For the first time, women represent nearly half the entering class of MBA students at the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis.

The class is 52 percent male and 48 percent female -- the highest percentage of women entering an MBA program at the nation's 50 top-ranked graduate business schools this year. Of the 124 entering and returning students enrolled in the full-time program, 47 percent are women.

The gain in the proportion of women beginning their MBA at UC Davis comes as business schools across the country are struggling to attract more females into MBA programs. The percentage of women enrolled in most two-year MBA programs has remained flat at about 30 percent since the mid-1990s. For some schools, the figures significantly decreased in the last year.

At the UC Davis management school, the trend has been in the opposite direction. Women are increasingly enrolling in the UC Davis MBA program -- whether they're attracted by the small class sizes, the high caliber of the program, quality of life, or the school's prime location in Northern California near San Francisco, Silicon Valley and the state capital. The number of women who enrolled in the MBA program increased 4 percent this fall and has climbed 11 percent since 2000.

At the same time, the quality of UC Davis MBA students continues to improve, and the program received a record number of applications this year. The management school admitted 24 percent of 546 applicants to the full-time MBA program.

The incoming class's average Graduate Management Admissions Test score rose from 662 last year to 669 this year, one of the highest averages among top-ranked business schools. The average undergraduate grade point average remained at 3.3 as did the average of five years of work experience.

Don Blodger, the school's assistant dean of admissions and student services, said applications from women have steadily increased over the past several years, ranging from 40 percent to 48 percent of the applicant pool. "We are fortunate to have so many high-quality applications from females," he said, noting the school does not admit students on the basis of gender.

The number of women in class seems to benefit all involved. "It makes earning an MBA a more well-rounded experience for both genders," said Associate Professor Kim Elsbach, who teaches a course on negotiation in the workplace.

"Most students who pursue an MBA have a competitive streak," she said. "That includes the women. In fact, in my time at the Graduate School of Management, I've found that some of the toughest negotiators in my classes are women.

"Having more women in our classrooms makes this possible," Elsbach added. "Women feel comfortable being competitive negotiators because they don't feel singled out. It also helps the men in class to gain a comfort level in negotiating with women."

For first-year student Wendy Forester, the UC Davis management school is a perfect fit. "Several main factors influenced my decision to come to UC Davis," she explained. "It is ranked among the top 50 business schools in the country, it is located in one of the most beautiful areas of the country and, as a smaller school, has more opportunity for interaction with faculty members and other students."