America's Top Graduate Business Schools: U.S. News And World Report

The Stanford Graduate School of Business has nabbed the No. 1 spot in U.S. News and World Report's 2012 ranking of graduate business schools.

The Harvard Business School came in close second, followed by MIT's Sloan School and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton school, which tied for third place.

To compile their rankings, U.S. News obtained data from 142 of the 437 accredited master's programs in the U.S. and sorted them according to academic quality and selectivity and post-grad placement success. In addition to its overall rankings, U.S. News divided the schools into best part-time M.B.A programs and best of specialty areas, including international, entrepreneurship and finance.

Below, check out which schools topped the list of U.S. News' best business programs overall. U.S. News has the full list, plus more on methodology and profiles of each school.

Did your school make the cut? Let us know in the comments section.

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#1: Stanford University

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Comments

[wyophil]

06:54 PM on 04/02/2011

There is no good place to get and MBA.

[RagdeSitum]

02:42 PM on 03/21/2011

test

[DennyCrane]

10:18 AM on 03/18/2011

I wonder which of these schools still teaches students that lower corporate taxes lead to more job creation. Haven't the last 30 years disproven that theory? Here's what business schools ought to be teaching. The importance of having vision and long-term goals and not just focusing on the next quarter or appeasing shareholders. Also, how bout teaching the role your company plays in the larger economy. If you and everyone else outsources jobs to lower expenses, then who do you think will be left to buy you products?

[jackstpaul]

02:36 AM on 03/18/2011

Does it much amtter where other than for networking and cachet of the place you went for your resume?

In 1990 I was a 26 year-old without a college degree working for a major bank in a professional-level job that would be akin to being a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army in terms of relative rank. Meaning, not a big shot, jr-level, but professional--at the lowest rank--level.

I decided to go back to college to finish. The 3 main contenders (all internal, roughly the same age as me) for my job were all working on their MBA's at the time. That means they were all in clerical-level jobs with their B.A.'s and saw a need to get an MBA to give them a leg up. At that low of a level. I don't think the MBA did much for any of them but to help them advance somewhat.

[rbryanh]

01:34 AM on 03/18/2011

An MBA solves the problem of how to sell your soul to Satan in a secular society. After all, an individual can at most devour a few dozen infants over a lifetime. A well designed corporation can eat all of them.

[Balzy26]

08:22 PM on 03/17/2011

This list is pretty good but totally disregards "Return on Investment". The cost of Yale, for example, far outweighs its return, a student from humble means would be better served to go to a competitive midwest school, pay half the rent while attending, and recieve a competitive salary upon graduation.

[Widespread Panic]

07:52 PM on 03/17/2011

Basically the same list every year. Maybe one or two different schools but that's it.

[skateboy30]

06:22 PM on 03/17/2011

BTW it is about $200K to get a Stanford MBA, plus another 30K minimum to live in a closet in palo alto. Nothing like affordable education.

[cgeorgan]

10:17 AM on 03/18/2011

Actually, it's about $83,000 a year for two years, all inclusive.

[LAustin]

05:11 PM on 03/17/2011

I'm older than many people posting here. Back when I was in college, it was the big deal to get a degree's in totally different things. The really popular was a Masters or Ph.D. in psychology, philosphy, etc.

By the time I saw my children go to college, I could not imagine why the hell so many of them wanted an MBA. An MBA??? Whats THAT for?

And here it is, many years later after we've seen most of those MBA's act selfish, greedy and irresponsble. And I'm still wonder why on earth would anybody want an MBA when you could be getting degrees in the health field, medical degree, either R.N., MD, and on and on.

MBAs, I watched 'em come, and I'm watching 'em go. The degree has *never* been that big a deal to me. In the 1980s I thought it was silly and irrelevant for actor Michael J. Fox's character on Family Ties to be such a conservative business kid. I rolled my eyes throughout that entire show.

It's just never computed for me, especially since there's so much misery, pain and suffering by the sick and elderly in our population. Geez, young people, make yourself useful in the medical field. Thats my advice to my grandchildren.

[Balzy26]

08:19 PM on 03/17/2011

We can't all by Physician's Assistants no matter how many baby boomers are retiring. It's pretty easy to throw stones at MBAs but they are who drives the economy in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

[LAustin]

10:25 PM on 03/17/2011

I'm a Ph.D. but now retired.

Well you'll have to admit the MBA's have not made a very good reputation for themselves inthe last decade. Otherwise, we wouldn't have so many blogs and comments like we do on HuffPost.

Sorry (not personal).

[Kayley FreshmanCaffrey]

01:33 PM on 03/29/2011

Not everyone wants to go into the health field. I, personally, could not stand to work in the medical profession - I get queasy being around sick people or blood. I totally respect that you work in that field, and I hold great respect for doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel, but it's just not the right job for me. I'm not going to force myself to do something that I'm wholly unsuited for simply because it's an important field.

You shouldn't want me to; if someone doesn't want to be a doctor, or nurse, or something similar, they'll probably do a horrible job at it because their heart is not in it. I know for a fact that I would make a horrible doctor. That job should be left to people who are genuinely interested in it; they'll do a much better job than I would.

I agree that MBAs recently have gotten a bad reputation. However, I don't think it's right to say we should give up on MBAs because of that. It's necessary to have educated people in business because business is a key component of our economy. We just need more honest people to get MBAs, and I plan to be one of those people.

[Kayley FreshmanCaffrey]

01:39 PM on 03/29/2011

I would like to add though: I am not definite in my decision in getting an MBA; I won't even be thinking about that for a couple of years, since I'm only 18 and I won't finish my undergrad until I'm 20. At that time, I'll evaluate the situation. If I find that an MBA is useless (which it very well may be), I won't get one. My point is that I'm not going to get a PHD if it's not something I genuinely care about. Sorry for the confusion.

[nadiklak]

03:26 PM on 03/17/2011

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Carlson)!!! and Way Cheaper than these overrated schools!!!

[addisonsteele]

02:37 PM on 03/17/2011

If the US is really serious about improving the economy and rescuing the middle class, all MBAs would be fired from their current jobs.

[NunuDudu]

06:05 PM on 03/17/2011

MBAs are the middle class too. Don't generalize.

[Balzy26]

08:22 PM on 03/17/2011

ridiculous

[PrestigeWorldwide]

01:52 PM on 03/17/2011

I always find it amusing when people who have neither the intellect nor the work ethic to actually complete an MBA degrade it so harshly. You want to talk worthless degrees? How about humanities, ethnic studies, anthropology, women's studies. These degrees aren't worth the paper on which they are printed. Choose the MBA that's right for your career aspirations and you will get a job that pays well, while the tatted-up, pierced humanities major serves you coffee at Starbucks.

[ssrelso]

02:24 PM on 03/17/2011

I always find it amusing when MBA's crow about how their little two-year cocktail party is intellectually taxing in comparison to ANY OTHER GRADUATE DEGREE ON THE PLANET. Get real - it's not even comparable to law school, to say nothing of getting an advanced degree in math or science, going to medical school, etc. MBA programs are less taxing than an AP Physics course.

- Attorney who audited biz school classes while in law school and found them to be a complete joke.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

02:45 PM on 03/17/2011

You keep believing that while we MBA's rake in the jobs and the money. There are a lot more lawyers out of work than MBA's.

[Megandale]

07:34 PM on 03/17/2011

I'm a smart gal, but I would never have been able to pass my husband's MBA program at Columbia.

[ssrelso]

01:08 PM on 03/17/2011

I have friends who graduated from HBS, Kellogg, and Sterne who are all either unemployed or radically unemployed (ie. working at a retail store in an unrealistic hope to slip in the back door of their corporate offices). There are simply too many MBA's out there, even from top schools. It is now a function of who you know and how much experience you ALREADY have. New grads need not apply. Same as with law schools, same as with hiring in academia, same as everywhere.

[captcct]

01:30 PM on 03/17/2011

Here is a clue for the clueless: http://web.me.com/captcct/Site/Blog.html

Please do read through it without attention deficit disorder.

Whether you utilize the stars, like the shepherds of days long ago, or a sextant like the ancient mariners, or the incredibly superb technologically advanced GPS system of today, or just taking one big step after another towards your intended destination, you are - in effect - navigating a course that will become an adventure.

No MBA needed!!!! Go, and do it, and yes you can.

[dudervision]

12:24 PM on 03/17/2011

A friend who went to Stanford admitted that it's not the teachers and the education you get that really make the difference. He said the Stanford isn't necessarily teaching anything different from other schools. It's all about WHO you meet while you are there. Stanford attracts the top executives and your classmates are also heavy hitters. In the end, it really is who you know.

[Tanker10a]

12:12 PM on 03/17/2011

The list has changed just a little (since I have tried to get my MBA) because Fuquay School of Business at Duke did not make the cut.
One thing about these schools, bring your wallet plus a large school loan for their price tag unless you have a sponsor to finance this MBA...

[pammiethekid]

10:43 PM on 03/17/2011

Fuqua, FuquA. But otherwise, you have it right!