NEWS RELEASE: September 14, 2010 Wall Street Journal Survey of Recruiters Ranks Smith School Accounting Program #7 in U.S.

College Park, Md. -- Sept. 14, 2010 -- The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is a favored source for accounting hires, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of recruiting executives released yesterday. Participants were asked to rank schools that produced the best-qualified graduates for their industries, overall and by major. Recruiters ranked the Smith School No. 7 for accounting and No. 21 for business. The University of Maryland as a whole ranked No. 8 on the survey.

“Our accounting department has a history going back six decades of building strong relationships with the top accounting firms, corporations and government agencies,” said Martin Loeb, department chair of the accounting and information assurance department at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Recruiters routinely say that our accounting grads excel in their organizations and our alumni include top executives and business leaders.” The Smith School has undergraduate majors in accounting, finance, general business, information systems, international business, supply chain management, marketing, and operations management.

The Wall Street Journal report finds recruiters are spending more time at fewer university campuses, choosing to focus on research institutions where their companies can form mutually beneficial relationships with faculty and students. Research partnerships provide additional exposure for the company on campus and allow the company early access to students when it comes time to hire for internships or full-time positions. State schools offer a large pool of graduates and a focus on teaching practical skills, providing one-stop shopping for top corporate recruiters, reports the Wall Street Journal.

According to the Wall Street Journal's ranking methodology, “We wanted to identify the schools that are most likely to help students land a job in key careers and professions -- areas that are growing, pay well and offer high levels of satisfaction.”

The Wall Street Journal report is based on a survey of 842 recruiters for the nation’s largest public and private companies, nonprofits and federal agencies; 479 recruiters completed the survey, a response rate of 49 percent. As a group, the survey participants hired more than 43,000 graduates last year. Participants ranked the schools at which they recruited, overall and by major. Majors rankings were weighted by the number of graduates each company hired in that specific major.

The complete rankings can be found online