The Master of Business Administration program ranked 35th in the nation and 75th worldwide in a recent survey by the Financial Times.
This is the second time Auburn has made the list, last year ranking 40th nationwide and 84th internationally.
Auburn is one of four universities from the SEC to be included in the rankings.
"It reports to others the quality of your program," said Jackie DiPofi, director of the Small Business Development Center. "It's a major factor in marketing the program nationwide."
Daniel Gropper, associate dean of Auburn's MBA program, said he often meets members of respected universities from Asia, Europe and South America at conferences with other major business schools and that the importance of rankings is obvious.
"They know and recognize Auburn's name just from being in the rankings," Gropper said. "It helps Auburn build bridges and creates potential for future partnerships between universities."
Gropper said the rankings are mainly decided by surveying former graduate students on their measure of success with the program and how their careers have been affected by it.
Alumna Casey Zito, senior vice president and chief retail banking officer at the United Bank in Minette, said the program has definitely been beneficial for her, especially when she applied for her current position a few years ago.
"The MBA is what I think gave me the edge," Zito said. "It was a step up and helped me reach the next level of my career."
After the rankings were released, Zito said her accomplishments seemed greater because the program is nationally and globally recognized.
"I am extremely proud of Auburn," Zito said. "The people who put on the program are very near and dear to my heart."
Alumnus Robert Muller said the program helped him gain valuable insight into the business world.
Muller, gynecologist at a private practice in New Orleans, also acts as a quality insurance medical director and special interest group medical adviser to the FBI.
"I've been pretty much in the scientific world all of my life," Muller said. "I had no knowledge whatsoever of the business world."
Muller said being in the MBA program taught him many business-related skills that he now finds beneficial.
The program taught him how to deal with financial situations and how to run his business.
"I would never have been able to do all the things I do now and basically juggle three different careers without having this education behind me," Muller said.
What makes a good business school, Muller said, is its ability to meet the needs of its students and offer programs dedicated to those needs.
With the combination of online learning and campus visits, Auburn successfully caters to those needs, Muller said.
Gropper said he credits the program's overall success to its top-notch faculty members and excellent students.
"We basically started this program from scratch 10 years ago," Gropper said. "We're very pleased that we're getting this kind of international recognition."
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