Georgia Tech College of Management jumped nine spots in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of the nation's top full-time MBA programs, rising from 34th to 25th (10th among public universities).

The magazine, which published the 2008 rankings April 3 in a special edition guidebook titled America's Best Graduate Schools, surveyed the 407 master's programs in business in the United States accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

"We're pleased that our considerable jump in the rankings reflects the overall trajectory of our business school," says Georgia Tech College of Management Dean Steve Salbu. "We're working hard on many fronts to take our College to the next level of prestige and educational achievement, becoming the world's preeminent business school for management and technology."

The only other Georgia schools on the magazine's top 50 full-time MBA list are Emory University (20th, down from 18th last year) and the University of Georgia (holding at 46th).

U.S. News & World Report determined its rankings by surveying business school deans, MBA program directors, and corporate recruiters/contacts about the quality of each accredited program. The magazine also factored in the mean starting salaries, bonuses, and employment rates of 2006 graduates.

U.S. News & World Report includes lists of rankings in academic specialties. Georgia Tech College of Management is 14th in Production/Operations, 19th in Supply Chain/Logistics, and 24th in Information Systems.

In the magazine's last rankings of undergraduate business programs released in August 2007, Georgia Tech was 33rd.

© 2012 Georgia Institute of Technology