指出，范德比尔特大学的欧文管理学院(Owen Graduate School of Management)以财务课程见长，且毕业生个性鲜明，富于团队精神。墨西哥的ITESM在今年国际院校排行中名列榜首，以该校学生的战略思维、分析技能和全球视角而赢得了赞誉。墨西哥蒙特雷的新西兰牛奶递送中心(New Zealand Milk Distribution Center)行政经理弗兰西斯科?雷耶斯(Francisco Trevino Reyes)说：“十年来我一直和ITESM的毕业生一道工作。相信我，对他们的工作质量，决策能力，道德观念和领导才干尽可放心。”
顶级国际商学院
今年，《华尔街日报》/Harris Interactive在评选中首次将排出的十所顶级国际院校区分开来，其中六所产生自总排行前50名的学院，另外四所至少须获得20位企业招聘人员的提名，但分数不足以进入主排名的行列。两所墨西哥的大学在顶级国际院校排名中排在前列，欧洲有六所学校榜上有名。加拿大有两所学院的MBA项目入选。
出人意料的是，INSEAD落选前50名，在国际院校排名中也仅排第九位。有些招聘人员抱怨说，由于学制为一年，这所法国大学毕业生缺乏深度知识，而大多数学校都是两年制。且一名接受调查者表示，该校学生过于傲慢，自以为是。另一国际知名的MBA院校─瑞士洛桑的IMD International今年也名落孙山。由于规模太小，只有约90名脱产MBA学生，该校未达到招聘人员参与评级的最低人数，因而未获得今年入选资格。
其他未进入2003年排名前50名的院校有：西安大略大学(University of Western Ontario)，多伦多大学(University of Toronto)，加利福尼亚州大学戴维斯分校(University of California at Davis)，威斯康星州大学(University of Wisconsin)，波士顿学院(Boston College)和加利福尼亚州大学尔湾分校(University of California at Irvine)。
今年新闯入前50名的大学包括匹兹堡大学(University of Pittsburgh)，佛罗里达州大学(University of Florida)，美国大学(American University)，丹佛大学(University of Denver)，波士顿大学(Boston University)，得克萨斯农业与工程大学(Texas A&M University)和HEC School of Management。另外，明尼苏达州大学(University of Minnesota)在一年落选后重返前50名之列。
匹兹堡的卡茨研究生院(Katz Graduate School of Business)在首次亮相该排名的院校中得分最高。不同于INSEAD，该校一年制的速成MBA毕业生很受招聘人员青睐。福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)的财务总监劳伦斯?莱恩(Lawrence Lane)表示：“该校一年制的MBA项目是高效率培养工作中所需技能的表率，它的教育与福特公司团队文化也很契合。”
在按地区进行的排名中，美国东部和中部的商学院在前20名中占据了14名。四所南部的院校也在前20名之列，但西部的院校仍然名次欠佳，无一升至前20名。2002和2003年度唯一入选前20名的是加利福尼亚州大学的伯克利分校(University of California at Berkeley)，今年排在第十四位。
像以往一样，私立大学仍然在排名中处于领先地位。以密歇根大学(University of Michigan)和北卡罗来那州大学查布尔希尔分校(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)为首的公立大学在前50名中占据了40％。礼来(Eli Lilly & Co.)负责战略营销的祖海尔?波拉特(Zohar Porat)说：“北卡罗来那州大学的学生专业基础扎实，具备领导意识。他们自信而果断，而且讨人喜欢，这在MBA毕业生中是不寻常的。”
