Rice University's MBA programs ranks No. 19 nationwide

Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the university's business school No. 19 among the country’s best full-time MBA programs. less Students gather in Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business rotunda before the start of the 60-second Elevator Pitch Competition at the annual Rice Business Plan Competition. On Tuesday, Bloomberg ... more Students gather in Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business rotunda before the start of the 60-second Elevator Pitch Competition at the annual Rice Business Plan Competition. On Tuesday, Photo: Michael Paulsen :, Chronicle Photo: Michael Paulsen :, Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Rice University's MBA programs ranks No. 19 nationwide 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business ranked No. 19 among the country's best full-time MBA programs, according to an annual list released by Bloomberg Businessweek on Tuesday. Last year, Rice was No. 25.

"This is really spectacular for us," said Bill Glick, dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business.

When Businessweek began its ranking in 1988, Glick said, Rice didn't make the list. He's excited about the university's progress.

"It really is a 15-, 20-year effort to get from unranked to the top 20," he said.

At No. 1 was Harvard University, followed by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business at No. 2 and the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management at No. 3.

The University of Texas McCombs School of Business ranked No. 21, and the Texas A&M University Mays Business School ranked No. 22. Other Texas institutions on the 74-school list include the Texas Christian University Neeley School of Business at No. 38 and the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management at No. 42.

The full-time MBA rankings are based on employer surveys, alumni surveys, student surveys, job placement rates and starting salaries. This was the first year that Businessweek surveyed MBAs after graduation.

According to a new release, Businessweek placed a sharper focus on how well MBA programs promote career growth and job satisfaction. This year's data came from more than 13,150 current students, 18,540 alumni and 1,460 recruiters across 177 business school programs.

"By refining our focus and updating our methodology, we've created the most effective ranking yet for helping career-oriented students choose an MBA program," Ellen Pollock, editor of Businessweek, said in the release.

Businessweek also ranks the nation's part-time MBA programs. Rice was No. 3 on this list, up from No. 7 last year. Northwestern was No. 1 and the Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business was No. 2.

The University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business ranked No. 38, up from No. 52, on the part-time list.

Latha Ramchand, dean of the C.T. Bauer College of Business, said this ranking is important because it reflects the feelings of students and alumni.

"What is encouraging to me is that this ranking is based entirely on the input of people who matter most," she said.