Athens, Ga. – MBA graduates from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business reported a higher return on their investment in a graduate business degree in 2011 than they did two years ago, according to a new survey in Forbes magazine.
The Terry MBA program bettered its ranking in the Forbes biennial survey to 42nd, from 50th in 2009, and represents Terry’s best-ever national ranking in the Forbes survey.
Among the 74 business schools ranked by Forbes, the Terry MBA program was one of the five most improved. Terry was ranked 20th among public business schools by Forbes.
“It has been our objective to improve the reputation and quality of the MBA program, and we are seeing that come to pass in measurable results like this,” said Robert Sumichrast, dean of the Terry College. “The greatest validation we can receive is in the career success of our graduates.”
The rankings are based on the return on investment achieved by graduates of the class of 2006. Forbes compared their reported earnings during their first five years after graduating to their “opportunity cost” (defined as two years of forgone wages, plus the cost of tuition and fees).
Terry MBA graduates from 2006 reported a median, pre-MBA salary of $49,000 and a post-MBA salary for 2010 of $120,000.
Five years after graduating, the typical Terry MBA graduate was $60,000 ahead, according to Forbes’ calculation. Class of 2006 alumni had recouped all their opportunity costs in less than 3.6 years, on average, almost a year faster than was reported in 2009 (4.5 years).
Harvard University topped the Forbes ranking of U.S. business schools, unseating Stanford University. Forbes’ seventh biennial ranking of business schools was announced Aug. 3 and is available online.
For more information about the MBA program at the UGA Terry College of Business, see http://mba.terry.uga.edu/.
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