There are nearly 350 graduate business schools in the United States, and Friday, Business Week magazine ranked the University's own Darden School the ninth most prestigious of them all, moving up two places since the last survey in 1998.
The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School was ranked No. 1 for the sixth time since 1994 and Northwestern's Kellogg School was No. 2.
Darden School Dean Ted Snyder said he is proud of Darden's ranking.
"It's significant progress," Snyder said. "Behind these statistics are some really important facts."
Officials tout Darden's reputation for outstanding faculty, curriculum and innovative teaching methods as key reasons behind Business Week's ranking decision.
The magazine uses three factors to determine the ranking.
Forty-five percent of the school's score is determined by recruiter response to a survey that asks questions about the schools' reputations and performances. Nearly 250 companies replied to the survey.
These recruiters ranked Darden ninth overall.
Another 45 percent is determined by survey responses from the schools' 2000 graduating classes. Over 10,000 students from around the nation participated in the survey.
Darden received the No. 2 ranking overall from its students.
Darden students gave their faculty the highest ratings of any graduate business school.
The final 10 percent of the score is not as quantifiable. It is based on each school's "intellectual capital." Darden Director of Publications Chris Allerton defined this as the school's "quality of scholarship and ability to influence thinking in the business world."
Snyder said he was pleased with the survey's methodology and felt that Darden distinguished itself throughout the different aspects of the survey.
He said the school was ranked in the top 10 in most of the survey's "key areas," including marketing, finance, technology and general management.
Recruiters gave Darden straight A's for its analysts and for its students' reputation as being team players.
In their survey, students gave Darden's curriculum a B and its faculty an A.
Darden Honor Rep. Despina Diamond said she was "very, very proud" that Darden's teachers were ranked best in the country. "Its teachers were one of the biggest reasons I chose Darden," she said.
Although the top-10 ranking is an important achievement for the school, it will not be resting on its laurels, Snyder said.
"This is the most significant of the business school rankings," he said. "It will allow us to better get our message out. Especially as you go outside the United States," where students are not as familiar with U.S. schools.
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