Four master’s programs at UF’s Hough School of Business ranked among the best in the nation.
The Eduniversal Best Masters ranking released their rankings Dec. 25. They created the rankings based on a program’s reputation, student satisfaction and the average starting salary of graduates. The four programs placed in the top five among U.S. public universities, said John Kraft, the dean of UF’s Warrington College of Business.
“We’ve been consistently ranked for a number of years by them,” he said.
The master of science in management and the master of international business ranked second in the nation, Kraft said. The master of science in entrepreneurship ranked fourth, while the full-time master of business administration ranked fifth.
All programs except the MBA were combined, with students starting master’s coursework their junior and senior years, he said. Students graduate with both their master’s and bachelor’s degrees.
Kraft said UF’s business school focuses more on graduate programs than undergraduate degrees.
“The undergraduate degrees have been shrinking over time and will continue to shrink,” he said. “We’ve focused on growing (graduate) programs.”
The combined programs have been offered for 10 years, Kraft said. About 600 students graduate from the school’s combined programs every year.
Jasmin Tahirovic, a UF international business master’s student, said by the time he graduates, he will have his both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
The 22-year-old said the combined programs set UF apart because they offer real-world experience. Through the graduate school, he studied abroad in South Korea for about a week in May.
While there, he visited Samsung, the Hyundai Motor Company and other businesses, he said. He learned business culture differs between countries. In South Korea, he said forming relationships in business is important. In the U.S., the interaction is less personal.
“We’re taken outside the classroom,” Tahirovic said. “We’re getting taken literally to another country.”
The combined classes will help him when he enters the workforce, he said.
“It’s like, here’s something you’ll actually be doing in the workplace,” Tahirovic said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @k_newberg.
