Wisconsin School of Business

The Wisconsin School of Business is a college within the University of Wisconsin-Madison based in Grainger Hall. It was founded in 1900. The Wisconsin School of Business alumni form a global network of more than 35,000 members with 14 CEOs of S&P 500 companies holding undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin, putting it in a tie with Harvard for first place. [ [http://www.bus.wisc.edu Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin - Madison ] ]

The mission of the undergraduate program is to prepare students for business careers through innovative curriculum and co-curriculum, providing a learning environment that responds to the needs of a diverse multi-cultural society, prepares students for citizenship in a global economy, and promotes socially responsible and ethical behavior. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/undergraduate 6] Its MBA program is based on highly focused career specializations.

Naming grant

On October 27, 2007 the Wisconsin School of Business announced its receipt of an $85 million naming gift. A group of thirteen alumni known as the Wisconsin Naming Partnership donated a minimum of $5 million each. Usually a school changes its name after receiving a large donation from a single donor or a small group. The agreement made with the Wisconsin Naming Partnership is that the business school will keep its name, the Wisconsin School of Business, for the next 20 years. After 20 years the business school can choose to change its name if it receives another sufficient donation. In 2005 the Wisconsin School of Business Dean Michael Knetter began approaching alumni with the idea for the naming grant. Dean Knetter asked them to give $5 million each in the interest of maintaining the school's name as the Wisconsin School of Business for the next 20 years.

Rankings

In the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the Wisconsin School of Business's undergraduate program was ranked 13th overall among business schools. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/news/0266.asp 6] The program was ranked 7th among public institutions, and third among Big Ten Business Schools. Both the Real Estate and Risk Management programs retained their previous rankings as second and third in the nation, respectively. The school's marketing program was ranked tenth, with Quantitative Analysis, Finance, Accounting and Management programs all ranking in the top 20 programs nationally. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/news/0266.asp 6] Its MBA program was ranked 29th. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/about 1] Financial Times ranked Wisconsin's Executive Education programs 14th in the U.S. and 28th in the world. BusinessWeek ranked the Wisconsin MBA 4th in the U.S. for the fastest return on investment. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/about 1]

The University of Wisconsin-Madison as a whole was ranked 35th in the U.S., seventh among public universities, and third among Big Ten schools. The rankings are based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty who responded to an invitation to nominate peer institutions on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). A total of 38 percent of those surveyed responded. Specialty areas were ranked based on the number of nominations received from respondents. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/news/0266.asp ]

Admissions

The School of Business has always been a junior-senior program. However, beginning in the fall semester of 2009, sophomores will also be accepted into the program. The program is small with approximately 1,300 students. Admission is therefore competitive with no specific “recipe” for admission. Admission decisions are based on UW-Madison GPA in Pre-business and Business/Economics courses. Personal characteristics which contribute to the overall strength and diversity of the School of Business student body will also be considered. Not all qualified candidates are admitted due to the size of the program.

The number of students the School of Business admits each semester varies with each admission period. The number of students admitted is directly proportional to the number of students who graduated in the previous semester.

Students with 99 credits or fewer may choose to apply more than once to the School of Business. [http://www.bus.wisc.edu/undergrad/admissions/faq/admissions.asp]

Degrees offered

Undergrad (BBA)

*Accounting
*Actuarial Science
*Finance, Investment, and Banking
*Informational Systems
*International Business
*Management and Human Resources
*Marketing
*Operations and Technology Management
*Real Estate and Urban Land Economics
*Risk Management and Insurance

Full-time MBA

*Applied Security Analysis
*Arts Administration
*Brand and Product Management
*Corporate Finance and Investment Banking
*Entrepreneurial Management
*Information Systems
*Marketing Research
*Operations and Technology Management
*Real Estate
*Risk Management and Insurance
*Strategic Human Resource Management
*Strategic Management in the Life and Engineering Sciences
*Supply Chain Management

References

[http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/nov2007/bs2007118_022592.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives "Wisconsin's Twist on the Name Game"]

External links

* [http://www.bus.wisc.edu Official Wisconsin School of Business Website]