Top College business by specialized programs

 

Monday, Apr 13,2009, 8:35:34 PM   Click:

If you are looking for the best undergraduate program in the business fields of marketing or financial management, and macroeconomics, the head of the State of Virginia. But surprisingly, your final destination will not be Charlottesville, home of the best McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. Instead of traveling 75 miles southeast of the UVA to Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond. Robins is not only leading in the three areas mentioned, but also in corporate strategy and quantitative methods, making it the most famous program in BusinessWeek's annual ranking of best undergraduate programs in business by specialty.

As part of BusinessWeek's Best Business Schools senior executives of major corporations were asked to grade their programs on a scale of 1 to 5 in 12 academic fields including marketing, accounting, computing, financial management and corporate strategy. Based on these classes, the scores were calculated for each of the 101 schools ranked in each region. A total of 49 schools included in the top 10 in at least one category.

With the strong performance of Richmond in the classroom, it is not surprising that the school offers an overall ranking eight places No. 12. Admittedly, the price is steep at Richmond - Virginia residents can expect to pay four times as much as they would to UVA. But for the price, students say they have a small program focused on practical, real-world experiences, engaging, accessible faculty and a strong alumni base. Students welcome the fact that the up-to-the-minute is integrated in the basic course, with current market trends and announcements from the Federal Reserve to conduct daily discussions.

Top specialty for all Three Brands

Cycle management programs to the top of our list, published on 26 February, are also well represented in the classification of the specialty, each of the 15 establishments listed on at least a top 10 list. No. 1 UVA was very class in corporate strategy, financial management and quantitative methods. Second row Mendoza College of Business to host Notre Dame has four top 10, including the calculation and business law. And No. 3 appears in five Wharton 10s, including a No. 3 ranking in ethics.

Boston College's Carroll School of Management - ranked 17th overall - a spell particularly well, with eight top 10 rankings of specialty, including first place in the accounts. This recognition comes at the right time, as accounting is one of the few positive points in this quasi-market hiring desirable. But the rest of the best accounting software may not be what you expect. In fact, the overall average of the top 10 accounting classification is 30, with schools such as No. 45 Baylor, No. 48 Binghamton and No. 91 Cincinnati in the mix for top spots. At Baylor, students say they are treated as accounting professionals, and find a job in the area is a breeze thanks to a career fair specifically for accounting students. One complaint is that this intense focus on accounting is at the expense of non-accounting majors.

Further down the list, the University of Nebraska has also been successful. Classified for the first time this year, Nebraska finished down in 96th overall, but the school snared top 10 rankings in three specialty categories, including first place in Business Law. Nebraska is also ranked in the top 10 in macroeconomics, which should not be more of a surprise, given Warren Buffett earned his BS in economics from the school and once again an elective, he taught. Under another option called "Investing the Buffett Way" of students to visit the oracle of Omaha, to Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A - News) headquarters.

Introducing sustainability

New classification of specialty this year is sustainability category, a lot of schools are searching after the demands of students. Leading the pack is the University of Illinois, where administrators are not only focused on current green business, but have also incorporated sustainable energy in the design of the school of the new "green" building. "Our facilities are revolutionizing standards for universities in the country," said a student Illinois.

Elsewhere, schools as Ohio State's Fisher School of Business - 11th place in sustainable development - problems that are local in the classroom. At Fisher, students have developed options for recycling in the city of Columbus knows. Also, undergrads can apply for a study abroad on green business, which includes a week's trip to Costa Rica to see companies that have implemented sustainability business practices in their operations.

View the slide show and interactive table of BusinessWeek's Best Undergraduate Business Schools specialty classification.