Excellence is a Team Sport that Scores Well in Latest Economist MBA Ranking of Global Programs

The Economist’s “Which MBA 2021 Ranking” signals the Foster School’s continued excellence relative to business schools across the globe. Notably, Foster retained its spot at #1 in the U.S. for job placement at 3 months for the third year in a row. In addition, Foster performed near the top for post-MBA salary increases, faculty quality, and personal development / educational experience.

In 2019, The Economist featured Foster among a group of schools reinventing the MBA with a high salary to tuition ratio. Based on this year’s data, a Foster MBA continues to deliver ROI at an industry-leading pace.

What is Foster’s strategy?

In her second year leading the Foster MBA team, Assistant Dean of MBA Programs, Wendy Guild, said, “We build on our established competency to continuously innovate and address the changing environment in which we find ourselves with a clear eye to serving our stakeholders—students—to the best of our ability.”

The tumultuousness of 2020 disrupted things on many fronts, and the rankings were not spared. The numerous variables that schools faced makes it difficult for ranking’s bodies to apply their traditional methodologies. So why participate? “We went into this with full knowledge that the results would be almost impossible to interpret,” said Guild. “We chose to participate because our ability to deliver for students is important, even—and maybe especially—during periods of disruption. We hold ourselves accountable to our purpose. The strength of our school is manifest in how well we have navigated this challenging time together.”

The Foster School has gone beyond just responding to this moment, seizing this opportunity to do better. That takes togetherness. “Community is the heart of who we are,” said Frank Hodge, Orin and Janet Smith Endowed Dean of the Foster School of Business. “It is why we start our purpose statement with together. We are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment that inspires everyone to be better together. We encourage every individual to bring their full self to all that we do. We foster leaders who better humanity through action. We foster the future by striving to be better tomorrow than we are today.”

The community includes an array of partners, alumni and supporters that Foster doesn’t take for granted. “We have a close and active connection with employers, recruiters, and alumni to keep our network robust to facilitate changes in classes and professional development,” said Naomi Sanchez, Assistant Dean of MBA Career Management.

In terms of an overall approach, Foster leans on nurturing imagination, curiosity, and innovation to solve unstructured, real-world problems. Insights are gathered by listening and truly hearing each other. The Foster development model embraces the fact that there are strengths in our differences.

Despite the lack of participation by some U.S. schools, Poets&Quants shared its assessment of the new Economist ranking: “Skeptics are sure to say that the lack of competition from the top-tier players renders this ranking less valuable. But on some level, the decision by some of the biggest brands in MBA education not to play has shined a bright light on many excellent MBA experiences that are as good if not better than the programs that sat this ranking out.”

Foster recognizes the value of rankings bodies in helping inform prospective students. “Our community doesn’t build and deliver programs to earn high rankings. We deliver transformative development experiences so that students can elevate the impact of their ideas on the world. Accelerating student development while living our shared community values is our key measure of success,” said Dan Turner, Associate Dean of Masters Programs.

Learn more about the Full-time MBA Program and Career Management at the Foster School of Business.

Compare MBA results from more than 60 business schools in the U.S., including salary, job placement, return on investment, research, and more in the Best-fit MBA Rankings Calculator.