WORCESTER, Mass. - Worcester Polytechnic Institute is one of the top 10 universities in the country that provide the greatest opportunity for women studying in business and management, according to the latest business school rankings from The Princeton Review.
WPI is ranked eighth out of 282 schools for offering the best career prospects for women in the recently released 2007 edition of The Best 282 Business Schools. The "Greatest Opportunity for Women" ranking is based on the percent of students who are female, the percent of faculty who are female; student assessment of resources for female students; how supportive the culture is of female students; whether the business school offers course work for women entrepreneurs; and whether case study materials for classes proportionately reflect women in business.
McRae C. Banks, head of WPI’s Department of Management, attributes WPI’s strong rankings to a number of factors. "We have strong programs, strong mentors, and established corporate relationships that benefit not only our women students, but all of our students," he said. "Of special significance is our annual Women’s Leadership Summit, which brings many of our alumna back to campus to discuss career and life issues and provide advice to us on positioning our programs, improving our courses, and other issues that will continue to make us an attractive graduate opportunity for women. Without that type of engagement on their part, and concern on our part, I do not believe we would have been ranked nearly as high."
The Princeton Review’s Best 282 Business Schools includes profiles of business schools with sections on academics, student life, admissions, selectivity, and career placement services. In the profile on WPI, the editors describe the school as offering cutting-edge classes, having happy students and helpful alumni, and providing solid preparation in general management and teamwork.
At the graduate level, WPI offers a technology-focused MBA; MS programs in marketing and technological innovation, information technology, and operations design and leadership; a combined BS/MBA program; and graduate certificates in technology marketing, management of technology, information technology, and information security management.
In addition to offering evening courses at its campus in Worcester, the WPI MBA program has been available via distance since 1979 and was one of the first distance MBAs in the nation. WPI graduate management courses are also delivered onsite to companies throughout the Northeast through the university’s Corporate and Professional Education Division.
