BusinessWeek Lists RIT Among Top Undergrad B-Schools for 2008

Competition among undergraduate business schools is increasing and the E. Philip Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology has found its niche in achieving academic quality and a reputation for student success in the job market following graduation.

The Saunders College placed #58 in BusinessWeek’s third annual rankings of top undergraduate business programs from 96 business schools recognized across the United States.

It’s not only a first for RIT to be recognized in BusinessWeek’s annual ratings, but RIT is the only college from the Rochester area included in the 2008 listings.

“It is a significant honor,” says Dean Ashok Rao, RIT’s Saunders College of Business. “We continue to make significant innovations in our program and changes to our physical facility. (The first phase of renovations to the Lowenthal Building, home to the Saunders College, was completed in 2007.) This makes for a stimulating and exciting environment for our students.”

To rank schools, BusinessWeek employs surveys of business majors and corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates and the number of graduates entering preeminent MBA programs. SAT scores, faculty-student ratios, class size, internships and number of classroom hours are also considered in the rankings.

“We are always thinking ahead,” says Rao. “Next year we will introduce an exciting experiential course sequence for freshmen showing them how to create a new business. New courses for juniors and seniors will give them the opportunity to work with engineers and artists in other colleges at RIT.

“The Saunders College is a stimulating place to be and it is only going to get more exciting.”

Note: One of eight colleges at RIT, the E. Philip Saunders College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International and enrolls more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students.