2011 Financial Times Ranking of the Best B-Schools

THE FINANCIAL TIMES DOES NOT MEASURE THE ACTUAL QUALITY OF INCOMING MBA STUDENTS IN ITS RANKING.

The methodology, moreover, does not include the three most important criteria to judge student quality: undergraduate grade point average, GMAT or GRE score, and finally pre-MBA compensation. U.S. schools tend to have significantly higher mean and median GMATs than non-U.S. schools so the lack of this measurement tends to diminish the ranking of U.S.-based institutions in the FT list.

Nonetheless, winners are understandably enthusiastic when the Financial Times highly recognizes a school. Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, Dean of London Business School, said in a statement: “We are very proud to have retained the top spot. This is a great tribute to everyone associated with the School who has helped us maintain our quality.”

London said the rankings highlight the global nature of its school, with specific reference to the high proportion of international students (92 percent) and faculty (85 percent). The school reported an employment rate of 91 percent for MBA graduates within three months of graduating in 2010, a ten percentage point increase on the 2009 figures. London also took the second spot for aims achieved, highlighting that the school delivered on the students’ objectives.

2011: THE TOP 50 FULL-TIME MBA PROGRAMS ACCORDING TO THE FINANCIAL TIMES

School & FT Rank P&Q BW Forbes News Econ
1. London Business School 1 5 1 NR 19
1. Pennsylvania (Wharton) 4 3 5 5 8
3. Harvard Business School 1 2 3 1 4
4. INSEAD 2 1 1 NR 23
4. Stanford 2 5 1 1 7
6. Hong Kong UST 23 NR NR NR 52
7. Columbia 5 9 6 9 12
8. IE Business School 5 3 3 NR 22
9. MIT (Sloan) 8 10 14 3 13
9. IESE 4 12 3 NR 5
11. Indian Institute of Mgt. NR NR NR NR 85
12. Chicago (Booth) 3 1 4 5 1
13. Indian School of Business 33 NR NR NR NR
14. IMD 3 7 2 NR 6
15. New York (Stern) 12 18 17 9 14
15. Yale School of Mgt. 14 21 10 11 24
17. CEIBS 17 NR 4 NR 100
18. Dartmouth (Tuck) 6 14 2 7 2
18. HEC Paris 6 14 7 NR 9
20. Duke (Fuqua) 10 6 13 14 28
21. Esade Business School 7 4 8 NR 20
21. Northwestern (Kellogg) 7 4 8 4 16
23. Singapore School of Business NR NR NR NR NR
24. Michigan (Ross) 13 7 18 12 25
25. California-Berkeley (Haas) 9 8 12 7 3
26. Cambridge (Judge) 9 10 4 NR 30
27. Oxford (Said) 11 16 5 NR 71
28. SDA Bocconi 13 18 8 NR 65
29. Manchester Business School 12 17 2 NR 61
30. Cornell (Johnson) 15 13 7 18 33
31. UCLA (Anderson) 17 17 19 15 37
32. City University (Cass) 14 NR 6 NR 53
33. Nanyang Business School 27 NR NR NR 69
34. Cranfield School of Mgt. 8 13 9 NR 15
35. Australian School of Business 20 NR 9 NR NR
36. Rotterdam (Erasmus) 26 NR NR NR 57
37. Imperial College 40 NR NR NR NR
38. Emory (Goizueta) 20 22 22 27 36
38. Georgetown (McDonough) 23 33 31 24 50
40. Maryland (Smith) 36 42 29 45 NR
41. Lancaster Management School 16 NR 7 NR 89
41. Virginia (Darden) 11 11 9 13 11
41. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) 16 15 23 16 21
44. Rice (Jones) 27 29 47 39 41
44. Texas A&M (Mays) 29 30 24 33 NR
46. Toronto (Rotman) 21 8 NR NR NR
46. Western Ontario (Ivey) 22 6 NR NR NR
46. Illinois-Urbana-Champaign 45 46 63 42 NR
49. Texas-Austin (McCombs) 19 25 11 16 43
49. York (Schulich) 10 9 6 NR 10
51. Vanderbilt (Owen) 28 37 30 36 46
52. Rochester (Simon) 35 43 37 27 93
53. Melbourne Business School 32 NR NR NR 41
53. California at Irvine (Merage) 56 NR 58 36 NR
55. Durham Business School 39 NR NR NR 55
55. Vierick Leuven Gent 41 NR NR NR 47
57. McGill (Desautels) 15 11 11 NR NR
58. Warwick Business School 25 NR NR NR 34
59. Penn State (Smeal) 42 44 28 48 56
60. University of Cape Town GSB NR NR NR NR NR
61. Hult International 36 NR NR NR 27
62. North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 18 16 15 21 40
63. Wisconsin School of Business 30 34 35 27 54
64. IPADE Business School 28 NR 5 NR NR
64. Southern California (Marshall) 22 26 32 20 18
64. Iowa (Tippie) 48 NR 20 42 66
64. Arizona State (Carey) 46 49 56 27 NR
68. SP Jain Center of Mgt. NR NR NR NR NR
68. Boston University 37 38 61 31 42
68. Thunderbird School 53 45 NR 62 80
68. Birmingham Business School NR NR NR NR 68
72. Ohio State (Fisher) 40 32 39 21 NR
73. Indiana (Kelley) 21 19 25 23 35
74. Strathclyde Business School 31 NR NR NR 75
74. Purdue (Krannert) 38 41 45 36 90
74. Boston College (Carroll) 43 50 46 39 NR
77. INCAE Business School NR NR NR NR NR
78. Wake Forest (Babcock) 41 48 34 46 59
78. Univ. College Dublin (Smurfit) 38 NR NR NR 31
80. South Carolina (Moore) 62 NR 67 62 92
80. Notre Dame (Mendoza) 25 24 38 31 39
80. British Columbia (Sauder) 24 NR 10 NR 79
83. California-Davis 58 NR 68 42 60
84. EADA NR NR NR NR 96
84. Babson (Olin) 54 39 NR 54 NR
86. William & Mary (Mason) 50 47 49 75 NR
86. Washington (Foster) 32 31 40 33 32
88. Southern Methodist (Cox) 34 12 33 49 78
88. Edinburgh Business School 50 NR NR NR 75
90. Bradford School of Mgt. NR NR NR NR NR
91. Brigham Young (Marriott) 33 27 16 33 NR
92. Pepperdine (Graziadio) 78 NR 75 82 NR
93. Georgia (Terry) 47 36 50 59 87
94. Leeds University NR NR NR NR NR
94. Florida (Hough) 55 NR 54 39 99
96. Politeonico di Milano NR NR NR NR NR
97. Georgia Institute of Technology 39 23 44 26 NR
97. IAE Business School NR NR NR NR NR
99. Kaist College of Business NR NR NR NR NR
100. EM Lyon Business School 19 NR 11 NR 38

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SOURCE: THE FINANCIAL TIMES, OTHER SURVEYS

For its ranking, the Financial Times surveys alumni from the Class of 2007 to track both their progress in their jobs and their increase in compensation. The FT said that nearly 70 per cent of alumni who took out loans to fund their MBAs are still in debt more than three years after graduating. The poll showed that the total bill for an MBA averaged $132,600 three years ago, including living costs, interest on loans and loss of earnings while studying.

Of the 1,370 graduates who completed the FT poll, 63 per cent said they borrowed money to fund their studies. On average, they ended up indebted to an average of 54 per cent of the total cost of completing the degree. More than three years after graduation, 69 per cent of alumni who took on debt had yet to finish paying it off, and more than a quarter still owed 60 per cent or more of the original loan, the FT reported. Yet in spite of the high costs, most alumni felt the MBA had been a good value. Asked by the FT  to rate the worth of their degree from one to five, with five representing extremely valuable, the average score was 4.4. There was little variation among alumni, regardless of the cost of the program or debt levels, and 56 per cent gave their degree a rating of five, the FT reported.

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