Wharton Returns To A Familiar Place In The 2022 Financial Times MBA Ranking

The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business suffered the biggest decline of any MBA program, a loss of 33 places to rank 85th from 52nd last year.

THE FT 100 REPRESENT THE TOP 4% OF MBA PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE

Inevitably, just to land on the FT ranking is cause for celebration. After all, the 100 ranked MBA programs are effectively in the top 4% of the more than 2,500 MBA programs offered worldwide.  So the newcomers to the ranking, no matter what numerical rank they achieve, are noteworthy. Among them, Peking University bursted in at a rank of 42nd. The world’s oldest business school, ESCP Business School in Paris, is another new entry at 52nd. MIP Politecnico di Milano, with a rank of 91st, made the Top 100 for the first time.

Still, for the vast majority of schools, this year’s FT list will prove something of a disappointment due to the the large number of ranking declines. That is especially true for the schools that experienced a plunge in their ratings (see table below for the double-digit falloffs).

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY GAINED THE MOST GROUND YEAR-OVER-YEAR

By contrast, just seven business schools, were able to post double-digit improvements this year. Led by Lancaster University Management School in the United Kingdom, which advanced 20 places to rank 76th best, they included four U.S. MBA programs. Ohio State University's MBA program rose 19 spots to rank 37th best in the world, up from 56th last year; Rutgers Business School in New Jersey gained 17 spots to finish with a rank of 69th, up from 86th last year; the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business improved by 15 to finish 54th from 69th in 2021, and the University of Rochester's Simon Business School advanced a dozen places to finish in the global Top 50 with a rank of 48th.

Imperial College Business School in London registered a ten-place gain to rank 34th and perhaps more importantly among the European Top Ten. "The career success of our students plays a big part in these results," says Vice Dean of Education Leila Guerra. "Companies are looking for MBAs with new leadership skills, proficient at managing disruption, driving technological innovations and connecting business to societal impact. This result is a reflection of the fantastic profile of our students, who indeed offer the skills companies demand. I am proud of our top 10 position in the world for environmental, societal and governance, which furthers our commitment to be the leading business school for sustainable development."

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