The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration came up eighth nationally and 10th worldwide in the Financial Times' annual ranking of business schools, up from ninth in the country and 11th worldwide last year. The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business topped this year's list.
Future salary was the primary criterion used in the rankings. After three years, 1998, 1999 and 2000 Tuck graduates earned an average of $148,830. Harvard Business School alumni make the most money by the third year after graduation, at $163,834 on average.
Tuck pointed out that the school ranks first in placement success, second in top salaries both in consulting and industry, third in top salaries in banking and finance worldwide and fourth in North American salaries today.
Kim Keating, a Tuck public relations representative, attributed the school's rise in the rankings to new policies implemented by Dean of the Tuck School Paul Danos.
"In the last two years we made some changes to our curriculum. We're doing some new leadership training, added more in the areas of ethics and corporate citizenship and put a lot of resources into career development," Keating said.
"The bottom line is that the dean doesn't want to change our strategy based on a ranking here and a ranking there. The focus is on students and making sure they are satisfied," she added.
The study also showed that, at 37 percent, more Tuck graduates enter finance and banking than any other business field. Consulting came in second with 24 percent.
According to the Financial Times' report, MBA salaries have declined since 2003 as a result of the slow U.S. economy, a factor which may have helped two foreign schools -- Insead and the London Business School -- to break into the top six.
The Financial Times has been rating business schools for the last six years.
Several other publications also rank business schools, including the Wall Street Journal, which ranked Tuck second this year. Tuck placed first during the two previous years.
"Each [ranking] surveys different audiences and ranks different attributes," Keating said. The Wall Street Journal, for example, asks recruiters about the school.
"Recruiters are really pleased with the kind of graduates we are producing," Keating said.
The Economist, which focuses on student and graduate satisfaction, ranked Tuck second. Forbes ranks the school fourth while U.S. News and World Report and Business Week both rank it 10th.
"It is nice to be perceived in the top 10 in the world in all these different measurements," Keating said.
Other criteria used for the Financial Time's rankings included achieving diversity and generating new ideas through academic and business research.
Research qualities were assessed by analyzing the publication rate of faculty in 40 journals. Tuck ranked 15 in this category. The rest of the "idea generation" rating was measured by considering the percentage of faculty with doctorates and the number of doctoral graduates in the last three academic years.
Diversity was measured by the percentage represented by women and international students and faculty, international mobility and international experience. The study also revealed that women's salaries are, on average, 12 percent lower then men's.
