MEDIA RESOURCES

CONTACT: communications@mail.cox.smu.edu

Dallas, Texas (SMU) -- In its Monday, October 15, issue, Forbes magazine announced that SMU's Cox School of Business ranked among the top 25 national MBA programs. Cox ranked #17. The Forbes' ranking, based on the return on investment students can expect from attending an MBA program, confirms the Cox School of Business as a top tier business school.

This announcement follows Cox's recent selection by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top 10 MBA programs in the world as rated by more than 1,600 corporate recruiters. Earlier in the year, U.S. News & World Report placed Cox among the top five business schools in placement percentage (100%) three months after graduation and in the top 20 business schools in highest salary and bonus at graduation.

"We are pleased to be a member of this exclusive group of top flight business schools and are gratified that Forbes has recognized and confirmed the value of a Cox MBA. The recent rankings confirm that the Cox School is one of the top MBA programs in the nation," said Albert W. Niemi, Jr., dean of the school.
Up from #23 in 2000 to #17 in 2001, the Cox School was one of 104 U.S.-based and international schools surveyed. To create the ranking, Forbes questioned 20,000 graduates who received MBAs in 1996. Alumni were asked for salary information from the year before they entered business school, the year they graduated, and 2000. The magazine's survey results can be found at the magazine's Web site at http://www.forbes.com.

SMU's Cox School of Business is ranked among the top MBA programs in the nation by Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. Among business schools, Cox's Business Leadership Center, American Airlines Global Leadership Program, and executive mentor program are nationally and internationally recognized.