Revealed: Top 10 MBA Programmes in the World

An MBA programme can be a great tool to help professionals get promoted or even provide them with the training they need to launch their own start-ups. However, not all accredited MBA programmes carry the same weight; employers tend to favor graduates who possess degrees from the world’s most prestigious universities.

So which B-school offers the best course for MBA aspirants?

Gulf Business uses data from university ranking body QS to find out the current top 10 business schools in the world.

The ranking is based on the employer index, which highlights universities that international employers prefer to hire from.

1. Harvard Business School

Location: USA
Employer Index: 100

Harvard’s MBA programme earned the top spot as all employers who were surveyed were willing to hire an MBA graduate from Harvard Business School. Additionally, graduates from the school earned the second highest salaries and bonuses in North America, adding up to $146,216 on average.

2. Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Location: USA
Employer Index: 100

Stanford, famous for its entrepreneurial spirit and tech start-ups, is the most selective in the world with an acceptance rate of seven per cent. Stanford’s employment index matched Harvard’s, although pass-outs from the university earned around $10,000 more than their counterparts at Harvard. Most graduates end up going to consulting firms or tech giants such as Google and Microsoft.

3. INSEAD – France

Location: France
Employer Index: 100

Over 93 per cent of the school’s students hail from an international background, enabling them to gain a more global perspective on the business world. Graduates on average earned $149,000 annually after graduating from the French school.

4. London Business School

Location: UK
Employer Index: 100

LBS school enjoys a high profile amongst MBA employers, with up to 96 per cent of the students gaining employment within three months of their graduation. However, the tuition costs are twice as much when compared to INSEAD over the course period.

5. Wharton Business School

Location: USA
Employer Index: 99.9

Founded in 1881, Wharton is one of the oldest business schools in the world and it is the second biggest in the US. It has much fewer international students than its European counterparts at 35 per cent, but that doesn’t mean it’s all US centric. It has over 92,000 alumni working in 150 countries and in 2013, 20 per cent of its students went to work outside the US –particularly in Asia.

6. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Location: USA
Employer Index: 99.6

Six faculty members and alumnus from the school have won the Nobel Prize in economics since 1990. Students at the US institution earned on average $142,758 per year with most graduates going to consulting and financial firms.

7. The Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Location: USA
Employer Index: 99.6

Founded in 1908 in downtown Chicago as a part-time evening programme, the school was chartered to educate business leaders with good moral character. The university encourages philanthropy and entrepreneurship, and over 80 per cent of incoming students participate in the Kellogg Worldwide Experiences and Service Trips programme, which take them to places like Alaska, Malaysia and Turkey.

8. IE Business School

Location: Spain
Employer Index: 99.6

Unlike their US-based peers who opt for consulting and finance jobs, graduates from the Spanish school go onto to do a wide variety of jobs with 27 per cent taking on a marketing/sales position, 15 per cent going into general management and 21 per cent going into consulting.

9.Oxford University, Said Business School

Location: UK
Employer Index: 99.3

Fully integrated into the Oxford University, Said Business School’s students are given exposure to subjects such as anthropology, economics, international relations, law, politics and psychology by expert professors. Students on average, earn $106,000 annually after graduation with 64 per cent getting their job offers soon after completing the course.

10. Columbia Business School, Columbia University

Location: USA
Employer Index: 98.4

Over 94 per cent of the students at the New York based university gained employment within three months of graduation, earning on average $129,000 annually.