2013/2014 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Unlocking the world s top 200 business schools according to MBA employers Nunzio Quacquarelli, MA Cambridge, MBA Wharton Danny Byrne, BA Oxford, MA University College London
www.topmba.com 3 Introduction The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report originated in the early 1990s as an alternative to business school rankings. The ratings provide a detailed overview of the most popular business schools around the world, based on details provided to QS by over 4,318 employers who actively recruit MBA graduates. Without inferring any overall rankings, QS objective is to provide a resource to help prospective MBA students identify the business schools from which employers most actively recruit. The research is intended to be of use to MBA employers, prospective MBA students and institutions worldwide that are interested in international business education and recruitment trends. At the heart of the report is the definitive list of 200 business schools from which employers prefer to recruit MBAs. This list is compiled from an annual survey of human resources (HR) managers and line managers with recruiting responsibilities at companies around the world. Each year, employers recommend new schools to be added to the list. This is then sent to other recruiters to rate.
QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 1.0 Fast Facts
www.topmba.com 5 Five schools received the maximum score for employer recognition, identifying them as the leading schools in their region: Harvard and Stanford (North America), INSEAD - France and London Business School (Europe), and INSEAD Singapore (Asia-Pacific). Report highlights four distinct categories of business school in terms of employer recognition: Elite Global; Emerging Global; Elite Regional; Emerging Regional Of the 33 leading institutions to make the Elite Global category, 12 are from the US. The other nations with Elite Global business schools are Canada (6), UK (3), Spain (3), Switzerland (2), France (2), Denmark (1), India (1), Ireland (1), Italy (1) and Singapore (1). Australia has no Elite Global business schools, despite having the thirdhighest number of global top-100 universities in the QS World University Rankings. The UK has just three, despite having four of the top ten universities in the world MBAs from Elite Global schools in North America earn more than those from any other region. Salary+bonus packages average US$123,239, slightly more than the European figure of US$122,983 The school with the highest average graduate salary is Switzerland s IMD (US$159,912), ahead of the US s Stanford Graduate School of Business (US$156,265) Schools ranked for employer reputation in ten subject specializations. Harvard tops the table in five subjects, with five other schools top in one subject each: INSEAD, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Stanford and Wharton
6 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Two Asian schools make the Elite Global category: INSEAD Singapore and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Still no Elite Global schools in either Africa & Middle East or Latin America The top schools in Africa & Middle East for employer reputation are South Africa s University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and University of Witwatersrand, and American University of Sharjah Top Latin American schools are EGADE-Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Business School Sao Paulo
QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 2.0 Business school categories This year s report divides the world s top 200 business schools into four categories, based on their level of international employer recognition.
8 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Elite global Elite Global business schools form an established cadre of the world s very best business institutions. They are targeted by a wide range of employers, both domestically, regionally and globally. Highly international, they typically admit only experienced candidates with superior GMAT scores and allround credentials. Their name will transform the resume of any candidate. MBAs will in many cases go on to be influential business leaders, and can expect to earn top salaries upon graduation. Emerging Global Emerging Global business schools have an established reputation for excellence among employers that stretches well beyond their region. They attract high-quality candidates from all over the world, and graduates can expect to earn highly competitive salaries. Though in many cases they are newer and not as firmly established as the brand name institutions that make up the Elite Global cluster, these institutions will in many cases aspire to break into the Elite Global group in years to come. Elite Regional Elite Regional institutions are well regarded by employers within their region, and may have started to develop a reputation further afield. Admitted students typically have strong credentials, though they may be slightly less experienced on average than those at Elite Global or Emerging Global institutions. Elite Regional institutions are often younger institutions that, having established an excellent reputation among employers within their region, will be looking to establish their brand as one with a truly global reach.
www.topmba.com 9 Emerging Regional Emerging Regional institutions have established a solid reputation among employers within their own country. They will appeal to candidates with fewer years of professional experience, and graduate salaries are on average more modest than those at Elite Regional institutions. Having established a good reputation among domestic employers, they will now be looking to increase their visibility among international employers and students. In addition to these global groupings, the research provides ratings of the most popular business schools according to two definitive categories: Regional ratings: Africa and the Middle East Asia-Pacific Europe Latin America North America MBA specialization* ratings: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Entrepreneurship Finance Information management Innovation International management Leadership Marketing Operations management Strategy *MBA specialization refers to a business school s perceived area of expertise among MBA employers. Throughout the report the above 10 areas of expertise are referred to as MBA specializations.
10 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Regional MBA ratings Management education is globalizing. The past decade has seen an increase of accredited business schools open in emerging markets such as in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). While business schools in the US and Europe remain the most popular study destinations among MBA students, schools elsewhere in the world such as those in Asia-Pacific are growing in popularity. The proliferation of accredited programs around the globe has led to a wider choice for MBA applicants over the past few years. Recent trends indicate that there is greater onus on choosing the right country as well as the right business school. According to the TopMBA.com Applicant Survey 2013, over 50% of MBA students are choosing schools based on the country in which they wish to work. Furthermore, international MBA recruiting is no longer the domain of a few prestigious US and European companies. A growing number of HR managers in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East are informed about MBA education. Managers in these regions have been asked to share their views on the schools they would prioritize for MBA hiring. There is a greater focus on regional MBA trends and in order to provide data to help students and recruiters choose which schools to apply to and recruit from, QS has categorized its business school ratings by region.
www.topmba.com 11 MBA specialization ratings According to the QS TopMBA Applicant Survey, school specializations are the eighth most important criterion for school selection. According to the survey, which is the largest of its kind, school specializations are more important to applicants than MBA rankings, convenience of location, or recommendations from peers, colleagues and even employers. The MBA curriculum is changing to respond to this in the offering of MBA specializations. For professionals who want to further their careers in the field that they are already working in, an MBA with a specialist focus would be a viable option. In developing ratings on MBA specializations, QS aim is to provide a useful resource for prospective students and employers alike to help aid decisions over which schools to apply to, or which to recruit from. MBA programs that do not offer specializations can still produce graduates that excel in specialist fields. The results of the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report are based on MBA recruiters opinions and as such, employers also voted on general MBA programs that provide training and education in any one of 10 specialist fields, as well as programs that specialize in a particular field. There is now greater diversity in the many MBA specializations on offer, but QS rates the 10 core MBA specializations.
12 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Global employability: business school rankings or ratings? The objective of the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report is to provide an indication of the employability of an MBA upon graduation. As such, QS believes a ratings system as opposed to the traditional business school rankings provides a reliable measure of the employability outcome of an MBA program. Traditional rankings assess on average 15 to 20 criteria in order to provide an overarching indication of student satisfaction. These vary but are mostly based on general aspects: academic peer review, citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio, and international students, for example. The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report only measures one indicator the employability outcome of an MBA program by region and specialization. Focusing solely on employers views provide a reliable insight as to which business schools produce MBA graduates and alumni that are favored by recruiters. This is derived from employers votes as to which schools they prefer to recruit MBA graduates. Employers and HR decision makers worldwide are at the forefront of witnessing the worth of an MBA. QS believes that they are in the best position to judge the value of a business school s graduates, and have among the most objective and informed opinions as to which are the best business schools. When an HR department selects a business school to recruit MBAs from, the decision will often be the result of an intensive research exercise: evaluating the strength of faculty, the facilities and the relevance of the course to the employee and the company s needs. Similarly, when HR managers choose which business schools to recruit from, they will draw from a wide range of information sources. They assess the quality and efficiency of the schools career services and the reputation of the school, for example. HR decision makers look beyond rankings and examine the facilities, the course content and the quality of students. Year-on-year, this survey reveals remarkable consistency in school selection. Allegiance to particular schools is not gained or lost by one good or bad student but by a sustained experience over several years.
www.topmba.com 13 Methodology The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report survey (hereafter referred to as the survey ) captures the preferred set of business schools each responding employer wishes to recruit from, either now, in the recent past or in the near future. QS asks international employers to select the schools they consider for hiring MBA graduates from. Employers that focus on domestic hiring are not included in the survey. However, QS recognizes that many excellent schools that cater predominantly for their local recruitment market may therefore not appear in the tables. We include only business schools offering full-time MBA programs and as such well-known business schools like ESCP Europe and HEC Lausanne (which only offer executive MBA, part-time MBA and/or masters programs) are excluded. In order to produce the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report, QS focuses on experienced HR and line managers at organizations that actively recruit MBAs. Respondents from each company are asked a series of questions about MBA recruiting in the previous and the forthcoming year. Employer responses to these questions provide information on the following: MBA recruitment trends MBA salaries and compensation trends Global business school ratings by region Global business school ratings by specialization Each employer is asked to list, unprompted, the international schools from which they have recently attempted to recruit MBAs. Each time a school is selected by an employer, it receives one vote and the total number of votes is referred to as the total unprompted votes.
14 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report From a list of 500 business schools that have been categorized by region, employers are then asked to identify the schools they regard as attractive for the purpose of hiring MBA graduates. In order to be included in the survey, a school must have been recommended by an employer in the previous year of the research. Each time a school is voted, it is given one vote, referred to as the total prompted votes. The prompted and unprompted votes are added together to create the total employer votes. In order to ensure balanced results that are not subject to influence from the economic cycle, an average of the total employer votes is taken from the current year s research and the previous two year s research. The best performing school(s) are given an index score of 100 and the average total employer votes is indexed against the best performing school(s). This indexing does not affect the relative positions of schools in any given year. This score is known as the school s index of employer votes. This research does not intend to infer an overall ranking of schools. The tables list schools in clusters, categorized by region and specialization. The relative employer position of schools is displayed based on their employer score in that year and a rating within the region or specialization.
www.topmba.com 15 Rating the business schools The table below provides a summary of the number of business schools in each region which make up the list of the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report. Schools that achieved an index of employer votes of over 11 are included in the definitive list of 200 business schools. Schools are presented in clusters, which provide distinction in terms of recognition among employers. The relative positions within the clusters are not considered significant by the authors of this report. Number of schools Featured By Region Top Cluster: Index of Employer Votes >=65 2nd Cluster: Index of Employer Votes >=23 3rd Cluster: Index of Employer Votes >= 14 4th Cluster: Index of Employer Votes >= 11 North America 18 27 20 22 Europe 13 20 12 10 Asia-Pacific 2 11 9 11 Latin America 8 1 1 Africa & Middle-East 4 1 Source: QS Global Business Report 2012-2013 (TopMBA.com)
16 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Sample The survey was conducted between March and July 2013 and represents one of the largest exercises QS has undertaken in terms of geographic scope and level of detail. The total 28,000 employer responses counted in 2013 included 4,318 who were actively recruiting MBAs. All employers who responded to the survey are guaranteed confidentiality for the components of their individual responses, except for any open-ended feedback they have chosen to provide on the value of an MBA or concerns with MBA hires. * Comparative figures for the previous year are shown in brackets. The following table gives a snapshot of some of the organizations that took part in the survey across the world. A more comprehensive list can be found in the appendix at the end of this document.
www.topmba.com 17 Sample of responding employers by region in 2013 Consulting Finance Industry Technology Asia-Pacific Accenture AIG Investments 3M BenQ Africa & Middle East KPMG Daewoo Securities AkzoNobel GE Towers Watson Goldman Sachs TATA LG Booz & Company American Express Abdul Latif Jameel (Toyota) Deloitte Consulting Investec Bank Ltd Delta Group Microsoft IBM Johannesburg Stock Exchange Aramco Europe BCG Citibank BAE Systems Alcatel-Lucent A.T. Kearney Barclays Carl Zeiss AG Cognizant Frost & Sullivan Credit Suisse E.ON Google Latin America London Consulting Group BBVA Adidas Accenture Signium Santander Bayer Hewlett Packard TATA Consultancy Services J.P. Morgan Coca-Cola Telefonica US & Canada Bain & Company BlackRock Comcast IBM Capgemini Morgan Stanley Ford Intel Corporation Navigant Prudential Johnson & Johnson Cisco ACS SAP
18 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Industry distribution of employers The chart below shows the spread of employers across 20 industries. This reflects the global spread of industries that hire MBAs. The consulting and professional services sector are the largest respondents in 2011, reflecting the surge in MBA demand within this sector. Banking and financial services are the second largest responding sector, followed by HR/recruitment services. Manufacturing, IT, FMCG and energy are also well represented in the sample. Aerospace / Defence Construction / Property Consulting / Professional Services Electronics / High Technology Energy Financial Services / Banking FMCG IT / Computer Services Law Manufacturing / Engineering Media / Entertainment & Arts Metals / Mining Other Pharmaceuticals / Biotech & Healthcare Public Sector / Govt. / Non-profit Recruitment / HR services Retail Telecoms Transportation / Distribution Travel / Leisure / Hospitality Utilities 0 100 200 300 400 500
www.topmba.com 19 Aerospace / Defence 21 Construction / Property 138 Consulting / Professional Services 567 Electronics / High Technology 129 Energy 143 Financial Services / Banking 379 FMCG 203 IT / Computer Services 281 Law 21 Manufacturing / Engineering 329 Media / Entertainment & Arts 58 Metals / Mining 104 Other 578 Pharmaceuticals / Biotech & Healthcare 157 Public Sector / Govt. / Non-profit 145 Recruitment / HR services 343 Retail 92 Telecoms 93 Transportation / Distribution 81 Travel / Leisure / Hospitality 65 Utilities 56 Grand Total 3983 Source: MBA Jobs & Salary trends 2013
20 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Geographical distribution of employers Responses were received from employers across the globe: Africa & Middle East 5% Asia Pacific 29% Eastern Europe 6% Latin America 33% US & Canada 6% Western Europe 21% Grand Total 100%
QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 2013 QS Global 200 Business School Ratings: Elite Global business schools
24 2013/14 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Elite Global business schools Elite Global business schools form an established cadre of the world s very best business institutions. They are targeted by a wide range of employers, both domestically, regionally and globally. Highly international, they typically admit only experienced candidates with superior GMAT scores and all-round credentials. Their name will transform the resume of any candidate. MBAs will in many cases go on to be influential business leaders, and can expect to earn top salaries upon graduation. This year s report shows that while Elite Global institutions remain clustered in North America and particularly the US, they are also present across Europe and to a lesser degree in Asia-Pacific. As yet there are no Elite Global business schools in the Middle East and Africa, or Latin America. Of the 33 leading institutions to make the Elite Global category, 12 are from the US. The other nations with Elite Global business schools are Canada (6), UK (3), Spain (3), Switzerland (2), France (2), Denmark (1), India (1), Ireland (1), Italy (1) and Singapore (1). Emerging Global business schools Emerging Global business schools have an established reputation for excellence among employers that stretches well beyond their region. They attract high-quality candidates from all over the world, and graduates can expect to earn highly competitive salaries. Though in many cases they are newer and not as firmly established as the brand name institutions that make up the Elite Global cluster, these institutions will in many cases aspire to break into the Elite Global group in years to come. There are a total of 73 Emerging Global schools worldwide. North America leads with 27, ahead of Europe (20), Asia-Pacific (12), Latin America (8) and Middle East & Africa (4).
www.topmba.com 25 Elite Regional business schools Elite Regional institutions are well regarded by employers within their region, and may have started to develop a reputation further afield. Admitted students typically have strong credentials, though they may be slightly less experienced on average than those at Elite Global or Emerging Global institutions. Elite Regional institutions are often younger institutions that, having established an excellent reputation among employers within their region, will be looking to establish their brand as one with a truly global reach. There are a total of 45 Elite Regional schools worldwide. North America leads with 20, ahead of Europe (14), Asia-Pacific (9), Latin America (1) and Middle East & Africa (1). Emerging Regional schools Emerging Regional institutions have established a solid reputation among employers within their own country. They will appeal to candidates with fewer years of professional experience, and graduate salaries are on average more modest than those at Elite Regional institutions. Having established a good reputation among domestic employers, they will now be looking to increase their visibility among international employers and students. There are a total of 44 Emerging Regional schools worldwide. North America leads with 22, ahead of Europe (10), Asia-Pacific (11) and Latin America (1).
QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 Top business schools by region: North America
2 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 1. Elite global 2013 2012 Institution Country Employer Index Avg GMAT Score Avg Years Work % Intern'l % Female Class Size 1 1 Harvard Business School United States 100,0 730 4 34 41 941 2 3 Stanford University Graduate School of Business 3 4 The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 4 6 The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 5 2 The Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University 6 5 Columbia Business School, Columbia University 7 9 UCLA Anderson School of Management 8 13 Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto 9 7 Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 10 10 The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University United States 100,0 729 4 42 35 398 United States 99,9 725 5 35 42 845 United States 99,6 715 5 33 35 579 United States 99,6 708 5 40 35 477 United States 98,4 670 5 34 29 213 United States 94,1 704 5 33 34 360 Canada 91,0 673 4,5 48 31 313 United States 88,9 710 5 39 38 390 United States 88,1 690 5 40 33 432 11 8 Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley United States 85,2 715 5 37 33 240 12 11 University of Michigan, Ross School of Business 13 16 York University, Schulich School of Business 14 12 Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario 15 14 Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University United States 83,8 703 5 36 30 502 Canada 77,3 664 5 50 36 345 Canada 76,0 669 5 31 29 133 Canada 75,3 670 5 55 35 70 16 21 HEC Montreal Canada 72,3 630 7 37 28 113 17 17 Yale School of Management, Yale University United States 71,5 717 6 27 35 230 18 18 Queen's School of Business Canada 71,2 661 5 40 32 119 Source: QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 (TopMBA.com)
www.topmba.com 3 While in the past two years there has been a stable hierarchy of leading schools in North America, this year s results see a greater level of variation at the top of the table. Harvard retains the top spot, yet last year s second-placed institution Kellogg School of Management drops to fifth, overtaken by Stanford, Wharton and Chicago Booth. Canadian school Joseph L Rotman is the biggest climber in the top ten, moving up five places to eighth. The only school to drop out of the top ten this year is UC Berkley s Haas School of Business, which drops three places to 11th. A total of 18 schools from the region qualify for Elite Global status. The two new additions are the University of North Carolina s Kenan-Flagler Business School, and the MBA program at Canada s University of Alberta. The US accounts for two-thirds of the Elite Global schools in the region, with 12 to Canada s six. The top three schools are also the strongest in terms of students average GMAT scores, suggesting that there is a close match between the perceptions of employers and the bestqualified MBA students. However, the correlation is far less precise beyond the leading three. NYU Stern School of Business is placed fourth for average GMAT scores but just 21st for employer recognition, with 17th-placed Yale School of Management and 11th-placed Haas School of Business also boasting among the highest average GMAT scores. In the case of NYU Stern, the New York City factor may help it to attract top candidates, while Berkeley and Yale both have big-name pulling power. In contrast, Columbia, Rotman and Fuqua all make the top ten for employer recognition yet have average GMAT scores of under 700 a benchmark reached or surpassed by 15 other schools.
4 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 Average salaries Institution Avg Salary on Graduation (USD) Avg Mean Bonus (USD) % Employed 3 Months After Graduation Program Length (Months) Total Tuition Fees (USD) Harvard Business School 120000 26216 74 24 112350 Stanford University Graduate School of Business 129692 26573 92 24 119100 The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 120000 28563 83 21 119472 The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 115079 27680 89 21 117520 The Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University 120000 21755 86 20 118170 Columbia Business School, Columbia University 103453 25549 94 20 121440 UCLA Anderson School of Management 100000 22320 80 24 75180 Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 89848 13237 82 18 75000 118406 22925 94 24 61440 The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 112626 27793 80 22 118000 Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley 97000 20272 80 21 77096 University of Michigan, Ross School of Business 111047 26111 85 21 116900 York University, Schulich School of Business 86587 8730 94 16 55900 Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario 93078 10668 90 12 78280 Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University 90000 22000 98 20 80000 HEC Montreal 72776 5800 71 12 14200 Yale School of Management, Yale University 104147 26318 85 21 114400 Queen's School of Business 62580 9495 80 12 82000 Source: QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 (TopMBA.com)
www.topmba.com 5 The top three schools for employer recognition and GMAT scores, Harvard, Stanford and Wharton also have the highest average salaries, underlining their dominance. Yet second-placed Stanford beats Harvard, with average salary-plus-bonus remuneration totaling an impressive US$156,235. McGill University s Desautels Faculty of Management has the highest employment rates, with 98% of graduates having secured jobs within three months of graduation though at US $112,000, average remuneration is not quite as high as at the top US schools. Average salaries for MBAs from Elite Global schools in North America stand at US$102,573, with an average bonus of $20,666 bringing the total package to around $123,239. This places them just ahead of MBAs graduating from Elite Global schools in Europe, who earn average salaryplus-bonus packages of $122, 983. Though base salaries tend to be slightly lower than in Europe (US$102,573 compared to US$107,432), North American graduates earn significantly higher bonuses, averaging US$20,666 compared to the European figure of US$15,551.
6 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2013/14 2. Emerging Global 2013 2012 Institution Country Employer Index Avg GMAT Score Avg Years Work % Intern'l % Female Class Size 19 15 Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia Canada 64,4 646 6 56 26 124 20 20 Thunderbird School of Global Management 21 19 Stern School of Business, New York University (NYU) 22 31 University of Alberta, Alberta MBA Programs 23 25 Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina 24 24 Boston University School of Management 25 27 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University 26 29 Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University United States United States 60,2 618 5 58 27 303 56,2 720 5 39 35 389 Canada 53,2 600 5 56 42 80 United States United States United States United States 27 22 Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth United States 28 30 University of Virginia Darden School of Business 29 28 McCombs School of Business, Univ. of Texas at Austin 30 37 Texas A&M University, Full-Time MBA Program, Mays Business School 31 23 S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University 32 44 School of Business Administration, University of Miami 33 35 McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University 34 33 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Illinois MBA United States United States United States United States United States United States United States 35 36 Georgia Tech College of Management United States 36 26 Goizueta Business School, Emory University United States 49,6 690 5 36 29 290 48,0 683 5 37 33 147 38,5 664 5 34 30 178 38,2 693 5 32 27 203 36,9 716 5 36 35 280 35,9 703 5 34 35 320 35,7 684 5 25 33 261 33,2 649 5 35 24 66 32,7 700 5 34 30 271 32,2 638 3 29 38 88 31,8 684 5 22 29 258 31,6 650 4 41 26 123 31,3 678 5 13 31 68 30,8 681 5 37 23 205