The Economist Ranks Darden School of Business No. 3 in the World

CORRECTION, Oct. 5: The Economist yesterday released its 10th annual ranking of the Top 100 international MBA programs and named the University of Virginia Darden School of Business the No. 2 business school in the world.

Today, the magazine issued a correction, listing the Tuck School at Dartmouth in the second position and Darden in the third position. At the bottom of the rankings table, the paper writes: "Correction: An earlier version of this chart showed Virginia (Darden) in 2d place and Dartmouth (Tuck) in 3rd. These should have been reversed. We are very sorry for the mistake."

The printed edition of the magazine, which hits the newsstands today, will still list the Darden School of Business as No. 2.

The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business is the No. 3 business school in the world, according to The Economist, which on Thursday released its 10th annual ranking of the Top 100 international MBA programs.

The ranking is the highest ever received by the Darden School, which moved up from fourth position last year. In the North American ranking, Darden remained in third place, as it was ranked last year.

Within the criteria, Darden was once again rated the No. 1 full-time MBA “education experience” in the world. The school also topped the list for diversity of recruiters and personal development.

“At Darden, we aim to deliver the world’s best MBA education experience and to foster the most tight-knit community in graduate business education,” Darden Dean Robert Bruner said. “This latest ranking is a validation of Darden’s extraordinary learning community, its accomplishments and its global reach.”

Darden also ranked in the top five internationally for:

• Alumni effectiveness
• Student assessment of career services
• Quality of faculty
• Facilities

The Economist’s ranking surveys students and alumni and collects data from the business schools. The ranking covers four categories: opens new career opportunities (35 percent); personal development and educational experience (35 percent); salary increase (20 percent); and potential to network (10 percent). The publication collates hard data, such as salary and faculty qualifications, with subjective marks from the school’s students and alumni.

“The Economist emphasizes two factors that are highly valued by the Darden School: the student and alumni experiences,” Bruner said.

Darden “fosters a close community spirit, with supportive faculty and close links with local and international business,” The Economist wrote. “Darden is on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, which is one of the cities with the best quality of life in the U.S.”

For details, visit The Economist website.