UA’s MBA Graduates Show Increase in Starting Salaries, Placement Rates

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Graduates who completed MBAs from The University of Alabama in 2016 report starting salaries more than 8 percent higher than the previous year’s class.

The Manderson Graduate School of Business in UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce recently released both its 2016 MBA class compensation and placement data.

The average starting salary for Manderson MBA graduates increased to $72,217. Since the class of 2013, starting salaries for Manderson MBAs have increased by about 23 percent.

“The marketability of our MBA graduates continues to get stronger with every class,” said Dr. Brian Gray, associate dean of UA’s Manderson Graduate School of Business. “Their work ethic and skills set them apart as the students our corporate recruiters want to hire.”

Placement by 90 days after graduation for the MBA Graduating class of 2016 rose to just under 89 percent, over five percent higher than the class of 2015.

“In two of the last three years, our student placement by 90 days after graduation has been almost 90 percent,” said Gary Ward, Manderson’s director of Graduate Career Services. “We attribute this to how seriously our students treat the recruiting process from the time they begin the MBA program.”

All compensation and placement data reported by the Manderson Graduate School of Business adhere to the Standards for Reporting Employment Statistics, as set out by the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance.

The majority of the leading MBA programs in the U.S. and overseas conform to these standards to ensure that compensation and placement data are accurately reported.