The University of Vermont's School of Business Administration has been named one of the “Top 50 Most Innovative Business Schools in America” for its new MBA in Sustainable Entrepreneurship (SEMBA), its focus on experiential learning, cutting edge technology and other measures of innovation.

Business Management Degrees, an online guide for navigating the world of business management programs, ranked UVM 47th most innovative, based on criteria that included technological innovation, the fostering of new ideas, cognizance of issues like sustainability, cutting-edge research, proximity to business epicenters and pioneering faculty members. Lists from “Best MBA” and “Best Business Schools” were used to evaluate each measure while rankings from Forbes, TopMBA.com, and CIO and other publications were also taken into account.

Additionally, business schools that made the list "employ a dynamic approach to education, adapting their curricula to meet emerging trends and equip students with the progressive skills necessary to succeed," the guide states.

"This ranking for students seeking information on schools to apply to includes Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Kellogg, and Harvard. All these schools have track records going back decades," said Sanjay Sharma, dean of the School of Business Administration. “With the redesign of the undergraduate program, the addition of substantial experiential learning, and the start of the new SEMBA program, the ranking is a recognition of the innovativeness of the programs and their relevance for organizations and society today and for the future. I am proud of our many faculty members who were involved in the redesign and delivery of our undergraduate and graduate programs and thankful to the alumni who have supported our many experiential activities with their time and resources."

In its description of UVM, the publication credited SEMBA’s innovative approach to training future business leaders and “increased importance on hands-on experiences, with its new Bloomberg Lab boasting cutting-edge technology and top-flight resources.” It went on to say that the business school and wider university’s deal with Microsoft means that students have “access to the most up-to-date operating systems and software available.” It also praised UVM’s Center for Leadership and Innovation for offering a “range of business-focused leadership certificates and management sessions.”

UVM was the only public institution from New England on the list, joining Hardvard, MIT, Yale, Dartmouth and Boston University as the other noted New England schools.

PUBLISHED

09-24-2014
Jon Reidel