April 19, 2016
It's been a good 2016 for Villanova so far. Fresh off of capturing the hearts and minds of the Greater Philadelphia area with an incredible run to win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, the school was recently recognized for its academic prowess.
In Bloomberg's rankings for best undergraduate business schools in the nation, released Tuesday, 'Nova came out on top, jumping all the way to No. 1 from 2015 when it was ranked 24th.
“It is another tremendous affirmation of Villanova’s focus on student outcomes and the return on investment that we deliver for our students and their families," said Patrick Maggitti, Villanova University Provost and former Dean of the Villanova School of Business, in a press release.
"I am honored to work alongside our impressive students, faculty and staff who made this recognition possible.”
According to the school, nearly 99 percent of Villanova business graduates will either be employed or pursue a graduate degree.
The rankings took into account four factors, which were weighed based on their perceived relevance: Employer survey (40 percent of score), student survey (35 percent), starting salary rank (15 percent) and internships (10 percent).
Bosses love Villanova graduates, according to Bloomberg, as it ranked second in the employer survey. 'Nova's ranking seems to be aided by the fact that employers' opinions received the heaviest weight of the four factors. Per Bloomberg:
Since our rankings comprise four elements, some schools might rank highly without killing it on every measure. For example, Villanova, our top-ranked school, ranked 29th out of 114 schools on our starting salary category.
The average starting salary for 'Nova graduates is $60,278, the school said.
Other local schools on the list include Penn's Wharton School of Business (16th, down from 7th last year) and Drexel's LeBow College of Business (78th, up from 106th). You can find more on the rankings' methodology here.
