For the fourth consecutive year, DePaul University's part-time MBA program has been ranked among the top 10 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of graduate business school programs.

DePaul is tied for 7th nationally in the 1998 rankings, up from 8th place last year. The rankings are based on an extensive annual survey of business school deans and MBA program directors who rank the programs on a variety of criteria. The rankings will be available on-line on Feb. 20 and in the magazine's March edition and its "America's Best Graduate Schools" guide Feb. 23.

Joining DePaul on the list is the University of Chicago (2nd) and Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Business (3rd), repeat rankings from last year's list. Chicago is the only metropolitan area with three business schools listed in the top ten.

"DePaul has been in the top 10 every year since U.S. News began ranking part-time MBA programs," said Daniel Koys, associate dean of DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. "The consistently high ranking recognizes DePaul's success in offering working professionals a high-quality, relevant and innovative program of graduate business study."

An increased focus on entrepreneurship and global business are among the strengths of DePaul's part-time MBA, Koys said.

DePaul began offering entrepreneurship courses in 1982 and currently maintains the largest number of graduate entrepreneurship classes in the country. The entrepreneurship program has been chosen as one of the top 25 business school programs for entrepreneurs in the country by SUCCESS! Magazine for four consecutive years.

DePaul's Richard H. Driehaus Center for International Business coordinates a variety of opportunities for international business study for graduate and undergraduate business students. Faculty and students have participated in business seminars in Mexico, Thailand, China and Europe. Most of Kellstadt's faculty have experience in international business education.

The emphasis on global business -- a trend in business school curricula -- is also evident in DePaul's other MBA programs. Kellstadt offers a full-time, 18-month MBA program in International Marketing and Finance (MBA/IMF) which attracts top American and international students. They study with faculty members and international business leaders and gain hands-on experience in 10-week internships at multinational businesses in the United States and abroad. In November, the MBA/IMF program was one of 40 international business programs featured in the International Herald-Tribune's Business School Guide.

DePaul faculty members also conduct an MBA program in Hong Kong for employees of the International Bank of Asia, the first in-house MBA program for bank professionals in that city.

DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business is the fifth largest graduate business program in the nation with an enrollment of approximately 2,500. About 2,100 of these students are enrolled in the part-time MBA program, which is one of seven master's degrees offered by Kellstadt.

This latest ranking is one of several honors DePaul has earned this year. Last August, the university was chosen to join an elite group of seven schools cited by TIME magazine and The Princeton Review for making access to education a top priority. The honor was recognized in the 1998 edition of "The Best College for You."

Here is U.S. News & World Report's 1998 top 10 listing of part-time graduate business programs:

1. New York University (Stern)

2. University of Chicago

3. Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL)

4. Gerogia State University

5. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor

6. University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson)

7. DePaul University (Kellstadt) (IL)

7. University of California--Berkeley (Haas)

(TIE)

9. Babson College (MA)

9. University of Southern California

(TIE)