The Iowa State University College of Business and the University of Iowa Tippie School of Management both placed in the top five in job placement for Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) graduates.

According to a U.S. News and World Report survey, Iowa State found jobs for 96.3 percent of 2010 graduates within three months of graduation, the third-highest rate among the 141 business programs that provided information for the survey. The University of Iowa placed 94.7 percent of graduates.

The national average for the surveyed schools was 73 percent.

“It’s something that we’ve done consistently well for at least a few years now,” said Mark Peterson, director of M.B.A./graduate business career services at Iowa State.

He said Iowa State makes a point to work closely with key companies around the region, including Principal Financial Group Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Sogeti USA LLC and Aviva USA.

Peterson said that though the last few years have been called “the worst M.B.A. job market ever” by some, Iowa State has been helped by having a high proportion of graduates in the areas of supply chain management – which is a market typically half of the university’s graduates go into – and information systems.

Abilene Christian University placed the most graduates with 97.1 percent, and Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business placed second with 96.8 percent. In all, 16 schools surveyed reported that at least 90 percent of graduates found employment within three months.