EMBA program tops ASU (W.P. Carey), UofA (Eller), Rice (Jones), Utah (Eccles) and European competitors

In rankings released today by Poets&Quants, a popular website geared toward prospective MBA students and executives, Thunderbird School of Global Management is recognized as one of the world’s Top 20 providers of Executive MBAs. Thunderbird earned a No. 12 spot in the Executive MBA ranking, up six places for 2012.

Poets&Quants’ ranking for Thunderbird is based on the overall reputation of the school’s Executive MBA program, and is measured in a methodology that combines the latest Executive MBA program results from Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and U.S. News & World Report.

By combining multiple rankings into one list, Poets&Quants attempts to remove anomalies that often show up in individual rankings. Scoring takes into account various measurements including program quality, student satisfaction, and additional income attributed to the degree.  Three of the four core rankings used in the scoring are global, which gives Thunderbird a distinct advantage because of the school’s long history as an international business school.

The 2012 composite ranking highlights key differences between Thunderbird’s Executive MBA program and those of regional competitors like ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business (ranked #25), University of Arizona’s Eller School of Management (not ranked in the top 55), Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Management (ranked #22), and the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business (ranked #48).  Outside the U.S., Thunderbird’s No. 12 rank outpaced IE Business School (#14), INSEAD (#23), IESE Business School (#24), London Business School (#27), and Switzerland’s IMD (#29).

According to Poets&Quants, Thunderbird’s ranking for 2012 factored in a “significantly improved standing in both the BusinessWeek and U.S. News rankings that came out in 2011.”  The school rose to top-tier status in both rankings last year, which helped Thunderbird generate a six-place gain in this year’s composite results.

“It’s an honor to be recognized among the top 20 programs worldwide for 2012, especially considering we just celebrated the 20th anniversary of our Executive MBA program at Thunderbird,” said Barbara Carpenter, Thunderbird’s Associate Vice President of Executive MBA Programs.  “Thunderbird has always offered a unique EMBA experience because we attract a highly diverse student who not only is passionate about the global business environment, but also wants to make a difference.  That uniqueness isn’t always reflected in individual rankings.”

Thunderbird’s most recent Executive MBA United States (EMBA XX) class — Thunderbird’s 20th class of the executive MBA degree program — holds commencement this Saturday, January 21, 2012.  EMBA XX graduates will be joined by graduates of the school’s EMBA Europe VII class from Geneva, Switzerland —headquarters for Thunderbird’s executive education offerings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.