Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business once again ranked among the nation's best MBA programs in a survey released yesterday by The Wall Street Journal. The ranking is the latest in a series of PR wins for the Oakland business school.

The Journal ranked Tepper No. 3 among national schools, behind Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan, and No. 3 among "international" schools, trailing Switzerland's International Institute for Management Development and ESADE in Spain.

CMU was No. 2 on the national list and did not make the international list last year.

The business school's ranking by the newspaper was its best showing of the year among national publications. But CMU also ranked among the nation's upper tier in a U.S. News & World Report (17th), BusinessWeek (15th) and Forbes magazine (eighth among part-time MBA programs and 16th among full-time programs)

The Journal's ranking comes from a survey of corporate recruiters, the people who hire the graduates, giving the results added heft. The international rankings are from schools that draw recruiters from four or more countries -- this is CMU's first year on that list.

"We know that our students make an impact in business and are glad to see that recognition extend to our corporate partners," said CMU business school dean Ken Dunn.

The rankings also help in the recruitment of prospective students, he added. "They bring visibility to the program and in some cases reflect distinct strengths," Dunn said.