Heavener School ranks among nation’s top 25 public undergraduate business schools

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Heavener School of Business ranked 24^th among the nation’s top public undergraduate business schools in Bloomberg Businessweek’s “2016 Best Undergraduate Business Schools” released today.

The Heavener School, which ranked 58^th overall, was one of only two schools from the state of Florida to appear in the overall top 60. The Heavener School was also the top-ranked public undergraduate business program from the state of Florida to appear in the rankings.

“Being ranked among the top 25 public undergraduate business programs in the nation is a testament to the outstanding quality of our faculty, students, and professional development programs,” said Dr. Brian Ray, Associate Dean and Director of the Heavener School of Business. “During the last five years, we have invested a great deal of time and resources developing a robust set of study abroad opportunities as well as career and leadership programs for our talented undergraduates.”

The methodology for this year’s edition of Bloomberg Businessweek’s rankings focuses more on “how well programs prepare their graduates for job success.” The Heavener School finished in the top 25 among U.S. publics in three key areas of Bloomberg Businessweek’s new methodology:

• Internships (12^th): Thanks to a recent requirement that all students complete an internship or study abroad program in order to graduate, the Heavener School’s internship rate has increased dramatically. In 2014-15, 706 Heavener students completed a professional internship, providing them vital career experience.
• Employer Score (24^th): Corporate recruiters were asked to assess specific qualities and skills of the graduates they’ve recruited. The Heavener School’s impactful career and leadership programs, such as Warrington Welcome, Career & Academic Peer Mentors and Florida Leadership Academy, provide personal and professional development opportunities for Heavener students to grow. Heavener Career Week, a bi-annual event where recruiters interact with Heavener students, has also proven to be incredibly beneficial to Heavener students securing internships and full-time positions.
• Starting Salary (24^th): Starting salary data was collected directly from students through Bloomberg Businessweek’s student survey. Only base salaries were used in the analysis, and Bloomberg Businessweek adjusted for salary variation across industries and regions.

“Prominent employers, as well as the nation’s top MBA programs, continue to be impressed with the quality of our graduates,” Dr. Ray said. “The Class of 2016 is the fourth group of Heavener seniors that were required to complete an internship or study abroad experience prior to graduation.  Additionally, each Heavener undergraduate is required to take a course on professional writing or public speaking.  Many wisely choose to take both.  These experiential and professional communication requirements make a tremendous impact on our graduates, who in turn make a tremendous impact across a wide range of industries.”

Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed more than 1,000 recruiters and more than 27,000 recent graduates to generate this ranking.