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Undergraduate business program ranked among top 100 in nation in Bloomberg Businessweek rankings

Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 | 

The Lipscomb University College of Business’ undergraduate program has been ranked one of the top 100 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek in its Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2016 ranking released April 19.

The college’s undergraduate business program is 77 out of 114 institutions included in the ranking. Lipscomb is the highest-ranked university in Tennessee ahead of the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business (ranked 83) and Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey College of Business (ranked 103). Lipscomb also ranked higher than the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, Rutgers University-Newark’s business school and the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics. Lipscomb is the only Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs-accredited institution included on the list.

“The college has earned a reputation as a leader in faith-based business education,” said Ray Eldridge, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Business. “This ranking recognizes the quality of our academics, and faculty and staff as well. Our graduate program is already nationally ranked, so it is gratifying to see that those outside the institution recognize the strength of our undergraduate program. We have always known you could get both at Lipscomb—a quality business education and a program based on faith principles. Our undergraduates are mentored and taught by the best who also embrace the values and virtues taught by Jesus.” 

“This is a significant milestone for Lipscomb University and the College of Business,” said Lipscomb Provost W. Craig Bledsoe. “This first-ever national ranking for Lipscomb’s undergraduate business program is a reflection of top-quality business instruction that has been a hallmark of Lipscomb University’s academic program for decades. We are very proud of our faculty, staff, administration and students for their dedication to making Lipscomb’s business program one of the best in the nation that prepares our students well for their next chapter in life.”

This is the second national ranking Lipscomb’s College of Business has received in the last six months. In October, the college’s Master of Business Administration program  ranked 43 out of the top 74 part-time MBA programs in the nation on the 2015 Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings. The college was one of only two in Tennessee to make the list, which included Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

Lipscomb’s College of Business has become one of the fastest-growing graduate business schools in Tennessee. In the last two years, enrollment has increased by 17 percent in its 16 undergraduate and four graduate programs, topping more than 700 students for the first time in university history. It has accrued several significant accomplishments, including completing a two-year accreditation review with no conditions noted, launching a bold business-as-mission academic program, adding a high-touch and high-tech learning telepresence center and developing a unique Master of Management program that includes an immersive, integrated work experience for recent bachelor’s graduates.

Officials also recently announced plans to launch a one-year integrated experience for Bachelor of Business Administration students beginning in January of 2018. Through this program students will gain 800 hours of paid internship, international travel and 37 credit hours toward their degrees. The focus of this program is to teach business with an integrated approach, drawing all business disciplines together in solving business problems, said Eldridge.

Since 2006, Bloomberg Businessweek has ranked undergraduate business programs to help guide prospective college students in their decision-making process. Researchers for the ranking compiled data from more than 30,000 current students and recruiters from nearly 600 companies across the nation.  

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the rankings are composed of 40 percent employer survey score, which measured feedback from recruiters who hire recent business graduates on how well schools prepared students for jobs at their companies; 35 percent student survey score, which measured students’ own ratings of the campus, career services department, faculty and administrators; 15 percent starting salary data, which measured the base compensation of students who had jobs lined up, adjusted for salary variation across industries and regions; and 10 percent internship data, which measured the percentage of a school’s graduates who had at least one internship at any time during college.

Lipscomb University’s College of Business is accredited by the ACBSP for undergraduate and graduate programs and was the fourth school in the nation to receive the organization’s accounting specialization accreditation. It offers the Bachelor of Business Administration degree in five majors and eight areas of graduate study leading to an MBA, a Master of Accountancy, a Master of Human Resources or a Master of Management degree. It is among the 15 percent of the business schools in the nation to require a global experience for its students. It has been recognized as one of the top 25 colleges of business in the nation for veterans. It is the home of the Hilton & Sallie Dean Institute for Corporate Governance & Integrity, the Center for Global Connectedness and Collaboration and the Center for Entrepreneurship.

For more information about Lipscomb’s College of Business, visit business.lipscomb.edu.