Current Issue - Thunderbird Magazine - Thunderbird School of ...

special report
Thunderbird
debuts at No. 1 in
Businessweek
T
hunderbird debuted at No. 1
in international business in a
Bloomberg Businessweek survey
released Dec. 24, 2012. The
publication added the specialized
category as part of its 2012 Best
B-Schools rankings.
Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed
MBA students from the class of 2012
about specific aspects of their school’s
business program and used the results
to create nine specialty area rankings.
In the international business category,
Thunderbird was followed by INSEAD,
IMD, London Business School and
Georgetown (McDonough).
In a separate announcement,
Bloomberg Businessweek ranked
Thunderbird in the top five for business
schools with the most international
student body.
Thunderbird also holds the top
spot for international business in the
U.S. News & World Report business
school rankings.
Rankings 101: Understanding the rankings and the role of
As alumni, your participation in
surveys holds considerable weight in
the calculations used by top ranking
organizations such as Bloomberg Businessweek,
The Wall Street Journal, Financial
Times, The Economist and U.S. News
& World Report. Participation in surveys
is important on two fronts. First, a
predetermined percentage of survey
responses is required for Thunderbird
to qualify for the ranking. Second, the
answers to the surveys are factored into
Thunderbird’s scores. Keep in mind
that many of these surveys go only to
graduates from a particular year or set
of years, so it is important to respond
if you receive a survey. Many of the
rankings are based on a combination
of school-provided data as well as
survey results from students, alumni,
corporate recruiters and/or business
school deans and program directors.
The specific methodology varies by
organization. The snapshots below
will serve as a quick guide.
RANKINGS THAT INVOLVE
ALUMNI SURVEYS
Bloomberg Businessweek - MBA
Methodology: Held every two years and
based on academic reputation of the
school (10 percent) combined with survey
responses from MBA graduates (45 percent)
and corporate recruiters (45 percent). The
“International Business” specialty ranking
is based on student and alumni survey
responses from the top 100 ranked schools.
Bloomberg Businessweek -
Executive MBA
Methodology: Held every two years and
based on survey responses from Executive
MBA graduating students (65 percent) and
program directors (35 percent).
Economist Intelligence Unit - MBA
Methodology: Based on quantitative
data supplied by the school (38 percent)
combined with survey responses from MBA
students and graduates (54 percent), and
diversity of recruiters by industry (8 percent).
Economist Intelligence Unit -
Distance Learning
Methodology: Based on quantitative
data supplied by the school (80 percent)
combined with survey responses from Global
Online MBA students and graduates (20
percent).
Financial Times - MBA
Methodology: Based on annual survey
responses from MBA school alumni (12
percent) combined with recent graduate
salary (43 percent), diversity of students,
18 spring 2013