This is an amazing time of growth and innovation for our MBA program. With so much to share, this is just a summary of some of our recent program highlights.

No matter when you earned your UF MBA, I want you to be proud of your program. I view this as one of my paramount and ongoing goals, and I hope that I can count on each of you to assist us in meaningful ways that will strengthen our brand and accelerate the momentum we have established. To that end, please contact me with exciting news and program ideas when the opportunity arises. Take care and GO GATORS!

Alex Sevilla
Assistant Dean & Director of UF MBA Programs

352.392.7992 x1206

The UF MBA made tremendous gains in national rankings in 2007 & 2008:

• The UF MBA Program was ranked #1 in the world in the inaugural distance-learning rankings released in February 2008 by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). No other public school in the U.S., and only one private, is ranked among the Top Ten. (Read Press Release)
  
  
• The prestigious Financial Times Top 100 MBA Program rankings named UF MBA America's best program for career progress. UF's overall ranking among the world’s Top 100 MBA programs is #64, and #34 among U.S. schools. (Read Press Release.)
  
  
• The UF MBA Program broke into the Top 10 (among Regional schools) for the first time in the 2007 The Wall Street Journal survey of corporate recruiters' picks for Top Business Schools. Among Regional schools, the University of Florida rose from #13 to #6—a move of 7 spots—continuing the momentum for a second year of phenomenal gains. Last year, UF vaulted from #27 to #13 on the list. In comparison to its Regional peer schools, UF was ranked #3, coming in ahead of most of the country's large public MBA programs, including Purdue, Texas, Michigan State and Penn State.
  
  
• The UF MBA was named #37 among the nation's best MBA programs in the March 30 issue of U.S.News & World Report magazine, moving up four spots from 2006, and continuing a three-year upward trend in the rankings. Florida is one of only 10 schools that made a jump of four spots or more in last year's survey of America’s Best Graduate Schools. Among U.S. public schools, UF is ranked #18 overall, and we are the only ranked school in Florida.

The UF MBA brand now has nine distinct MBA programs within its diverse portfolio:

• (3) Full-time programs — we now regularly compete with Top 20 MBA programs for the world's best candidates.
  
  
• (6) Professional programs — enrollments have grown by more than 100% since 2003, an incredible increase given the intensity of the competition for EMBAs. Our Executive and Professional enrollment is now one of the nation's largest, at over 850 students. In 2004, we launched our Professional MBA Program in South Florida (SFMBA), and our fourth SFMBA cohort began last summer.
  

• The Quality of the UF MBA Program Reaches New Heights. In 2007, we welcomed 96 new full-time MBA students (highest enrollment since 1999), with a mean GMAT of 680, a mean GPA of 3.4, and an average of 4 years of work experience.
  
  
• The UF MBA Launches the EDGE Program — "where the art of management and leadership meet the science of business." This is the most comprehensive professional development initiative in our program’s history. The EDGE Program will incorporate multiple assessments, career development consultants, practical industry skills training, global immersions, and an unprecedented number of experiential education opportunities for our MBAs. Full-time students can capitalize on numerous experiential education activities, such as the first-ever UF MBA Case Competition (spring 2008), "A Day in the Life" corporate residency program, the Alumni Mentor Program, the Executive In-residence Lunch Series, GatorNest and Integrated Technology Venture consulting projects, corporate site-visits, and global immersion trips.
  

• International Trip added to the Executive MBA Program. In May 2007, 43 EMBA students traveled to Brussels and Paris to meet with executives and global leaders from Chevron, Eli Lilly, Moet, Neuhaus Chocolate, the EU Parliament, and others. All future EMBA cohorts will participate in this immersion experience, with the location changing on a regular basis. In May 2008, students will travel to Paris and London.
  
  
• One-week elective courses added to PMBA Programs (one- and two-year). In March 2007, the UF MBA program launched its new one-week elective schedule for the Professional MBA cohorts. These courses were designed exclusively for PMBAs, and cover some of the most popular curriculum/industry areas: Customer Relations Marketing, Measuring and Managing Value, The Art and Science of Negotiation, Intro to Real Estate, Business Plan Formation and Financial Statement Analysis.