The 13th edition of the FT Masters in Finance rankings list both pre-experience programmes and post-experience degrees. The FT defines pre-experience programmes as those aimed at students with little or no professional experience, while post-experience programmes require participants to have worked in finance.

Programmes must meet strict criteria to be eligible. They must be full-time, cohort-based and have a minimum of 25 graduates who completed their programme three years ago. Finally, the schools must be accredited by either AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) or Equis (EFMD Quality Improvement System). The FT considers those with Swiss Finance Institute accreditation but, from next year, this will no longer be considered.

Programmes must meet strict criteria to be eligible for the ranking. For example, they must be full-time, cohort-based and have a minimum of 30 graduates who completed the course three years ago. Also, schools must be accredited by either AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) or Equis (EFMD Quality Improvement System). 

The rankings are based on information collected in two separate surveys. The first is of the business schools and the second of alumni who completed their degrees in 2021.

There are 18 different categories in the pre-experience ranking, and alumni responses inform eight categories that together constitute 58 per cent of the total weight. The other 10 categories are calculated from the school data and account for the remaining 42 per cent. The post-experience table has 19 categories, and alumni responses inform eight criteria that make up 57 per cent of the total weight. The remaining 11 categories are taken from the school data and account for 43 per cent. There is a new category called sector diversity rank, which looks at the range of employment sectors candidates have worked in before starting their programme.

Weights for the ranking criteria are shown below in brackets - (pre-experience) [post-experience]:

Salary today US$ (16%) [16%] - average alumni salary three years after completion, US$ purchasing power parity (PPP) equivalent. 

Salary percentage increase (10%) [16%] - for pre-experience alumni, this is the average difference in their salary between completion and today, but for post-experience alumni, the difference is from before the masters to now. 

Value for money rank (6%) [4%] - calculated according to alumni salaries today, course length, tuition fees and other costs. 

Career progress rank (6%) [5%] - calculated according to changes in the level of seniority and the size of the company/organisation alumni are working for between completion and now. 

Aims achieved (5%) [3%] - the extent to which alumni considered they fulfilled their study goals. 

Alumni network rank (3%) [3%] - effectiveness of the alumni network for career opportunities, starting companies, gaining new ideas, recruiting staff and giving event information (such as career-related talks), as rated by alumni. 

Careers service rank (5%) [3%] - effectiveness of the school careers service for career counselling, personal development, networking events, internship search and recruitment, as rated by alumni.

Employed at three months (5%) [3%] - percentage of the most recent completing class that found employment within three months of finishing their programme. The figure in brackets is the percentage of the class for which the school was able to provide data. Not all schools have employment data for their entire cohort. 

Female faculty (5%) [5%] - percentage of full-time female faculty in the business school. 

Female students (5%) [5%] - percentage of female students on the masters. 

Women on board (1%) [1%] - percentage of women on the school advisory board. 

International faculty (5%) [5%] - calculated according to full-time faculty diversity by citizenship and the percentage whose citizenship differs from their country of employment (published figure). 

International students (5%) [5%] - calculated according to the diversity of current students by citizenship and the percentage whose citizenship differs from their country of study. 

International board (1%) [1%] - percentage of the board whose citizenship differs from the school’s home country. 

International work mobility rank (7%) [7%] - based on alumni citizenship and the countries where they worked before their masters, on completion and three years after completion.

International course experience rank (6%) [6%] - calculated according to whether the most recent completing masters class carried out exchanges and internships, lasting at least a month, in countries other than where the school is based. In-person, virtual and hybrid experiences are included.

Faculty with doctorates (5%) [5%] - percentage of full-time faculty with doctoral degrees. 

Carbon footprint rank (4%) [4%] - calculated using the net zero target year for carbon emissions set by the university and/or school, and the existence of a publicly available carbon emissions audit report since 2019. Extra credit is given to schools with an audit report that includes Scope 3 emissions (those not controlled directly by the school but which occur externally in its value chain as a result of its activities).

Sector diversity rank (N/a) [3%] - calculated according to the diversity of sectors the students worked in at the time of admission, before the masters (post-experience only).