U.S. News and World Report

U.S. News and World Report (USN) has been ranking American graduate business programs since 1990, and business specialties since about that time or shortly thereafter. Before 1996 USN ranked only the top five schools in each category; currently that number has increased to 20, at least online. There are now 10 specialties published: accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management, information systems, marketing, productions / operations management, supply chain / logistics and non-profit. Executive MBA rankings are also considered a specialty (see executive MBA rankings). Specialty rankings rely entirely on the opinions of deans and program directors nationwide. The ranking is published annually in late March or early April along with the USN graduate rankings.

100% Peer assessment
Business school deans and program directors are asked to list (unranked) up to ten programs that excel in each specialty. Each mentioned school gets one point and the points are tallied.

Pros:

• Straightforward and easy to grasp
• Allows for ties in rank

Cons:

• Lacks index scores; clusters and gaps largely hidden 
• Deans and senior faculty likely to know institutions more than actual programs; may reflect historical reputation more than current condition 

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 Financial Times

As part of its global ranking of MBA programs, first published in 2000, Financial Times (FT) asks for recommendations among the alumni it is surveying for best programs by specialty. The specialties ranked change slightly from year to year. Recent choices include: accountancy, corporate social responsibility, corporate strategy, e-business, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, information technology, international business, marketing, organizational behavior and statistics. Ten schools are listed for each. Before 2008 FT listed these without rank (“top ten”); starting with 2008 the ten schools are ranked. The annual ranking appears in January.

100% Alumni recommendations
Alumni three years post-MBA are surveyed during the MBA survey

 Pros:

• Global in scope

Cons:

• Lacks index scores; ties not allowed; clusters and gaps hidden
• Alumni opinion easily swayed by popular or unpopular changes that may have little to do with program quality or academic rigor

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Public Accounting Report

Public Accounting Report (PAR), billing itself as the “independent newsletter of the accounting profession since 1978,” has been ranking graduate accounting programs since 1981. For programs to be ranked they must offer degrees in accounting, not just concentrations; or they may offer programs with curricula comparable to schools that offer accounting degrees. In 2009 PAR divided the ranked schools into three groups based on faculty size, with 25 schools in each. The ranking, based entirely on peer assessment, is published annually between October and December.

100% Peer assessment
Accounting chairs, department heads and professors name the graduate programs that they feel most consistently turn out students capable of some day attaining partner status.

Pros:

• Straightforward and easy to grasp
• Allows for ties in rank

Cons:

• Lacks index scores; clusters and gaps largely hidden
• Accounting chairs, department heads and professors may be familiar with institutions more than their program specifics; ranking may reflect historical reputation more than current condition