European Business Schools Lead Diversity, Plus Other Trends

European business schools are more diverse than schools in other regions, and European MBA grads tend to leave Europe in search of higher salaries.

Those are some of the top findings from business education data specialists at Financial Times. Among other findings? Students from the Asia-Pacific region make up the largest percentage of foreign students at European business schools and most alumni of European business schools say their top reasons for pursuing an MBA include management development, better earnings, and working overseas.

STUDENTS WHO MOVE AFTER GRADUATING EARN HIGHER AVERAGE SALARIES

One of the main findings from FT is around how moving affects salary growth. FT found that MBA and EMBA alumni who study in Europe then move regions after graduating tend to earn higher average salaries than those who stay on.

“This is especially true for EMBA graduates, with alumni who studied in Europe then moved regions earning, on average, $80,000 more than those who stayed on,” according to FT. “MiM alumni who studied in Europe have similar salaries wherever they now work.”

JUMPING JOBS DOES NOT EQUAL HIGHER SALARY

FT also found that alumni tend to have lower average salaries when they have changed employers multiple times in the three years since completing their MBA. That holds true for everyone, except EMBA grads in Europe.

“Alumni who changed employers three or more times saw larger increases after graduating, despite still having the lowest average salaries,” according to FT.

EUROPEAN B-SCHOOLS LEAD IN DIVERSITY

Diversity is a large selling point for many European business schools. FT found that MBAs in Europe have more international students than schools in other regions.

Oxford University’s Saïd Business School is one of the European B-schools leading the charge in diversity. The B-school has among the highest percentages of women of any non-U.S. MBA program since 2019. This year, Saïd Business School announced near-parity in its newest MBA class.

“Saïd’s focus on diversity is one of the main reasons I chose Oxford,” Zoe Woods, a current Oxford 1+1 MBA student and Forté fellow, tells P&Q. “Gender is of course just one aspect of diversity, but I think Saïd’s focus on gender is indicative of a broader commitment to bring diverse voices into the classroom — and you can really feel that in our cohort.”

For additional data and tables, click on the Financial Times link below. 

Sources: Financial Times, P&Q

Next Page: Alumni reflect on their MBA experience.

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