| | IMD has been ranked the
first in the world in
the Economist
Intelligence Unit's
latest survey of
full-time MBA
programmes. It is the
first time the Swiss
school has topped the
annual ranking. IMD took
the number one slot from
the University of
Chicago's Graduate
School of Business,
which drops to third,
while Spanish school
IESE claims second
place. Stanford and
Dartmouth College's Tuck
School of Business round
off the top five. The
highest ranked Asian
school was Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology in 11th.
For the list of the
Top 100 Full-time MBA
Programmes
click here.
IMD is one of the
most international
business schools in the
world – 97% of its
students come from
abroad, with around half
of those from outside of
Europe. One of the
reasons for the school's
triumph has been the
success of its careers
placement service. IMD
students can expect to
earn a basic salary of
$130,000 a year on their
graduation – compared
with pre-MBA salaries of
$79,000.
Indeed, this year was
a bumper year all round
for MBA salaries.
Columbia in New York, | |
|
| | for example, reported an
average leaving salary
of $107,000, while
London Business School's
graduates can expect
$120,000 a year. But
with the banking crisis
leading to job losses in
financial centres around
the world, this might be
the best it gets for
business school
graduates for some time.
Bill Ridgers, editor
of Which MBA?,
commented: "The
financial services
industry has for some
time competed with
consultancies to be the
leading recruiter of MBA
graduates, offering huge
salaries along the way.
But with recent
failures, a lot of
talented bankers are
suddenly out of a job.
It is likely that
current students are
likely to find
themselves graduating
into a buyers' market
and salaries will start
to reflect this."
When surveyed,
students consistently
tell us that the most
important reason they
chose to take an MBA was
in order to open new
career opportunities.
Given the emphasis that
full-time students put
on schools’ careers
services it is no
surprise to find that
this is one of the
strong points of most of
the top schools in the
ranking. It is perhaps
the area that receives
the most vocal criticism | |
| |
| | older with more work
experience. However,
despite a tough economic
climate, many US schools
have seen an increase in
the salaries of their
graduates. Twelve
schools now boast
average salaries over
$100,000, with Stanford
leading North America at
$112,000.
But this is still
well behind Europe’s
tally of 21 schools. At
IMD, remember, graduates
can expect to earn a
basic salary of
$130,000. And even at
some lower-ranking
European schools, such
as Strathclyde or
Audencia, students can
expect to out-earn their
more prestigious
counterparts at Stanford
or Harvard.
For the list of the
Top 10 Programmes by
Category
click here.
European schools also
do well in the
networking stakes, often
because their alumni are
more international. IE,
for example, has alumni
associations in 49
countries. Even
relatively young
European schools, such
as Cambridge, already
have an impressive reach
across the world. In
contrast, many US
schools’ alumni have yet
to open a single
overseas branch.
What the US schools
are generally much | |
|
| | better at, though, is
keeping their alumni
active once they have
left the programme. In
this they are helped to
some extent by having
produced more MBAs each
year for a longer time,
meaning they have a
bigger alumni base. But
it is still an
impressive achievement
to keep so many
involved. Wharton, for
example has over 80,000
active MBA alumni and
Stern (New York) has
over 50,000.
Over the past 20
years, the Economist
Intelligence Unit has
regularly surveyed MBA
students about why they
take an MBA. Four
reasons consistently
emerge:
to open new
career opportunities
and/or further current
career;
personal
development and
educational experience;
to increase
salary;
the potential to
network.
These factors are the
basis for the ranking.
The Economist
Intelligence Unit ranks
full-time MBA programmes
on their ability to
deliver these elements
to students. It weights
each element according
to the average
importance given to it
by students surveyed
over the past five
years. | |
|
| | from students when it
does not meet their high
expectations, but when
managed well it can set
a school apart. At IMD,
for example, 99% of
students were in a job
within three months of
graduating, a fact that
no doubt helped the
careers service receive
a very high rating from
students. It was a
similar story at IESE
and Chicago, both of
which score highly in
the ‘open new career
opportunities’ category.
One reason that the
top-rated schools have
impressive careers
statistics is that they
are well resourced.
However, it is also true
that students from the
schools with the highest
academic standard will
automatically draw the
attention of the best
employers. What sets the
top-rated schools apart
is that they do not rely
merely on their
reputation to place
students, but couple
this with a tireless
quest to bring the best
employers to the school.
Bringing together the
top companies and the
brightest students
inevitably leads to some
impressive salaries.
European schools have
recently had the upper
hand when it comes to
the salaries of their
graduates. This is
partly because their
students are generally | |
|
Previous Page 
