Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s full-time Master of Business Administration program 55th on its list of top graduate programs for 2012. Whitman has never been placed on the list before.

In 2012, Businessweek also ranked the Whitman MBA program as having the No. 1 most global student body, and U.S. News & World Report listed the school among the 10 lowest-priced private business schools.

“We’ve already had students and applicants write to us mentioning the new ranking,” said Don Harter, associate dean for masters programs.

Harter said an increased focus on the students in the program has contributed to the ranking, as well as work done by recruiters for Whitman.

“Over the last two years, we’ve been aggressive in meeting student expectations and understanding recruiter requirements,” Harter said. “Students enter the MBA program with the expectation of getting good jobs at graduation, so the student-recruiter relationship is critical.”

With the graduate program receiving high marks from multiple national rankings, Whitman is gaining prestige, Harter said, and potential future students have taken notice.

Current graduate students are feeling the positive effects of having their school listed in Businessweek.

Asel Otunchieva, a second-year MBA student, said the Whitman recruiting team was very accommodating and made her feel welcome in the program. She added that the rankings make her feel even better about being a Whitman graduate student, and said she believes it will influence other students looking to get their MBA from Whitman.

“Rankings are one of the first things people look at (when choosing schools),” Otunchieva said. “A high ranking is always good. Hopefully it will only go up because you want to graduate from a high-ranking school.”

In addition to this notable position in Businessweek, Otunchieva, originally from Kyrgyzstan, said the diverse student body helps make the graduate program even more successful.

“It’s especially good for the MBA program because it’s geared toward sharing our experiences, so it’s good to have so many different perspectives. It makes it more interesting,” she said.

In addition to the accolades the MBA program has received, the school also offers an iMBA program, designed for working professionals, that was ranked 30th in the country in January by U.S. News & World Report.

The iMBA program is a graduate sequence in which students come to campus for one week during the semester, then complete the rest of the work online, said Harter, the associate dean. He said it is designed for students who have working experience and want to keep their jobs while completing an MBA program.

He noted that the iMBA track has recently grown to more than 200 students.

While Whitman has received positive attention and praise, Harter said officials at the college want to build on their current rankings and continue improving.

“We’re not finished. Our intent is to definitely move up,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do, and we’re already doing it.”

Published on February 3, 2013 at 11:03 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27