UF MBA at the Hough Graduate School of Business ranks third among online graduate business programs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – UF MBA’s Internet Program at the Hough Graduate School of Business ranked No. 3 in the nation among online graduate business programs in the “2014 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs” released Wednesday.

“We are extremely pleased to again be recognized by U.S. News & World Report with this prominent ranking,” said Dr. S. Selcuk Erenguc, Senior Associate Dean and Director of the Hough Graduate School of Business. “We are committed to providing our students a first-class, distance-learning experience, and the dedication of our faculty, staff and technology team has been instrumental in this effort.”

UF MBA climbed one spot to No. 3 in U.S. News & World Report's 2014 Best Online Graduate Business Programs rankings.

UF MBA climbed one spot to No. 3 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 Best Online Graduate Business Programs rankings.

UF MBA, which ranked fourth in the 2013 online rankings, ranked third among 239 schools that offered online master’s degree business programs per U.S. News’ criteria. Scores were based on five weighted categories: Student Engagement (33 percent), Admissions Selectivity (20%), Peer Reputation (20%), Faculty Credentials & Training (13.5%) and Student Services & Technology (13.5%).

U.S. News altered its methodology for this year’s rankings increasing the weight in Student Engagement, Faculty Credentials & Training and Student Services & Technology—areas UF MBA and the Hough Graduate School excel in. In October, UF MBA was named “Best Administered Program” for the second consecutive year by The Princeton Review, and The Economist ranked Hough No. 3 in the world in faculty quality in 2011.

“Our formula for delivering a first-class online MBA experience is a relatively simple one,” said Alex Sevilla, Assistant Dean and Director of UF MBA Programs. “We pair exceptional students and talented faculty together in a dynamic and rigorous learning incubator that pushes each side to bring out the very best in one another. This strategy was established in 1999 when we launched our first online MBA program and remains our cornerstone focus today. This ranking validates the importance of this commitment, and is consistent with the passionate support from both students and alumni.”

The Hough Graduate School of Business has been one of the nation’s leaders in online graduate education, and was one of the first schools to have an accredited online MBA program. Hough’s Internet MBA program was one of only two programs in the world to earn the top rating of “excellent” by The Economist in its “Which MBA?” Distance-Learning Special 2010 publication.

UF MBA at the Hough Graduate School of Business, ranked No. 15 among U.S. publics in U.S. News’ “Best Graduate Schools” 2014 edition, offers nine dynamic programs, including a 1-Year Internet and 2-Year Internet option. The 1-Year option is a 16-month accelerated program for business degree majors who graduated within the last seven years. The 2-Year option is a 27-month program open to any undergraduate degree major.