Indiana State University Newsroom

Indiana State University has earned a spot on two rankings of the nation's top Master of Business Administration programs.

For the 9th consecutive year, Indiana State's MBA program made the Princeton Review's list. Among the program's benefits highlighted are small classes that allow students to receive "individual attention that better prepares the students in a hands-on manner," while also allowing for greater faculty accessibility.

"It's quite an honor," said Jeff Harper, director of graduate programs for the College of Business. "The first time we were ranked in 2005 was a thrill for us, and it continues to be very exciting. As our program has matured and our expectations have increased, we now expect to be ranked and receive this honor every year, but there is no less work involved and nothing is assured. For us to have shown the kind of consistency it takes to be ranked 10 years consecutively is very special."

The academic test preparation and admissions counseling company included Indiana State's MBA program in "The Best 296 Business Schools," the 2015 edition of its annual guidebook after analyzing institutional data and reviewing student surveys from the past three academic years.

"We're really pleased to continue to be recognized as one of the best MBA programs in the country, but I'm not surprised because we put in extra effort to make our program distinctive," said Brien Smith, dean of the Scott College. "(Jeff Harper) makes sure the MBA program offers students a lot of hands-on experiences - internships, field trips and jobs - that will benefit them professionally, and we feel that we are doing the right things to differentiate ourselves from other programs. A ranking like this is external validation that we're doing the right things."

The Scott College also made the inaugural Financial Engineer's MBA program ranking for 2015.

"We were in some good company on their list, immediately behind Texas Tech and immediately in front of Oklahoma State," Harper said. "We're ranked with some very good institutions, and we didn't know we were going to make the (Financial Engineer's) ranking, so we were pleasantly surprised when they called us."

As the university's professional MBA program has grown by nearly 200 percent, Harper said the campus program has grown by more than 20 percent in the last few years and there is a continual search for opportunities to expand graduate education offerings.

"The MBA program will continue to be aggressive in the pursuit of quality education, in recruiting and retaining the best students and we expect that work to translate into additional recognitions," he said.

With a set of dedicated, highly-qualified faculty and a selective admissions process that attracts engaged and competent students, Harper said one of the benefits is that graduates of the program are able to land good jobs with top employers.

It's a validation of what we do, so it means a great deal to the faculty to be recognized for our professional contributions," he said. "It also allows us to recruit more and better students because the rankings are an indication of the quality education they will receive, and it sends a message to the leaders in our community and state that Indiana State's Scott College of Business provides an excellent MBA program."

Contact: Jeff Harper, executive director of graduate programs, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University, 812-237-2006 or jeff.harper@indstate.edu

Writer: Betsy Simon, assistant director of media relations, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-7972 or betsy.simon@indstate.edu