Students enrolled in Penn State’s online MBA scored in the top 2 percent on the most recent Educational Testing Service (ETS) Master of Business Administration Major Field Test, a comprehensive national assessment for program evaluation.

Forty-six students in the fall 2010 cohort of the intercollege MBA (iMBA), which is delivered through Penn State’s World Campus, collectively scored in the 98th percentile in 2012. A total of 260 institutions administered this test to more than 24,766 students nationwide. iMBA students’ scores in the test categories are: Management, 99th percentile; Marketing, 97th percentile; Finance, 96th percentile; Accounting, 96th percentile; and Strategic Integration, 97th percentile.

“Our students regularly achieve exceptional scores on this national test, because of the emphasis we place on a holistic understanding of business,” said iMBA Program Chair Ashutosh Deshmukh. “Through integrated content, teamwork and applied learning in the classroom and during two, one-week residencies, students gain the knowledge and skills for success in business.”

Before completing their degree, iMBA students take the MBA Major Field Test, which is administered by ETS — the same company that creates the SAT, GRE and AP exams. The MBA Major Field Test consists of 124 multiple-choice questions, half of which are based on short case-study scenarios. Most of the questions require knowledge of specific information drawn from marketing, management, finance and managerial accounting, or a combination of these disciplines.

Penn State's online MBA degree is designed for professionals who have work experience in a wide variety of fields, including business, engineering, health care and technology, and seek to position themselves for growth in the global economic environment. The iMBA curriculum is well suited for people with either business or nonbusiness undergraduate degrees.