Something Business Badgers Should Be Proud Of

Friday, August 17, 2007

Something Business Badgers Should Be Proud Of
Dear Wisconsin Business Alumni:

The latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of undergraduate business programs places the University of Wisconsin-Madison 12th overall among business schools in the U.S., up one spot from 13th place last year and 7th among public doctoral-granting institutions.

In addition, two programs within the School of Business retained their rankings in the magazine’s top five list. The Real Estate program was ranked second and the Insurance/Risk Management program was rated third in the nation.In the same issue, the Marketing program ranked ninth, the Finance program ranked 13^th, the Accounting program ranked 17^th, the Management program ranked 20^th and International Business ranked 24^th.

A recent review of our undergraduate program identified ways we hope to make our program even stronger. This year we launched the Accenture Leadership Program which provides top-notch opportunities for undergraduate students to develop leadership skills outside the classroom. In 2008 we will begin sophomore admissions, allowing for a more structured curriculum in which courses build upon each other. The new curriculum also will focus on strengthening students’ communication and quantitative skills and provide better internship opportunities for students. Other improvements, such as enhancing the international exposure of our graduates, are in the planning stages.

UW-Madison as a whole was ranked 38th in the U.S. and eighth among public universities. The rankings are based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty who responded to an invitation to nominate peer institutions on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Wisconsin's undergraduate program has been ranked among top programs in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report ever since the magazine began ranking undergraduate business programs in 1996.

Mike

Michael M. Knetter
Dean of the School of Business
University of Wisconsin-Madison