October 24, 2005

Financial Times ranks Krannert executive MBA among world's best

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – One of Purdue University's Krannert School of Management executive MBA programs – the International Master's in Management (IMM) – placed 16th worldwide in rankings released today (Monday, Oct. 24) by the Financial Times.

The program is a collaboration among the Krannert School and graduate business schools in the Netherlands, Hungary and Germany.

"You can't do business – or business education – today without a global outlook and global respect," said Richard A. Cosier, Krannert School dean and Leeds Professor of Management. "The Financial Times' top 20 ranking of Krannert's IMM program is a solid endorsement of the program and how it is valued worldwide."

The publication ranked the Krannert IMM program No. 7 in the United States and first among American public universities. The program placed No. 7 among European programs as well. The Krannert IMM program ranked No. 11 in 2004 and No. 14 in 2003.

Wilbur Lewellen, director of the Krannert School's executive education programs and Herman C. Krannert Distinguished Professor of Management, said, "The Financial Times' ranking is evidence once more that the IMM program is world class. The program's design, combining a series of two-week residencies with internet-supported assignments between residencies, has been a model for international executive MBA programs for more than a decade."

The 2005 Financial Times rankings included 75 schools in the United States, Europe and Asia. The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School retained the No. 1 overall ranking for the fifth consecutive year, followed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's business school, and the London Business School. Notre Dame's Mendoza School of Business tied for No. 37. No other Indiana business schools were ranked.

In determining its rankings, the Financial Times used two sets of questionnaires – one for the schools and one for the alumni of their executive programs. The main ranking criterion, the British publication writes, "is the career success of alumni, which takes into account the career progress of alumni from the period before they started their executive MBA to the present day – usually five years. The two main components of this are salary levels today and the percentage salary increase the alumni have experienced between the two dates."

Students in the IMM complete their executive MBAs on a part-time basis while maintaining their employment, whereas students in full-time programs must either take a leave of absence or resign from their employers.

The Krannert School's partners in the IMM program are Tilburg University in the Netherlands, Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and the German International Graduate School of Management and Administration in Hanover, Germany.

In September, the Wall Street Journal for the second straight year ranked the Krannert School's full-time MBA program the No. 1 program serving corporate recruiters from a regional base. In October 2005, Business Week ranked Krannert's domestic executive MBA program No. 18 worldwide.

Krannert offers three executive MBA programs, the oldest of which dates back to 1983. The school also offers a variety of non-degree executive programs, all on the West Lafayette campus and at corporate training facilities.

For information about the Krannert School's executive MBA degree programs, including the international program, contact Erika Steuterman, director of executive degree programs, at (765) 494-7700, keepinfo@mgmt.purdue.edu. For information about non-degree executive programs, contact Mike Sheahan, director of non-degree executive programs, at (765) 494-7700, sheahan@purdue.edu.

Writer: Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdu.edu

Sources: Richard A. Cosier, (765) 494-4366, rcosier@purdue.edu

Wilbur G. Lewellen, (765) 494-4493, lewellen@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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