Full-time MBA Program ranked in Top 20 among U.S. schools in 2023 Financial Times ranking

The Full-time MBA program at the University of Washington Foster School of Business rose two spots to #19 among U.S. schools in the Financial Times Global MBA 2023 rankings. Foster also rose to #2 in job placement, with a 99% employment rate for graduates within three months, up from the third spot last year.

The program’s sustained excellence is recognized by high rankings in multiple areas, including career placement, return on investment and faculty research.

Career advancement

Robust employment results for graduates was again a highlight for Foster this year and evidence of the school’s tight connection with the local business community and of MBA graduates who emerge from the program well equipped to lead with impact. Recent Foster MBA alumni have landed positions at leading companies across multiple industries, including consulting, technology, healthcare and financial services, in part due to Foster’s strong alumni network.

Foster MBA alumni have also seen a consistent yearly increase in salaries and the class of 2020 now averages $170,234 in annual salary—among the top 15 highest earning programs in the nation. Poets & Quants reported that Foster MBA program experienced the highest salary increase among all business schools during the past two years, with a 17.4% increase in class average base salary from 2020 to 2022, well outpacing inflation.

See examples of recent Foster MBAs in the workforce.

High return on investment

Financial Times ranked the Foster Full-time MBA Program #13 nationwide in “value for money,” a measure of return on investment, factoring in program cost, career advancement and post-graduation salaries.

Foster MBA graduates rated the program a 9.44 on a 10-point scale in overall satisfaction, also ranking #13 in the nation. Foster’s small class size facilitates tight bonds among students, and building a sense of community among an increasingly diverse student body is central to the student experience.

Faculty research

Financial Times listed Foster #12 in the world (#11 in the U.S.) for faculty research productivity in the most influential journals across every business discipline, a strong indicator of program quality.

“Outstanding faculty serve as the foundation of a top-ranked business school. The Foster School faculty conduct impactful research that helps us achieve our purpose of bettering humanity through business, and then bring that cutting-edge knowledge into the classroom to help educate tomorrow’s leaders,” said Frank Hodge, the Orin and Janet Smith Dean of Foster. “I am very proud of our faculty and the differences they make in the lives of our students and the communities we serve.”

Better humanity through business

The Foster School’s central mission is to better humanity through business. To this end, the Full-time and Evening MBA programs announced, in 2022, the launch of a new specialization in ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) Leadership.

According to Wendy Guild, Assistant Dean of MBA Programs, “Foster MBAs experience such strong ROI and program satisfaction due to the strength of the academic experience, the world-class professional development support, and the support of the caring community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Our curriculum was recently revised to develop analytic & communication skills and our ties to the economy-leading organizations in our network remain very strong. Our students seek opportunities and employment that provide a great return on their investment in their education and allow them to utilize their talents to lead with impact.”

Excellence across programs

All of Foster’s MBA offerings are consistently competitive in national rankings across multiple publications.

The Full-time MBA Program is ranked among the top 25 elite across the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, Poets & Quants, Fortune and Forbes. Evening MBA and Hybrid MBA programs rank in the top 10 nationwide and the Executive MBA Program is also ranked in the top tier of U.S. schools.

The Foster School of Business is the highest-ranked school in the Northwest region, and among the top 10 best public business schools in the country.