M.B.A. students from top-ranked schools are increasingly naming technology firms as their most-desired employers, according to a new survey, recalling the fervor of a decade ago, when the dot-com boom attracted plenty of freshly minted business-school graduates.

Still, the top spot in the survey went to a consulting firm, according to employer-branding consultant Universum. When asked to pick up to five ideal employers out of a list of 170, about 29% of students named McKinsey & Co. and some 28% named Google Inc. Of the top 10, four were technology companies.

Such companies' popularity has risen over the past few years. For example, No. 9-ranked Amazon.com Inc., which was chosen by 10.6% of students, was selected by 6% of students in 2008.

An Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement that roles for M.B.A. students at the company include operations managers and financial analysts."We've hired hundreds of M.B.A. students over the past year and expect to hire hundreds more in the year ahead," she said.

Some employers said they have noticed increased competition for students. "Top talent is thinking about their rйsumй and about where they're going to be challenged and excited, which I think might explain some of the tech companies on the list," said Russ Hagey, world-wide chief talent officer for Bain & Co.

Last recruiting season, Bain hired more than 350 M.B.A. graduates, and the company expects to increase that amount this year, he said. The firm ranked third among the top 10 schools analyzed, up from fourth a year earlier.

Of course, student interest doesn't always line up with where they actually end up working, said Jessica Henry Rawson, director of employer development for the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. Though 38 out of 155 respondents from Booth named Google as one of their top-five employers, according to Universum, fewer than...