The University of Iowa Tippie School of Management once again has been named as one of the best business programs in the U.S. by Forbes magazine.

The UI landed at No. 20 among M.B.A. programs. According to the business publication’s biannual report, the ranking stands among the schools in which a degree “still pays off.

Every two years, Forbes reviews full-time M.B.A. programs based on return on investment. From 2011, the UI nudged up one spot from No. 21.

“Tippie has three career academies — marketing, finance, and strategic innovation — to help students build a career plan and network with professionals in the field,” Forbes wrote.

The publication outlined the UI’s notion of allowing business students to choose among five specialties.

It praised the Tippie School of Management program for exposing students to a number of out-of-state firms with the pairings of local, national, and international organizations.

In regards to the business Class of 2008, the average nationwide payback period stood at 3.7 years. Just a decade ago, that stood at 2.7 years, the Forbes report said.

M.B.A. graduates of the UI are listed as having a 3.4 year payback period, and students enter school earning a median salary of $46,000. Leaving the program, the median compensation nearly tripled to $118,000.

In its 2011 report, the UI accepted 69 — or 37 percent — of 307 applicants.

With students entering Stanford University’s Graduate College of Business with a median salary of $80,000, and accumulating $221,000 five years out of graduating, the school capped the list.

Stanford stands as the country’s most selective school, accepting only 7 percent of applicants for the Class of 2014.

With the release of the new rankings, the UI accepted 56 — or 42 percent — of its 245 applicants.

In the newly released report, Iowa lists its in-state tuition at $41,258; out-of-state tuition currently stands at $72,988, with an after-graduation employment rate after of 90 percent.

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business also made the cut, at No. 5, No. 10, and No. 19 respectively.

— by Quentin Misiag