Rutgers Part-Time MBA program climbs higher in U.S. News & World Report's 2016 ranking

The Rutgers Part-Time MBA is ranked No. 43 among graduate business programs in the nation, according to a new listing compiled by U.S. News & World Report.

Rutgers Business School, which offers the part-time program as an option for students who want to continue to work while they earn an MBA, rose five spots in the latest ranking.

"The Rutgers Part-Time MBA continues to provide working professionals with an opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills to advance their careers," said Rutgers Business School Dean Lei Lei. "Our students can remain career focused while they benefit from excellent faculty and build their professional networks."

"Like our full-time students, our part-time students graduate realizing they have achieved a great return on their investment with a Rutgers MBA," Lei said. "We are proud of our standing among the ranks of part-time MBA programs in the nation."

Among universities in the Tri-State area, the Rutgers Part-Time MBA program ranked No. 2, according to U.S. News & World Report. Rutgers ranked higher than Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, University of Connecticut and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

"The recent rise in ranking confirms the high caliber of students we have in the part-time program," said Barbara Sackie, assistant dean and director of MBA student services for Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick.

Hear about the experience of Diane Hanna, who graduated in 2015 from the part-time MBA program. Watch the video.

The U.S. News & World Report ranking also contained a number of other highlights:

Rutgers Business School ranked No. 3 in the nation for MBA employment after 98 percent of the full-time MBA students in 2015 obtained employment within three months of graduating. Students found jobs in the pharmaceutical industry, consulting, technology and the financial services business.

The impressive employment outcomes helped the Rutgers Full-Time MBA to earn another recognition – No. 1 Public MBA in the Tri-State area.

Among specialty graduate programs, Rutgers Business School ranked No. 11 in the nation for Supply Chain Management. It was the second year in a row the Supply Chain Management Program landed in the No. 11 spot in the U.S. News & World Report ranking. 

The Rutgers Part-Time MBA allows students to study the same quality curriculum offered through the traditional MBA program with additional flexibility to learn as they continue working full-time. That flexibility is a component weighed by U.S. News & World Report in its annual rankings.

Rebecca Doyle, who works in compliance manufacturing at Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary, was two years into her part-time MBA when she switched jobs. She went from taking two or three classes a semester to taking a single online course a semester.

"The fact that there are online courses allowed me to be career focused," she said, "while I continued to work toward getting my degree."

Doyle said she’s eager to return to the classroom next semester. "Online is great for the flexibility, but it doesn’t give you the facetime and the connections," she said.

"The thing about the part-time MBA program at Rutgers is that everyone in the program is a professional and they all have a variety of experiences and backgrounds. You learn a lot just by talking with them," she said. "That’s been a great part of the learning experience."

 - Susan Todd