U.S. News Ranks Full-time MBA #22, Evening MBA #10; Foster #3 in Job Placement

Foster MBA recognized for quality

The University of Washington’s Foster Full-time MBA maintained a strong #22 position out of 360+ national MBA programs, according to the US News & World Report’s Best Business Schools 2023 ranking. Foster’s 97% employment 3 months after graduation earned it the #3 spot of the top 25 schools. The composite ranking is an improvement in 7 of 8 criteria this past year including compensation, GPA, average GMAT score, acceptance rate, recruiter assessment, and employment at graduation and 3 months after graduation.

Also, U.S. News & World Report ranked Foster’s Evening MBA #10 in the Part-time MBA ranking and Foster’s Hybrid MBA #5 in the Online MBA ranking. Foster’s Executive MBA came in #31 in the publication’s Executive MBA ranking.

Purpose-driven culture

“We’re pleased to be recognized for our school’s continued excellence in these rankings. Having a clear purpose helps us deliver successful outcomes for our students and positions them to have their greatest impact. Foster’s purpose is: Together we foster leaders, we foster insights, and we foster progress to better humanity,” said Wendy Guild, Assistant Dean of MBA Programs. “This focuses our energy on leadership development, academic development based on research that is rigorous and relevant, and innovation that drives progress.”

Another way the Foster purpose shapes the student experience is by focusing on the priority of inclusion and diversity to create a community engaged in being better together, better tomorrow. Initiatives like the Dean’s Impact Scholars, increased investment in The Consortium, changes to the curriculum, and professional MBAA student clubs all have a positive impact on what students experience at Foster. Foster’s MBA students keep the culture strong – students learn together, listen to hear each other, and work towards creating a community where they feel a sense of belonging, growth, and positive impact.

Quality cohort

Foster has continued to attract a quality cohort of students, showing improvements in quantitative measures included in the ranking such as average GMAT score, GPA and selectivity measures. The most recent entering class featured an average GMAT score above 700 for the first time. Not reported in the rankings but just as important is the depth and variety of work experience as well as increased demographic diversity of this cohort. Foster welcomed a Full-Time MBA class that identifies as 36% students of color, 20% historically underrepresented students of color, 5% LGTBQ+, 40% women, 40% international, and 9% veterans.

Moreover, the cohort sports an average of 6 years of work experience in diverse sectors of the economy and with inspiring stories and goals that can’t be captured in a ranking. With 70% of Foster Full-Time MBA students serving as critical admissions ambassadors and countless alumni contributing their support to our current students, Foster works together as a tight-knit, collaborative community that supports students’ academic, leadership, and professional development.

Shaping leaders who embark on remarkable careers

Foster continues to deliver robust employment stats in a competitive market. Recent grads reported a starting salary and bonus of $159,985, a 10% jump over the past two years. Foster grads’ job market outcomes continue to show domination in tech fields and show strong growth in consulting and healthcare jobs.

Foster’s secret sauce for upholding its track record for top job placement lies within the MBA Career Management team, a talented group of accomplished coaches with corporate experience. Students participate in a portfolio of unique, award-winning programs like design thinking and radical collaboration.

“We constantly innovate, listening to what employers look for and the career goals of the students we serve,” says Naomi Sanchez, Assistant Dean, MBA Career Management. “Our powerful community of recruiters and engaged Foster alums look to us to help solve their significant business challenges. The result is real-world, complex business experience that helps students sharpen their problem-solving and critical thinking skills, ultimately transforming them into impactful leaders.”

Leadership is a hallmark of the student experience at Foster and development opportunities can be found in classrooms, clubs, and centers where students can practice in an environment that sets them up for success. In addition to the dynamic MBA mentorship program providing executive mentorship for students, the Foster community boasts a robust Full-time MBA Fritzky Leadership Fellows program that coaches 2nd year students to provide mentorship to 1st year students in their teamwork skills.

The Fritzky Fellows program has allowed me the opportunity to truly learn and develop skills to become a strategic leader. The way that the program has been developed, from our Fritzky Development Week to working with and developing relationships with the first-year MBAs, it has all been invaluable in helping me fine-tune my skills as a leader.