Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2016: Harvard is dethroned

Harvard has finally lost the 6-year consecutive run as the top Business School in the 2016 Financial Times Global MBA ranking. Insead, which has been downgraded by The Economist (#13), is the #1 Business School in FT Ranking, taking over Harvard, which is at #2. The third position is held by London Business School, which lost one position in this year’s Global MBA ranking.

Weighted Salary in Dollars averages out the post-MBA salary over a 3-year period, while adjusting against variations in industry and job function. The metric also takes into consideration Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) to even out salary received across countries based on the purchasing power and exchange rate.

Top #5 MBA Programs based on Weighted Salary (Dollars) are:

1. Stanford Graduate School of Business    ($185,939)    
2. University of Pennsylvania: Wharton    ($177,877)    
3. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad ($174,274)
4. Harvard Business School ($172,501)
5. Columbia Business School ($169,866)

Alumni feedback is crucial if you need to gauge the satisfaction score. To a large extent, with an immersive experience like a full-time MBA, loyalty will be formed, but the questionnaire asks the Alumni to list three schools for MBA recruitment.

The class size makes a huge difference. The probability of recruiting a student from the school and the multiplying effect of alumni recommending the MBA program increases with class size. Although there is no direct correlation between Alumni ranking and class size, London Business School deserves special mention for the sheer tenacity to emerge in this ranking when the competitor class size is 5 to 10 times its own.  

The obvious ranking pattern is when the Alumni rank alma matter at #1. The final answer varied and you have a variety of program in the top 10 list.

Top #10 MBA Programs (According to Alumni)

1. Harvard Business School (935)
2. Stanford Graduate School of Business (410)
3. MIT: Sloan (406)
4. University of Pennsylvania: Wharton (859)
5. London Business School (120)
6. Insead (523)
7. Northwestern University: Kellogg (691)
8. Columbia Business School (743)
9. University of Chicago: Booth (583)
10. University of California at Berkeley: Haas (241)

*class size in bracket

Career Service Team

The drive of the incoming class determines the reliance on the career service team. For a Harvard, Stanford or Wharton, the brand pull and the networking capability of the student compensates for the career service team’s ineffectiveness, but for schools outside the top 10 list, the pro-activeness of the team is crucial for attracting the right recruiters.

For career switchers, consider this criterion before choosing your MBA.

Top 10 MBA programs (Most Effective Career Service Team)

*From the Top 100 ranked MBA programs

1. Carnegie Mellon: Tepper    
2. University of Chicago: Booth    
3. Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller
4. Sungkyunkwan University GSB    
5. Indiana University: Kelley    
6. University of Virginia: Darden    
7. UCLA: Anderson    
8. University of California at Irvine: Merage    
9. New York University: Stern    
10. Cornell University: Johnson    

Bottom 10 MBA Programs (Least Effective Career Service Team)

*From the Top 100 ranked MBA programs (#1 is the least effective)

10. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
9. Queen's University: Smith    
8. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore    
7. University of Toronto: Rotman    
6. Macquarie Graduate School of Management    
5. University of British Columbia: Sauder    
4. Melbourne Business School    
3. Grenoble Ecole de Management    
2. Durham University Business School    
1. University of Cape Town GSB    

Does FT MBA ranking reflect the market?

It is hard to tell with 43% response rate, but among the top rankings, FT is looked upon as a ranking with a much neutral undertone than say the disruptive ranking published by The Economist. For applicants who want a status quo metric, FT ranking is a good reference point.

See the 2016 Full-time MBA Rankings for the Complete List

Top 20 MBA Programs (According to FT)