Did you see the 'MBA Specialty ranking' on Businessweek.com?

A few weeks back Businessweek.com posted its B-School ranking for 2008. But while these rankings are interesting for most (and weirdly important for others), there are people like me, that are interested in more than just the 'overall' ranking. As most MBA applicants sooner or later find out, business schools don't just teach one type of MBA. With all the different majors, a pool of electives and more or less flexible curricula/curriculums, a MBA graduate might differ quite a bit from his or her fellow student after graduation.

Choosing a list of schools where you want to apply is an important step in the application process.. Rankings are a starting point to see what's on the market, but just going by the top-5 in a general ranking might not the best decision you can make. Personally I think you should look for schools that fit your needs & career goals - what do you want to focus on: marketing, general management, finance, entrepreneurship, consulting or a combination?

A specialty ranking gives you an idea which of the top schools are 'more' focused in that area (at least in the publisher's eyes or its research). But even then I wouldn't consider whatever 5 schools rank top in your specialty 'the' final list. It's a starting point for your research. Go to each schools website and get more information. Try to get in contact with students and/or alumni of the university/school and try visit the campus. At that point you should have a good feeling what school and respective program suit you best.

On a personal note - I am not too concerned in what particular order the top-5 in any specialty are ranked, since I am sure that the differences are minimal. Another thing I also like to check is how one school's majors are ranked compared to each other (e.g. finance vs. gen. management).

So... enough of the talking. I don't want to keep you waiting for any longer - here are the links to the rankings...

BW / US schools specialty rankings 2008

BW / Non-US schools specialty rankings 2008

have a good one...

-bizwiz