Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business and Management

The HKUST School of Business & Management MBA: What You Need To Know

HKUST, as it is known, jumped onto the radar screen as one of the world’s best schools thanks to consistent top position in The Financial Times’ rankings. As recently as 2021, the school’s full-time MBA program was ranked 22nd among 100 by the FT. 14 years in a row, the HKUST MBA Program has been ranked world’s Top 25.

The full-time MBA offers courses across 5 key business focuses: Consulting and Strategic Management, Finance, General Management, Business Technology and Analytics, and Marketing. Students can choose courses across different focus, which offers great flexibility for professional development.

The program puts a strong focus on the uprising technology for business through its carefully designed Business Technology and Analytics Tracks. This track focuses on bridging the two key elements of nowadays business – business and technology. Through gradual upskilling approach, MBA students start with accelerator courses ‘Introduction to Python Programming’ and ‘Data Analysis’ during immersion. During the MBA, both theoretical and practical business technology courses are available. Courses such as ‘Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Their Business Applications’, ‘Equity Investment with Machine Learning’, and ‘Transforming Business and Artificial Intelligence’, which is co-taught with Microsoft are open.

HKUST gives students the option of completing its full-time MBA program in either 12 or 16 months. The shorter version is generally best for company-sponsored students and those who receive full-time job offers during the first half of the MBA program. They can fully focus on their studies without taking the summer internship option.

The 16-month program, on the other hand, is meant for students who want to switch careers and want to develop a global perspective. It includes an optional internship in the summer and an exchange opportunity at one of HKUST’s business school partners outside Hong Kong for one semester in the second year.

This is a relatively small full-time program, with a typical intake size of 80-90 students. Around 90% of students are from outside of Hong Kong, and classes typically include students from diverse nationalities.

MBAs from HKUST tend to stay in Asia–largely because they started in Asia–mainly in Hong Kong but also in mainland China and other Asian countries. In fact, roughly half of the class land jobs in Hong Kong with the rest of them. The top three post-MBA industries are Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.

HKUST International MBA Ranking