Bloomberg Businessweek ranks business school a top value

We all want more “bang for the buck,” thanks to the rough economy. When it comes to getting an MBA degree to advance your career, Bloomberg Businessweek is releasing its rankings for the best values in the world. The W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU ranks among the top 20 full-time MBA programs globally and the top 10 in the United States.

“The W. P. Carey School is often ranked highly for the quality of our programs, research and world-class faculty,” said  Beth Walker, professor and associate dean of the W. P. Carey MBA. “In addition, this ranking suggests we are also an incredible value. Our top-rated MBA program is not only affordable, but our graduates also enjoy very high starting salaries. We’re pleased to be able to offer real value to our students, helping them get ahead in the global marketplace, especially in this difficult economic time.”

The W. P. Carey full-time MBA program specifically ranks No. 18 in the world and No. 10 in the nation for “return on investment.” The new rankings measure the total costs of attending business school and the median post-MBA pay increase for graduates of the full-time program.

Based on this, the magazine says it will likely take less than five years for a W. P. Carey MBA student to recoup all the costs of getting an MBA. The new list also shows a hefty annual pay increase of about $40,000 for students who complete the full-time W. P. Carey MBA program.

Looking at the same list, a student who completes a full-time MBA degree at Harvard University will likely have to spend more than a decade recovering the costs of the program. That same Harvard student will see a bump up in salary of only around $30,000.

Other programs at the W. P. Carey School of Business are also being recognized for great value. The Wall Street Journal recently ranked the school’s Arizona-based executive MBA program No. 13 in the world for quality, and it is the most affordable on the entire Top 25 list.

When it comes to undergraduate programs, Bloomberg Businessweek again highly ranks the W. P. Carey School of Business for “return on investment,” at No. 18 in the nation.

“These rankings demonstrate a combination of excellence in education and value,” said Robert Mittelstaedt, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business. “We’re fortunate to offer a top-tier business education with the relatively low tuition levels of a state school. This allows us to recruit some of the best students in the world and to change lives through education.”