PSU grads ranked 'most prepared' in survey

A Wall Street Journal survey of nearly 480 companies across the country put Penn State University at the top for producing graduates who are "among the most prepared and well-rounded academically."

The top 25 rankings, released Monday, identified the majors and schools that best ready students for jobs that are satisfying, well-paid and have growth potential. Texas A&M and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finished second and third in the polling.

Carnegie Mellon University was ranked 10th.

The survey, which looked at more than 43,000 new bachelor's-degree graduates from the past year, recognized Penn State for its majors in management information systems, finance, engineering, accounting, computer science and business.

Faced with budget restraints that restrict recruiting, many employers are developing relationships with large schools where they know practical skills are being taught. Some companies said proximity also was important. Google Inc., for example, opened an office in Pittsburgh, where it could cull hires from CMU's computer science graduates.

CMU also was recognized for its business, finance and engineering majors.

First published on September 14, 2010 at 12:00 am