Three local MBAs have carried the flag for Australia in the latest global rankings with Melbourne, University of Queensland and Macquarie securing spots in the latest The Economist WhichMBA? list of top full-time MBAs.
British magazine The Economist ranks the top 100 MBA programs every year at business schools around the world on career opportunities, personal development, salary improvement and other criteria.
The ranking is determined (80%) by responses from business schools about quantitive measures such as salary of graduates and number of registered alumni. The balance (20%) is based on student surveys.
In the 2019 ranking Melbourne Business School dropped five places from 23 to 28, University of Queensland Business School (UQBS) dropped from 38 to 54, and Macquarie Business School rose five places from 79 to 74.
“It’s very gratifying that our MBA continues to stand tall in this challenging business climate, which is affecting everyone, and that it continues to attract top students from all over the world,” Melbourne Business School Dean Ian Harper said.
The University of Queensland (UQ) was ranked as the second best full-time MBA in the Asia-Pacific region.
Dean and Head of UQ Business School, Professor Michael Bruenig, said the ranking reflects the global and regional competitiveness of the UQ MBA.
“UQ Business School has built an international reputation for the excellence of our MBA program and continues to demonstrate itself as a leader in the Asia-Pacific region, attracting a world-class standard of student,” said Professor Bruenig.
It was the Education Experience section that the UQ MBA shined in, particularly the metric of ‘Student Quality’, which the program ranked number one for globally – overtaking internationally renowned business schools, such as Harvard Business School, Wharton and Booth School of Business.
UQ MBA Director, Dr Nicole Hartley said the program is known on a worldwide platform for the calibre of high-quality students it attracts.
“This year we’ve concentrated on enhancing the MBA student experience with strong connections to industry via a range of industry and social change projects, networking events and the support of a dedicated MBA careers team.”
“We’re excited to continue the momentum forward in 2020, implementing cutting-edge learning approaches that are focused on enhancing the student experience, and ensuring our graduates are best equipped for their role as future business leaders and influencers,” said Dr Hartley.
The top 10 list was dominated by US business schools with University of Chicago’s Booth Business School, Harvard Business School and Paris’ HEC Business School, which soared 10 places this year, took the top three places.
For Booth, it’s the seventh time the school has topped the list in the past nine years, a streak interrupted only by the Kellogg School of Management in 2017 and Dartmouth Tuck in 2011.
