USC Moore School claims No. 2 spot in the SEC in Poets&Quants undergrad business school rankings
The University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business is ranked No. 2 among SEC business schools in the sixth annual Poets&Quants Best Undergraduate Business School list released today.
The Moore School jumped 16 places to No. 41 overall among the 94 public and private institutions surveyed for the Poets&Quants rankings. The Moore School makes the top 50 after being ranked No. 57 in 2021 and No. 60 in 2020. Poets&Quants is considered the most comprehensive assessment of undergraduate business programs.
Among SEC universities, the USC Moore School ranked second behind Texas A&M, which is No. 33 on the Poets&Quants list. Among public universities, the Moore School is ranked No. 15.
“Making such huge gains in the Poets&Quants Best Undergraduate Business School ranking exemplifies our commitment to academic rigor and career readiness, delivered by our world-class faculty and staff to our bright, hardworking and talented students,” Moore School Dean Peter Brews said. “The Moore School expects to climb even higher in the Poets&Quants ranking over the coming years.”
Brews observed that a notable portion of the ranking is based on a survey of alumni from the class of 2019 — the last class to graduate under a program configuration in which students started their core business courses in their junior year. Next year’s survey will include graduates who entered the business program as freshmen and spent four years building and honing their business, professional and teamwork skills.
These students have had more enhanced academic opportunities available to them under the four-year program, such as completing the Business Analytics Undergraduate Concentration or being part of specialized programs within the Finance, Marketing and Operations and Supply Chain majors.
“For these reasons, we expect that survey results of our newer graduate cohorts will be even stronger than in prior years, leading to considerable improvement in this dimension of our ranking,” Brews said.
Considered the most comprehensive assessment of undergraduate business programs, the Poets&Quants ranking takes into account:
- Admissions standards, which include:
- Acceptance rates
- Percent of class in top 10% of their high school class
- Percent of National Merit Finalists or Semi-finalists
- Average high school GPA
- Average SAT scores
- Alumni experience, which includes:
- Average score on a 10-point scale survey
- If their first job after graduation is in their desired industry
- Questions about recent alumni’s signature or international experience while they were in the undergraduate program
- Career outcomes, which include:
- Job employment rate
- Average salary
- Percent of graduates who reported they completed at least one business internship
The Moore School has experienced record employment rates and starting salary averages over the past few years, despite the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic placed on the job market. More importantly, the career outcomes are well within top 25 levels of the Poets&Quants ranking, said Jan Bass, the Moore School’s associate dean of undergraduate programs.
“Our jump in the rankings this year reflects very positively on the high quality of our program and the high quality and professionalism of our undergraduate students, but it doesn’t stop there,” Bass said. “Our rise in the rankings is a collective effort supported by our research and professional-track faculty, who are dedicated to teaching excellence and committed to student learning, and to our staff in undergraduate advisement, career management, study abroad, the Data Lab and the Center for Business Communications. All contribute enormously to the academic and career outcomes of our students.”
The Poets&Quants ranking placing the Moore School amid the top 15 public institutions showcases the first-rate, comprehensive approach the Moore School follows to prepare undergraduates for competitive business careers across the country and around the world, Bass added.