Boston University’s Executive MBA program was ranked 28th in the world in the Financial Times third annual special report of the top 75 programs, according to the Oct. 20 article.

BU’s program beat out programs at colleges including Rice University, Notre Dame University, Georgia State University and the University of Miami.

After collecting information about the programs through questionnaires distributed to the program’s graduates and their schools, the Financial Times ranks them based on diversity, international experience, publication and graduates’ career progression, according to the article.

Audrey Haas, the Executive MBA program director, said the improved ranking demonstrates the success and satisfaction of its graduates.

The Executive MBA program is for managers currently working in the field, and BU’s program lasts only 17 months. Participants, who average 37 years of age with 14 years of professional experience, meet Fridays and Saturdays every other week. The participants also spend three weeks studying on campus every day and one week at an off-campus site.

Haas said she is glad the program fared well in the standings and said it will boost both the School of Management and BU’s reputations.

‘From a product standpoint, we are delighted that our customers in this case, the students are so happy with the product we’re providing,’ she said.

BU also ranked in the top 10 for the ‘Top Salaries’ and ‘Top Salaries in Finance’ categories for graduates. Overall, the program moved up two places since last year as the number of programs ranked increased.

‘An improved ranking will help graduates of the program who are looking for promotions and career advancements,’ Haas said. ‘It speaks to the quality of the experience they had here at BU.’

Debbie White, associate director of the Executive MBA program, said the program did not change anything in particular to improve the ranking.

Susan Samuelson, faculty director of the program, attributed much of the program’s success to Haas.

‘She’s without peer as a program director,’ Samuelson said. ‘She keeps all the trains running, but she also has a long term vision.’

Samuelson said the ranking validates the excellent features of the BU program, including its integration of different aspects of business, adding the ranking also gives the program more recognition, which will improve the degree’s value.

‘One thing we have going for us is that being the top program in the Northeast, we have our pick of top students,’ she said. ‘We have a very impressive student body.’

In turn, Samuelson said talented students attract senior faculty all full-time SMG faculty.

Haas said the prestige of the program’s participants, who are mostly high-ranking executives from around the Boston area, make it an important program for SMG.

A new class begins the program every January, and the program has been running for 17 years. Each class has between 45 and 60 students, according to Samuelson.

The cost for the 17th Executive MBA class beginning next semester is $68,500, according to the program’s website.