The Boston College Carroll School of Management’s part-time MBA program is keeping a strong hold on its position as the top-ranked program of its kind in New England, according to a newly released national survey by U.S. News & World Report.
Meanwhile, the school’s full-time MBA has landed at no. 42 in the nation, which means that it ranks fifth in New England, behind just three Ivy League schools (Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth), and MIT. The new rankings for the Carroll School programs, together known as “the BC MBA,” appeared in the “U.S. News Best Graduate Programs” survey for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year.
“We attribute our continued success to our people-first approach,” said Marilyn Eckelman, Carroll School dean of graduate programs, referring in part to what she described as the school’s personalized “high-touch” way of working with students on the full spectrum of academic and career matters. She also pointed to the popularity of the school’s data analytics sequence of courses, which anchors the MBA curriculum in an array of skills much in demand by employers.
According to U.S. News, the Carroll School’s part-time MBA program now ranks 28th in the country. In its first-place showing in New England, the school placed ahead of regional counterparts including Boston University (37th), Northeastern (68th), and Bentley (109th). The Ivy League Schools in New England and MIT do not have part-time MBA programs.
U.S. News also recorded starting salaries and bonuses for new graduates of full-time programs—with the Carroll School’s MBA class of 2022 netting $134,158 on average. Ninety-four percent of that class accepted job offers within three months of graduation.
In the specialty rankings for MBA studies, the Carroll School’s accounting program reached the no. 10 spot (two steps above last year’s ranking), while finance advanced to no. 11 (also two rungs higher than previously). Marketing catapulted to no. 16 from its 29th spot last year, and business analytics likewise jumped from 21st to 14th.
Eckelman underscored the learning environment for MBA education at Boston College. “Our small classes ensure that students benefit from personalized attention from professors, career advisors, and program staff even as they reap the benefits of BC’s extensive alumni network and deep industry ties across the U.S. and abroad,” she said.
U.S. News, which unveiled the survey on April 25, bases its rankings on a mix of factors. These include, among other considerations: reputation (assessments by business school deans and company recruiters), student selectivity, and job placement along with starting pay. The specialty rankings are based entirely on reputational assessments.
