The PhD program at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park, is No. 11 in the world and No. 8 in the U.S., according to new rankings by The Financial Times. 

The rankings are based off data collected in 2013 and can be found in the fields of the Global MBA Ranking on the Financial Times business education website. 

The Smith School's ranking, up from No. 17 last year, marks a 24-spot climb from No. 35 in 2012. It brings the PhD program into the elite business degrees of the world and is the lone top 50 program in, and surrounding, the Greater Washington Region.

Smith PhD students who graduated last May received associate professorship placements at such institutions as Duke University, the University of Michigan, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 

According to Amna Kirmani, Smith’s director of doctoral programs and professor of marketing, the rise in the rankings is due to generous support of the doctoral program providing higher stipends for students, a concerted effort to increase the rigor of the program and a firm commitment from world-class faculty to provide PhD students with mentorship.  

“In short, Robert H. Smith’s 2008 donation has allowed us to attract high quality students,” Kirmani said. “These students learn from, and collaborate with, world-class faculty. That sums up to a global ranking of 11.” 

Also bolstering the PhD program are Smith faculty members. Ninety-eight percent of them have doctorates, and they are recognized for their significant contributions to business academia. The UT Dallas Business School Research Rankings, the leading ranking system of its kind, places Smith as 6th in the world as of summer 2013.