Despite the lagging economy, 2008 graduates of Fordham University’s College of Business Administration (CBA) fared quite well in their hunt for first jobs, according to an annual survey.
The 2008 CBA exit survey, which was completed by 65 percent of the graduates, shows that the mean starting salary among respondents rose for the fourth consecutive year, to $56,800. The mean salary was $55,000 among 2007 graduates and $53,173 among 2006 graduates.
Results also show that CBA graduates, who have an established history of placement in accounting firms, continue to muscle their way into New York City’s top finance companies. Members of the Class of 2008 were hired in large numbers by the Big Four accounting firms—Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG.
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Graduates also found homes at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs—four major global financial services and investment banking firms. Several of the new jobholders indicated that they had received signing bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
“I was very pleased with the achievements of the Class of 2008 on many fronts, including placement,” said Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean of CBA. “Employers continue to recognize the value of a strong liberal arts foundation layered with a excellent global business curriculum that is delivered in New York City. We graduate a very distinct type of student who really adds value to the workplace.”
The robust earning power of graduates comes amid a continued surge in CBA’s rankings. The college jumped seven places in BusinessWeek magazine’s most-recent rating of undergraduate programs, to 27 nationally. The rankings are based partially on surveys of business students and a poll of corporate recruiters.
This year’s climb in the rankings is due in part to Fordham’s jump from 42 to 13 on the recruiter survey. The magazine also looks at starting salaries; how many undergraduates find their way to top MBA programs; and several measures of academic quality, including faculty-student ratios and average SAT scores. The mean SAT score of incoming CBA freshmen has risen 51 points since 2004, to 1231.
Rapaccioli also noted that 2008 CBA graduates had much success in obtaining summer internships, both locally and abroad. Graduating seniors spent their summers at local boutique hedge fund firms, while others landed overseas internships at prestigious firms, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers in Brazil, Ogilvy in China and KPMG in Australia.
