March 2018

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 20, 2018 — Santa Clara University’s graduate programs in law and business achieved strong gains in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings.

The part-time Master of Business Administration program at the Leavey School of Business (LSB) ranked No. 39 —and 2nd in the Bay Area— making it among the top 14 percent of the 279 part-time programs eligible for the ranking.

The ranking also placed LSB in the top 25 for its program in finance, and the top 10 in information systems (IS)—making it the only school in the top 10 that does not have a Ph.D. program in IS.

At the same time, Santa Clara University School of Law enjoyed the second-highest increase in rankings among law schools in the country. Rising 19 spots, it was ranked No. 113 out of nearly 200 ABA-accredited schools for its full-time program, and No. 40 among law schools that offer a part-time option.

As in past years, the law school’s powerhouse intellectual property program was ranked fourth in the nation. The program will next year feature a unique Tech Edge J.D., which will help students obtain extensive real-world experience before graduation, and a popular Privacy Law Certificate.

Business peer ratings strong

LSB rose significantly in “peer assessment,” which is a heavily weighted factor reflecting evaluations by deans and other leaders in business education.

“It’s great to see that deans from across the U.S. are recognizing how strong and innovative our graduate programs are,” said Toby McChesney, senior assistant dean of Graduate Business Programs.

“We are tremendously proud that our hard work leveraging the assets of our school —our Silicon Valley network of leaders, our world-class faculty, and students who bring experience to the classroom — is being recognized by our peers and by national rankings,” said Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of LSB.

Law employment, GPA strong

For Santa Clara Law, the rankings took notice of several points of improvement:

• A 61.4 percent J.D.-specific employment rate of students 10 months after graduation, an improvement of more than 7 points.
• An improvement in the median undergraduate GPA of the incoming class, to 3.29 from 3.17
• A nearly 35 percent employment rate of students at graduation, up 6.6 points from the previous year

“We are delighted to see our outstanding programs honored in the U.S. News & World Report rankings,” said Santa Clara Law Dean Lisa Kloppenberg. “This is yet another example of the exciting momentum behind Santa Clara Law, which includes our outstanding July 2017 California bar passage results and the move into our collaboration-focused, cutting-edge new home, the Howard S. and Alida S. Charney Hall of Law.”

The rankings can be found on the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools website.

More about Leavey School of Business can be found at www.scu.edu/business/.

More about Santa Clara University School of Law can be found at law.scu.edu.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | Asst. Director, Media and Internal Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121