March 11, 2014 – The Professional MBA program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business jumped 12 positions in the annual U.S. News and World Report part-time MBA rankings released Tuesday. U.S. News and World Report ranked the program as No. 52, up from 64 in last year’s ranking. The program was ranked No. 7 in the west.

“We are gratified by the recognition that comes with our Professional MBA ranking by U.S. News and World Report,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business.  “We are continually working to improve and add valuable new experiences both inside and outside the classroom for our students, and to further establish the school as a national leader in business education.”

The rise in the U.S. News rankings comes on the heels of the program moving up 28 spots to No. 37 in the most recent Businessweek part-time MBA rankings.

“We continue to make enhancements to our programs and curriculum in support of our commitment to students to provide the highest quality MBA education possible,” said Brad Vierig, associate dean of part-time MBA programs at the David Eccles School of Business. “This ranking affirms that not only is the U a convenient place for local professionals to pursue an MBA, but it is also one of the best choices in the country.”

In addition to the Professional MBA program rankings, the David Eccles School of Business has seen success in its other MBA offerings as well. The full-time MBA program ranked No. 63, sustaining the great success displayed last year when the program was one of only three in the nation to improve more than 20 spots. The Executive MBA program ranked as No. 33 in the world, and No. 26 in the United States by Businessweek, and the school recently launched the MBA online program, offering an additional format for full-time working professionals.

The Professional MBA program features an evening format, differing from traditional, full-time offerings in that it is designed for professionals who intend to work while attending school.

The U.S. News part-time MBA ranking is based on five factors: average peer assessment score (50 percent of the overall score); average GMAT and GRE scores of part-time MBA students entering in the fall of 2013 (15 percent); average undergraduate GPA (5 percent); work experience (15 percent); and the percentage of the fall 2013 MBA enrollment that is part-time (15 percent).

For more information about U.S. News and World Report and its rankings, click here.

For more information about the Professional MBA program and the other Eccles MBA offerings at the David Eccles School of Business, click here.

About the David Eccles School of Business

Founded in 1917 in Salt Lake City, the David Eccles School of Business educates nearly 3,500 students a year, and boasts more than 31,000 alumni. Students manage a university venture fund of $18.3 million, the largest of its kind in the nation. In January 2012, the school opened its new, $72 million Spencer F. Eccles Business Building, offering students a cutting-edge learning environment packed with state-of-the-art technology. Both its graduate and undergraduate programs rank in the Top 20 nationally for entrepreneurship in the 2013 Princeton Review rankings, and its MBA program made the biggest jump up the rankings of U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 rankings of graduate schools.