TAMPA – The University of South Florida’s Executive MBA program has broken into the top 10 on the Best Executive MBA Programs for 2024 national rankings released today by Fortune.
USF’s Executive MBA program in the Muma College of Business clinched the No. 10 spot, climbing 19 positions from last year. Among public universities, the program ranks No. 6 in the nation and overall No. 1 in the state.
“This is a phenomenal achievement, and we are thrilled to be included among the country’s best in Fortune’s rankings,” said David W. Blackwell, the Lynn Pippenger Dean at the Muma College of Business. “Breaking into the top 10 illustrates the strength of our program and underscores the commitment of our faculty to continuous improvements.”
The 2024 rankings place USF’s program first in the state, ahead of the University of Florida (No. 33), Florida Atlantic University (No. 39), and the University of Miami (No. 49).
In its methodology, Fortune derived a holistic assessment of the executive MBA programs based on a combination of factors, including where the leaders of America’s 1,000 biggest companies pursued their MBAs (25%), online search volume (15%), a school’s previous ranking (5%), and eight other school-provided data points (55%).
Among the school-provided statistics, reviewers considered factors such as the size of a graduating class, tuition costs, graduation rates, one-year retention rates, acceptance rates, years of work experience and years of management experience.
“This is a significant jump from last year,” said Eric Douthirt, director of the MBA programs. “With our 100% retention and 100% graduation rates, coupled with the low tuition, our high-quality program stands out among the competition.”
In fact, USF’s $47,500 price tag is the lowest among colleges and universities ranked in the top 25.
Of the schools ranked by Fortune, the average number of years of work experience for 2023-2024 entrants was a little less than 15 years; entrants also had about eight years of management experience.