QS Global Master’s Degree Rankings: HEC Paris & MIT Top The Lists

HEC Paris student shot. Courtesy photo

Want to get a jumpstart on your career? You don’t have to wait for an MBA.

Right out of college, you can enter a business-related master’s degree program. Those ‘general management’ skills can wait. In a year, you can gain those deep technical skills that make your resume stand out – and fast-track you to the field you love.

In the Business Master’s arena, there are two dominant players: HEC Paris and MIT. That was the finding from the QS Business Master’s Rankings 2027, which were released on September 16. Out of five specializations, HEC Paris earned the top spot across three: Management, Finance, and Marketing. MIT’s Sloan School of Management posted the highest score in Business Analytics. At the same time, the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics – which is technically part of the MIT Center for Engineering – rounds out the list as the top Master’s program in Supply Chain Management.

Overall, the QS Master’s Rankings are a truly European affair. ESSEC Business School ranked in the Top 10 in all five specializations, with HEC Paris (4), Imperial Business School (3), and London Business School (3) following suit. Looking at the Top 10 across the five specializations, European business schools accounted for 33 of the 50 spots. In fact, MIT is the only American business school to rank among the Top 10 in more than two specializations.

THE METHODOLOGY

To produce the Master’s Rankings, QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) deploys the similar methodology as the Global MBA Ranking. Based on five lenses, it uses a slightly different weighting system depending on the specialization.

MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, SUPPLY CHAIN
Employability – 35%
Alumni Outcomes – 15%
Value for Money – 20%
Thought Leadership – 20%
Class & Faculty Diversity – 10%

FINANCE AND BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Employability – 30%
Alumni Outcomes – 20%
Value for Money – 20%
Thought Leadership – 20%
Class & Faculty Diversity – 10%

The lenses are comprised of the following data:

QS Quacquarelli Symonds Logo

Employability: QS surveys employers to measure their perceptions each school’s quality, impact, and reputation. Employability also factors in employment rates within six months of graduation.

Alumni Outcomes: In this lens, QS cross-references a database of leading c-suite executives and board members at the world’s top companies against Master’s alumni rolls. In the process, QS gauges the impact of graduates on the larger business ecosystem – a reflection on the curriculum and resources of each business school.

Value for Money: This data is calculated using a 10-Year ROI and Payback Month. The former looks at variables like foregone pay, tuition, and cost of living against pre- and post-graduation pay (with loans and scholarships excluded from the formula). The latter examines the time needed to pay back the cost (with a shorter payback time producing a higher score).

Thought Leadership: The majority of the weight is based on a survey of business school academics, who list the institutions they believe to be the best in particular disciplines. The dimension also mixes in research quality and scope, along with the percentage of faculty with Ph.Ds.

Class and Faculty Diversity: This dimension examines two tracks: percentage of female faculty and students and the percentage of international faculty and students.

Next Page: Rankings analysis for each specialization.

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