Based on Financial Times MBA rankings data, we’ve compared top MBA programs, pitting them against each other to find out which schools are the best for MBA salaries, career prospects, women, international diversity, Online MBAs, Executive MBAs, and more.
So which country comes out on top? To find our winner, we awarded business schools from across the world three points for a gold medal in each MBA Olympics event, two for silver, and one for bronze.
Two countries draw for the gold medal in our MBA Olympics this year: the USA, with three gold medals, two silver, and one bronze; and France, with four gold medals and two bronze.
With its strong performance across many categories, it’s no wonder that the US is also the world's most popular study destination for business school students.
The UK put up a great fight, winning one gold, three silvers, and two bronze, and coming in second place. Spain takes third place, with one gold, two silver, and one bronze.
Here are the business schools taking the podium in our MBA Olympics:
MBA Olympics Events:
World's Best Business Schools
Average graduate salary for MBAs
Gold: Stanford, USA, $250,650
Silver: Harvard, USA, $246,509
Bronze: Wharton, USA, $245,772
The US dominates the Financial Times ranking: the eight highest graduate salaries all come from US schools. M7 business schools Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton secured average graduate salaries above $240,000, the highest average MBA salaries in the 2024 ranking.
READ: MBA Acceptance Rates At The World’s Top Business Schools
MBA Salary increase
Gold: Indian School of Business, India, 229%
Silver: Fudan University of Management, China, 194%
Bronze: Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China, 190%
China rockets up the leaderboard here, with MBA students at Fudan University School of Management and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics achieving an average salary increase of over 190% after graduation.
Though China secures both silver and bronze here, the gold medal goes to the Indian School of Business, where graduates more than triple their pre-MBA salaries.
MBA Career Services
Gold: Georgia Tech, Scheller College of Business, USA
Silver: UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA
Bronze: Fudan University School of Management, China
Unsurprisingly after its graduates’ performance in the MBA Salary Increase event, Fudan University School of Management boasts a top-of-the-table position for career services, taking the Bronze medal.
Gold and Silver positions are both held by US schools. Scheller College of Business is known for its networking opportunities. UCLA Anderson offers the dedicated Parker Career Management Center to help students access one-to-one career coaching and strategize their careers.
% International Students
Gold: Joint winners with 100% international students are:
- IMD — International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland
- ESCP Business School, France
- Essec Business School, France
- Tias Business School, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
- Cranfield School of Management, UK
- Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands
- Audencia, France
- Grenoble Ecole de Management, France
Silver: Joint second place with 98% international students are:
- University of Cambridge: Judge, UK
- Esade Business School, Spain
- IE Business School, Spain
- University of Oxford: Saïd, UK
- Hult International Business School, US
- Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Denmark
- University of St Gallen, Switzerland
Bronze: Joint third with 97% international students are:
- Edhec Business School, France
- Eada Business School Barcelona, Spain
- University of Edinburgh Business School, UK
It’s a crowded field in this event, and for good reason. More international students brings greater networking opportunities. If you want to build your international contacts then European business schools in France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are your best bet.
Business schools in Spain, the UK, Hong Kong, and France come close in second; and the UK makes its first appearance, with at least one school in each position.
% Women
Gold: Washington University: Olin, USA, 65%
Silver: Joint second place with 64% women students are Sungkyunkwan University GSB, South Korea, and CUHK Business School, Hong Kong
Bronze: Fudan University School of Management, China, 62%
Most MBA programs on the Financial Times’ list are male-dominated: 87 of the Financial Times’ top 100 MBA programs have less than 50% women students.
However, as this category shows, there are MBA programs that have more women than male students. For example, women make up 65% of MBA students at Washington University: Olin.
Just three schools on the Financial Times’ list have achieved perfect 50:50 gender parity in 2024:
- ESCP Business School, France
- Audencia Business School, France
- University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, US
Online MBAs
Gold: IE Business School, Spain
Silver: Imperial College Business School, UK
Bronze: Warwick Business School, UK
Online MBA programs offer students the chance to step up their business skills and knowledge without having to commit to the expense and intensity of a full-time in-person program.
Often, this means that students can level up their careers quicker, because they can work while they learn and apply their MBA teachings in the workplace.
No wonder, then, that the average salary increase among the top 10 online MBA programs as ranked by the FT is 30%. Check out our Online MBA Guide 2024 to learn more about online MBAs.
Executive MBAs
Gold: Kellogg/HKUST, Hong Kong
Silver: CEIBS, China
Bronze: ESCP Business School, France
Hong Kong takes gold for Executive MBAs. The Kellogg/HKUST joint EMBA program, based in Hong Kong, is consistently ranked top of the world's best Executive MBA programs by the Financial Times. China also performs strongly, with CEIBS also a great option for professionals looking to enter the C-suite. A strong performance from ESCP Business School earns France a bronze medal.
MBA Olympics: The Medal Table
All figures in this article are from the Financial Times Global MBA 2024 ranking and the EMBA and Online MBA rankings
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