Foster jumps to #22 in U.S. News MBA ranking, #1 of top schools for job placement

Advancing five spots to #22, Foster’s Full-time MBA Program led the top 90 schools in job placement in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Business Schools 2019 ranking.

Foster’s Evening MBA Program also rose five places to #13 in the nation. Both programs continue their rank of #1 in the Northwest. The school’s Executive MBA Program earned the #23 spot in the country alongside Yale and Emory. The top 99 ranked Full-time MBA programs were selected by U.S. News from 380 business schools nationwide.

In specialty rankings, the Foster School was recognized among the best in Entrepreneurship (#19) and Marketing (#23).

Earnings competitive with top business schools

With a strong national economy, MBA hiring reached 90% for 40 of the top 100 business schools. The Foster School continued to achieve the highest placement rate in that top tier: 98.1%. Foster MBA graduates’ average salary and bonus increased more than $10,000 this year to $143,674—surpassing higher ranked schools, such as Yale, UCLA (Anderson), University of Texas, Austin (McCombs), University of Southern California (Marshall), and University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler).

The majority of Foster MBA graduates accepted positions in technology, consulting, healthcare, and financial services, with 75% receiving a signing bonus averaging $32,507.

Foster Fast mindset for career advancement

How do Foster MBAs win top jobs in a region that attracts graduates from business schools across the country? “From day one, Foster MBA students tackle complex and ambiguous challenges that prepare them for long-term success in a disruptive global business environment,” says Naomi Sanchez, assistant dean for MBA career management. “Through rigorous academic and professional development programs, students learn to think on their feet,” she continues. “They understand the fast pace of technology and data analytics and are highly focused on the customer experience.” Students lead with a ‘Foster Fast’ mindset of global business, supported by rigorous hours of business case analysis and interview preparation that instill a culture of career advancement.

According to Businessweek, Foster alumni earnings rose to a median of more than $157,000 after graduation and nearly tripled when compared to their pre-degree salary levels.

High ROI and low debt

In addition to high salaries and rewarding careers, Foster MBAs saw strong return on investment with low average debt levels. U.S. News business school profiles show that average debt exceeded $100,000 in several MBA programs and averaged more than $90,000 at the top 25 schools. In contrast, Foster graduates carried an average debt load of only $45,045 and benefited from the most affordable nonresident tuition of a top-25 school. The Financial Times recently ranked the Foster MBA as #5 in the U.S. in value for money in its Top MBAs for Women ranking.

Poets & Quants analysis shows that the Foster School has the best value added ratio of graduating salary to out-of-state tuition (2.52) of the highest-ranked schools. In Poets & Quants “How Top 25 MBA Programs Compare on ‘Value-Added Ratio,'” the median for a top 25 program is now 1.93.

The greatest rankings rise of any American business school

Since 2000, the Foster School of Business has advanced 96 places across U.S. News, Businessweek and Financial Times rankings, more than all other business schools in the nation.

Ranking	2018	2000	Change
U.S. News	#22	Only 48 schools ranked. UW Foster not ranked (49)	+27
Businessweek	#15	Third tier (60)	+45
Financial Times, U.S. rank	#23	Only 46 U.S. schools ranked. UW Foster not ranked (47)	+24
			96 Total

Learn more about Foster’s current rankings.

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