The McIntire School of Commerce was recently ranked the number two undergraduate business program in the country for the second year in a row by BusinessWeek's annual ranking.
BusinessWeek took a variety of factors into account to determine the rankings, including students' satisfaction with their programs, test scores and class size, according to BusinessWeek Associate Editor Louis Lavelle.
He said students in the Commerce school were able to contribute to an online survey, which was available between October and January.
In addition, BusinessWeek surveyed the Commerce School's top recruiters to get their view on the program, Lavelle said.
The Commerce School usually accepts between 70 and 75 percent of its applicants each year, which helps in the rankings because it increases the caliber of students in the program and also keeps the faculty-student ratio relatively low, said Michael Atchison, Commerce School undergraduate associate dean and professor.
Atchison attributed the high ranking to the Commerce School's curriculum, student satisfaction and placement in the workforce and top MBA programs upon completion of the program.
"The other thing they look at is the University of Virginia in general," he said. "The University attracts good students, so I think that helps [increase the ranking]."
Jim Travisano, the Commerce School's director of communications, also said he believed that the curriculum was very influential in the rankings.
"We have a third-year integrated curriculum that is incredibly innovative," he said. "It is designed to help students hit the ground running, and the results really speak for themselves."
BusinessWeek's analysis of the program also found that the Commerce School excelled in offering its students access to internships, a large network after graduation and high starting salaries, Lavelle said.
First place in the rankings was the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League undergraduate program, for the second year in a row, Travisano said.
"In a lot of ways, it doesn't matter whether we're first or second or third -- we're among the top schools," he said. "To be ranked among the elite schools, I think, is something to feel good about."
Atchison said although landing in second place is a positive result, he does not believe these rankings will strongly affect the way the program operates.
"We're pleased that we're ranked number two, but we wouldn't be doing anything differently if there weren't rankings," Atchison said.
He added, however, that "it's nice to have an outside organization confirm what you're doing is right."
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