Wharton regains status as best business school for MBAs, according to FT ranking
US institution tops global assessment that takes account of measures including the quality of academic research
Wharton has regained its position as the world’s leading provider of MBAs in 2024, according to the latest FT ranking of the top 100 global business schools.
The US school, based at the University of Pennsylvania, topped the assessment, which takes into account measures including value for money, alumni study aims achieved, gender and international diversity, the quality of academic research and school environmental policies, as well as salary and increases in pay. Schools’ participation is voluntary.
Wharton was followed by Insead in France, in second place, then Columbia in New York, SDA Bocconi in Milan and Iese in Barcelona.
MBA alumni are finding times tougher after graduation. In line with recent job cutbacks, including in banking and technology at a time of broader uncertainty in the global economy, graduate employment within three months of MBA completion across the ranked schools dipped to an average of 89 per cent, compared with 93 per cent the previous year.
The ranking also follows a year in which demand for business degrees has stagnated. The latest survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council in 2023 shows a drop of 5 per cent in applications for MBAs and a shift away from the full-time, in-person course and towards more flexible, part-time and online alternatives.
The Wharton School, led by Dean Erika James, is ranked top in the research category, measured by recent faculty publications in leading academic and practitioner journals, followed by the University of Chicago: Booth, Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School.
Wharton’s alumni reported the third-highest average weighted salaries at $245,772, adjusted for those working in different sectors and for international purchasing power parity, three years after completing their courses. Stanford alumni had the highest weighted income, at $250,650, with Harvard graduates just behind at $246,509, while those from Columbia averaged $232,760.
Just four of the top 20 business schools ranked by highest weighted alumni salaries were from outside the US, led by Insead, south of Paris. The others were Milan’s SDA Bocconi, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. (Financial Times)
