The U might not have officially claimed the Bowl Championship Series national championship title, but it continues to climb in academic rankings.
For the first time, the U’s undergraduate accounting program has been ranked among the top 25 best accounting programs in the nation, coming in at number 248212;an improvement from the honorable mention award the program has received for the past two years.
“I am not surprised to see the recognition that our accounting program is receiving,” said Bill Hesterly, associative dean for the School of Accounting.
He attributes the program’s success to hiring better faculty, recruiting more students and a strong alumni program. Many U accounting professors have also taught at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, New York University, Washington University-St. Louis and INSEAD, Europe’s top business school.
The rankings are decided by surveys sent to approximately 1,500 accounting professors nationwide and the results are published each year in the Public Accounting Report, a trade magazine for public accountants.
Most schools ranked in the magazine are private business schools located in metropolitan areas.
“It is really noteworthy when a public university from a smaller market like the David Eccles School of Business can crack the top 25,” Hesterly said.
The survey includes undergraduate, masters and doctoral degree programs. The doctoral program at the U has received the honorable mention ranking in past years.
Bob Allen, accounting program director, said he expects the program will continue to rank higher because the demand for public accountants will continue to increase, even in a recession.
The Association of University Technology Officers ranked the U’s accounting program as second in the nation in taking technology generated by the university to the market, after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The program emphasizes interdisciplinary education and experiential learning using programs in entrepreneurship, technology innovation and venture capital management.