U.K.'s Financial Times: Kelley MBA program ranks 65th worldwide

The Master of Business Administration program at IU's Kelley School of Business placed 65th in the annual worldwide rankings by The Financial Times.\nThe newspaper, centered in the United Kingdom, based its survey solely around quantitative analysis of three major criteria, said Della Bradshaw, editor of the newspaper's business school rankings. These criteria included alumni career progress, prominence of the program's international perspective and the quality of faculty research, she said. \nThe newspaper, centered in the United Kingdom, based its survey solely around quantitative analysis of three major criteria, said Della Bradshaw, editor of the newspaper's business school rankings. These criteria included alumni career progress, prominence of the program's international perspective and the quality of faculty research, she said. \nUnlike other newspaper and magazine rankings, which typically contain a stateside focus, Bradshaw said The Financial Times' rankings spotlighted international institutions as well. \nAlong with ranking 65th overall, the University placed 67th in "value for money," 97th in "career progress" and 10th in "placement success," according to the rankings. \nUniversities with higher percentages of international students and faculty received higher marks, Bradshaw said. \nDan Smith, dean of the business school, said in an e-mail that the reason IU was not ranked among the world's "best programs" was because The Financial Times' rankings involve "variables that are not directly related to our MBA mission."\nIn separate rankings of U.S. MBA programs, IU has consistently scored higher. The Kelley School placed 18th nationally in another set of rankings by Business Week magazine and 23rd after evaluations by U.S. News and World Report magazine. \nIU wasn't the only Indiana business school represented in the rankings. Purdue University's Krannert School of Management beat out the Kelley School, placing 48th, while Notre Dame University's Mendoza College of Business tied with IU at 65th. \nDownplaying Krannert's higher ranking, Tim Newton, director of external relations and communications at the Krannert School, said the high marks were just a tribute that Indiana maintained three programs in the top 100 worldwide. \n"(IU) has an outstanding business school and Purdue has an outstanding business school," he said, adding that it really depended on who conducted the rankings to determine which program was rated higher. \nDespite The Financial Times' international focus, American programs still fared well. Eight of the world's top 10 best MBA programs were at American universities, according to the newspaper. In addition, universities in the United States locked in the top four spots for the second straight year. \nThe Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania maintained its top spot, while the Columbia Business School at Columbia University jumped ahead two spots to second.