Ohio State Executive M.B.A. program ranks 3rd in survey

The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business ranks 3rd in the nation in a Wall Street Journal survey published today (12/10). The survey ranks the return graduates receive on their investment in an executive master of business administration (E.M.B.A.) degree.

"This ranking is a clear indicator of the excellence of Fisher's executive-education program because it incorporates long-term tangible benefits to graduates," said university President E. Gordon Gee. "Our faculty across campus are uncommonly effective teachers and researchers, and the results are best measured in improvements to individual lives."

Graduates of the Fisher program were found to have a 170 percent return on an average of $66,900 invested in tuition and expenses for the 18-month program. The return on investment figure is based on a graduate-reported median raise of 15 percent initially and a projected salary of $181,718 five years following graduation.

The Journal followed up its September ranking of the nation's E.M.B.A. programs, in which Ohio State's program ranked 21st, with a deeper look into the work benefits received by graduates in a five-year period following completion of the program.

Data were compiled on the amount the graduate's company paid toward the program, the graduate's out-of-pocket expenses, and salary and raises received following graduation for 27 U.S. programs and nine international programs.

The Fisher E.M.B.A. is designed to give a comprehensive business perspective on current business management issues through team-taught, interdisciplinary courses and delivered in a convenient format. About 30 percent of the 18-month degree program is delivered online.

"Today's top-tier managers need a strategic perspective in today's dynamic, global business environment. Our program is rigorous, flexible and innovative, enabling working professionals who have incredible challenges and demands to successfully achieve their career goals and business objectives," said Carol Newcomb, executive director of Fisher's executive education programs. "Our students tell us consistently this mix creates exceptional value to them and their organizations."

Fisher's full-time M.B.A. program ranks 9th among the nation's public universities, according to U.S. News and World Report, and the E.M.B.A. program consistently ranks in the top tiers of national and international surveys. The college's 370,000 square-foot complex, completed in 1998, is the largest multi-building project ever undertaken by the university and one of the few fully integrated management education campuses in the nation. The college was started in 1916, and was named Fisher College of Business in 1993, in honor of Max M. Fisher, a noted philanthropist, industrialist and alumnus of the college.