The Global MBA Rankings highlight the best MBA programmes across the world. Data was collected using three surveys; the QS Global Employer Survey, the QS Global Academic Survey and a survey completed by the business schools themselves. The survey completed by schools covered quantitative indicators such as the salary of graduates, class profile etc.

To be included in the Global MBA Rankings, the programme must be taught mainly on-campus (i.e. not distance-learning), be taught full-time (or be full-time equivalent) and have an average class size of at least 15 students. All schools must be accredited by either AACSB, AMBA, EFMD (EQUIS). A total of 13 criteria form the basis of five key indicators that programs were ranked on:

EMPLOYABILITY (40%)

QS Global Employer Survey (35%) 

The backbone of the rankings is the QS Global Employer Survey, which asks employers to select the schools that they prefer to hire from. The Survey has now been running over 20 years. Schools have the option to contribute to the survey by nominating up to 400 employers that recruit their graduates. More recent responses have been given the greatest weight in this ranking. Employers across all sectors and industries take part in the survey, and include Facebook, Google, Uber, Wells Fargo, Bank of America etc. 

Employment Rate (5%)

The total score for this indicator considers the employment rate for students, three months post-graduation, based on MBACSEA standards.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ALUMNI OUTCOMES (15%)

Alumni Outcomes (10%)

The Alumni Outcomes Index looks at the schools associated with over 50,000 CEOs, executives and board members at the biggest companies in the world including Apple, Amazon, UBS, IBM, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, ExxonMobil, AT&T, PepsiCo. Schools do not directly provide QS information on their alumni. QS collects it from publicly available sources and validates. Schools can suggest to the QS Intelligence Unit possible lists of successful companies/alumni in order to enhance the quality of the survey.

Entrepreneurship (5%)

This measure is included in the ranking to reflect a growing trend of students interested in setting up their own companies post-graduation. Schools self report this figure based on MBACSEA standards.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (20%)

10 Year ROI (15%)

QS looked at a 10-year return on investment, mapping average post-MBA salaries against average salaries before enrolment, taking into account forgone salary as well as tuition and cost of living. Salary increases are factored into both pre and post-MBA salary, with the latter increasing at a higher rate, as it would be expected. Ranking also takes into account the percentage of graduates accepting employment within three months of finishing their studies.

Payback Month (5%)

QS looks at the time it takes to pay back the cost.  The shorter the payback month the better score the school receives.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (15%)

QS Academic Reputation  (10%)

This metric gives QS an accurate impression of the reputation of an MBA programme and is based on university and business school nominations of academics from around the world. Academics name the institutions which they believe are the strongest in their subject area. The survey has grown to become the world’s largest surveys of academic opinion, and, in terms of size and scope, is an unparalleled means of measuring sentiment in the academic community. 

Research Impact (2.5%)

Elsevier’s Scopus database is used to assess the research intensity of schools.

Percentage of faculty with PhD (2.5%)

The percentage of the faculty within the business school with a doctoral degree. 

CLASS & FACULTY DIVERSITY (10%)

To give a clear representation of diversity within a programme QS looked at the percentage of female students and faculty members, as well as at the percentage of international faculty overall at the business school, and the international mix of students on the MBA programme.