Tag: rankings

WashU Olin shot up 17 spots in the latest Bloomberg Businessweek MBA ranking released on September 15. Olin was ranked 21st, largely on the strength of improvements in post-graduate MBA compensation figures and the learning, networking and entrepreneurship dimensions of the survey.

The ranking also recognized Olin’s strength in entrepreneurship, where the school ranked third—a marked increase from its 54th-place ranking for that dimension in 2019 on the heels of three consecutive No. 1 rankings for MBA entrepreneurship by Poets & Quants.

WashU Olin last participated in Bloomberg’s ranking in 2019, before the pandemic. The publication canceled its 2020 ranking because of the pandemic; Olin opted not to participate in 2021. Bloomberg’s “Best B-Schools” ranking is based predominantly on student, alumni and employer surveys.

Those surveys are supplemented by school-provided data on student diversity for the diversity index and employment data used in its compensation index, which also includes alumni salaries. 

WashU Olin showed improvement across the board in the ranking, with particular strength in learning, networking and entrepreneurship. The diversity index is a new component of the ranking this year. Olin ranked 29th in that dimension.

“I’m gratified to see the continued hard work and dedication of Olin’s students, faculty and staff recognized with the improvement in this key ranking,” said Anjan Thakor, Olin’s interim dean. “We don’t chase rankings, but we’re always thrilled when they affirm what we know is great about Olin’s programs.”

Bloomberg’s compensation index factors in median compensation figures for graduating students and alumni and signing bonus data, as well as the percentage of students employed within three months of graduation.

“The experiential learning aspect of the program coupled with a class size which makes it easy to have engagement and forge alliances,” one student said in the survey. Another said, “Learning from some of the best academicians in the country. Diverse and collaborative culture. Strong emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving, and leadership skills.”

In its surveys of students, recruiters and alumni, Bloomberg asks what was most important to them across a dozen options including “increase my earnings potential,” “build my professional network” and “learn how to start or develop a business.” The publication spells out its methodology here.

WashU’s full-time MBA program soared 22 spots to rank 19th in the world, 15th in the United States, in The Economist’s 2022 “Which MBA?” ranking. The program’s impressive showing came on the strength of improvements across all four major categories in the magazine’s methodology.

The publication tallies surveys and other school-provided data across four broad categories: career opportunity, personal development and educational experience, salary and “potential to network.” Olin’s MBA program rose substantially in all four.

The Olin MBA program’s global immersion—a three-continent, 38-day dive into international business for the entire cohort—likely figured into the ranking. One key dimension focuses specifically on educational experience and factors in access to overseas programs. There, Olin rose from 28th to third. The global immersion debuted with the incoming MBA cohort in the summer of 2019.

“This shows the impact of Olin’s strategic plan. I am deeply gratified to see our creative, thoughtful and innovative update to the full-time MBA recognized in this way,” said Olin Dean Mark P. Taylor. “I’m proud of our team’s work to enhance the curriculum, strengthen career services and broaden our global experience.”

Olin’s commitment to diversity

The ranking also hailed Olin’s commitment to diversity, noting a jump of 44 spots to 29th for student and faculty diversity. Meanwhile, The Economist also noted Olin’s strength in career services, notably the diversity of recruiters tapping into Olin’s student body, strong improvement in MBA salary numbers and solid improvement for alumni career services.

Olin’s top 20 appearance in The Economist’s tally arrives only months after the Financial Times’ global MBA ranking placed Olin at 29th in the world and 20th in the United States. That capped a five-year trend in the FT ranking as Olin moved up 39 spots—a trend Poets & Quants noted had singularly distinguished Olin above other schools.

And in another 2022 ranking, Olin’s strength in several similar career metrics pushed its program into the top 30 by US News & World Report, leaping seven spots to 29th.

Drawing on the strength of several key career metrics—along with the demonstrated appeal of its program—WashU Olin’s MBA soared into the top 30 of the US News & World Report ranking for 2023.

Olin’s MBA program leaped seven spots to rank 29th in the magazine’s annual tally, in part thanks to continued improvement in MBA compensation and significant improvement in placement rates for newly minted MBAs.

“I am heartened to see the hard work of our faculty and staff recognized in this new ranking, reflecting the priority we place on career services,” said Olin Dean Mark P. Taylor. “The tightening of our acceptance rate also highlights the value and innovation applicants see in Olin’s unique approach to the MBA experience.”

That appeal shines through in Olin’s selectivity rate, which significantly tightened year-over-year: the program’s acceptance rate fell to 34% from 47%, reflecting broader interest in the program. Those numbers perhaps reflect excitement for Olin’s celebrated three-continent, 38-day global immersion, which introduces its MBA cohort to global business principles in different cultures.

Additionally, enthusiasm for the WashU MBA is bolstered by Poets & Quants’ ranking of MBA entrepreneurship programs, which placed Olin first for three consecutive years.

Meanwhile, the 2023 ranking also showed that Olin’s average starting salary and bonus for new grads rose to $134,336 from $132,261. At the same time, 94.4% of students landed jobs by three months after graduation, in contrast to 72.6% a year earlier. That, Dean Taylor said, reflects carefully planned upgrades to the Weston Career Center begun in 2018 coming into force, along with signs of the global pandemic beginning to wane.

The ranking comes on the heels of more positive ranking news with Olin’s strong showing in the Financial Times’ most recent global MBA ranking. The #29 placement in that ranking caps a five-year trend, with Olin moving up 39 spots—a trend Poets & Quants noted had singularly distinguished Olin above other schools.

The latest ranking of global full-time MBA programs from the Financial Times, released overnight, placed WashU Olin at No. 25, its best-ever showing in the international ranking and a substantial increase from its 2020 ranking. The magazine’s ranking puts Olin among the top 12 US-based full-time MBA programs.

As Poets & Quants noted in its coverage of the 2021 FT ranking, “Washington University’s Olin School soared 19 places to rank 25th in the world, its highest FT ranking ever. Five years ago, the school’s MBA program ranked 80th on the FT list.”

Indeed, WashU Olin has seen a steady rise in the FT ranking since that 80th-place ranking in 2016, coming in at 54 in 2019 and 44 last year.

“This is extraordinary validation for the hard work of our staff and faculty at WashU Olin,” said Dean Mark P. Taylor. “The last four years have seen a lot of new strategic initiatives including relaunching our MBA, strengthening our already outstanding faculty, restructuring our career center and launching our Center for Digital Education, and these are all factors contributing to the continuing success of the school.”

Olin saw marked increases in its placement in a number of categories of the Financial Times ranking, including research (where Olin placed first among global MBA programs), international mobility and salary percentage increase.

The top five in the Financial Times 2021 ranking included France’s Insead, London Business School, the University of Chicago and—tied at fourth place—Spain’s Iese Business School and Yale School of Management. Three of last year’s FT top-five—Harvard, Wharton and Stanford—chose not to participate in this year’s Financial Times ranking.

The latest ranking of global Executive MBA programs by The Economist magazine places WashU Olin 18th in the world and places us third in the world for teacher quality.

Among 40 ranked EMBA programs with a 100% domestic presence, WashU Olin placed seventh. Among US programs, Olin also notched sixth for career development, second in faculty quality and third for the “percentage of alumni who have been promoted or grown their company since graduation.”

Olin last appeared in the magazine’s ranking in 2015. Since then, the program rose 20 spots, with the biggest increase coming in career development, where Olin rose from 41 to 17 globally.

In terms of faculty quality, the Economist ranking looks at five separate qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Students surveyed for the ranking rated Olin faculty 4.8 on a five-point scale for teaching quality, which placed Olin No. 1 for that dimension. And because 100% of Olin’s EMBA faculty holds a PhD, the school placed first in that dimension as well.

Olin placed fourth in the world on the “percentage of alumni who have been promoted or grown their company since graduation,” one of nine dimensions contributing to the “career development” ranking category.

In general, the ranking was a strong showing for WashU Olin’s EMBA program, which improved in eight of nine major ranking categories.

The EMBA program at the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business placed No. 1 in the Economist ranking.

WashU Olin leaped 10 places to 44th in the new Financial Times global ranking of MBA programs released today thanks to growth in MBA starting salaries, strong scores for career services and admirable faculty research productivity.

Additionally, Olin benefitted from a high ranking for our commitment to corporate social responsibility, affirming our strategic pillar focused on equipping students to be values-based, data-driven leaders.

“I’m deeply gratified by the recognition of our hard work on behalf of our students,” said Dean Mark P. Taylor. He noted that while the FT annual ranking includes an evaluation of the global experience each program provides, this year’s ranking does not account for Olin’s newly launched global immersion.

“Our 38-day international immersion places Olin as the most global full-time MBA program in the world,” Taylor said.

Last year, Olin was ranked 54th. This year, strong scores for career services and career progress, Olin’s near-parity between male and female students and an increase in the percentage of international students contributed to pushing Olin up to 44th globally. WashU MBA students also reported starting salaries averaging $131,207, up substantially from the prior year.

The FT ranking also placed Olin ninth in the world for research productivity—up from 12th last year. Finally, Financial Times’ surveys placed WashU’s MBA program 29th in the world for corporate social responsibility.