Villanova School of Business Online Graduate Programs Ranked #4 by U.S. News & World Report

Villanova, Pa., January 10, 2017 – The Villanova School of Business (VSB) was recognized among the top schools in the nation on the U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Online Graduate Business Programs ranking, earning the #4 rank. In addition to achieving #4 overall, VSB was also ranked #3 for Student Services and Technology, and #4 for Student Engagement.

VSB’s consistently strong performance in this ranking validates the school’s ability to deliver a high-quality learning experience for students regardless of the mode of delivery. Joyce E. A. Russell, The Helen and William O’Toole Dean of VSB, notes, “Success in the online environment underscores the strength of our faculty, curriculum, students and support services, which we are incredibly proud of”.  The U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of online graduate business programs takes into account the reputation of the program among high-ranking academic officials in business through a peer survey administered each fall. The ranking’s methodology also emphasizes student engagement, admissions selectivity, faculty credentials and training, and student services and technology capabilities.

VSB offers two online specialized master degree programs: The Master of Science in Church Management (MSCM), and the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA). The MSCM is a one-of-a-kind two-year online business program designed to enable church leaders to apply sound business principles to church management-related issues and decision making. The MSA program exposes students to the entire analytics continuum to build a broad toolkit of analytics skills within the context of various business functions, enabling graduates to make informed and sustainable business decisions. Both programs were built from the ground up and with input from industry, for a fully tailored and application-based experience.

“Our faith-based approach to church management gives students the tools to achieve the mission of their churches,” said Charles Zech, PhD, director of the Center for Church Management & Business Ethics, as well as the MSCM program faculty director. "The online environment that we’ve created at VSB provides a convenient, interactive and effective management education experience for our students.

“The recently launched MSA program is highly engaging and features an application-based practicum project to apply data extraction, analysis, and interpretation techniques. I am proud to see our faculty, students, curriculum and online delivery recognized for its high standards and quality," said Steve Mahar, PhD, The Richard J. and Barbara Naclerio Scholar in Analytics, as well as the MSA program faculty director.

VSB is committed to providing a high-quality education and world-class student services at all levels. VSB is known for its teaching excellence, current research, academic rigor, state-of-the-art learning facilities and the integration of ethics and service into curricular and extracurricular experiences.

For more information and to see the complete ranking, please visit: www.usnews.com/online.

The Villanova School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to six Centers or Institutes of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights, the Center for Church Management & Business Ethics and the Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Institute) with each center and institute designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.