Pericles ABLE Project - American Business & Legal Education in Moscow

Archive of Comparative Rankings of Top B-Schools (Anyone's Top 20)

(August, 2013 updated)

The following schools are all in the "Top 20" list of at least one of the major MBA rankings for full time MBA Programs. A few schools that aren't on a top 20 list are included because we particularly like them and think they are particularly popular with Russian students. Although rankings can be found in many places, we thought it would help you to be able to see an alphabetical list that compares rankings side by side, and allows you to link to the schools that interest you.

B-schools are listed by the name of the B-school when we believe the B-school's name is more commonly used than the University name, and by the name of the University when we believe the University name is more commonly used. So if a school isn't listed by name, try looking for it under "University of _________"

Brief data on the methodologies used by the original rankings sites is provided below the list.

PLEASE NOTE: The process of ranking schools is by nature imperfect. There are numerous different "authorities" which provide different rankings of top schools. The intelligent reader of these rankings will understand that any listing of the "best" schools is always extremely controversial. We provide a selection of rankings for our students' interests only, and do not mean to suggest that one organization's assessment of the "best" schools is more valid than any other's. In researching schools one should always investigate numerous sources, learn the strengths and weaknesses of each institution, and pick a school that is the best fit for your own background, personality and objectives.

Business Week rankings come out every two years. The list above included separate rankings for U.S. and global MBAs. EMBA and undergraduate B-school rankings are also available on the Business Week web page. Business week specializes in ranking business school programs and is probably the most widely read source for MBA rankings. Business Week uses three major sources for its ranking: a student survey, a recruiter survey, and an “intellectual capital” ranking based on the number of publications in certain business journals and the number of books published per faculty member.

The Economist The Economist surveys both students and recent graduates, but 80% of the ranking is based on statistics
provided by the schools, looking at a weighted average of data over three years about new career opportunities, student educational experiences, salary increases and networking opportunities. The Economist also examines such quality of education factors as student/teacher ratio, average GMAT scores and work experience of the entering class.

The Financial Times produces global MBA rankings every year. Five separate rankings are produced: Global Full Time MBA, EMBA, Masters in Management programs, non-degree courses, and European MBA Rankings. The listing above is mainly from the global rankings. A sophisticated algorithm with a number of different criteria are used to compile the rankings, but in general FT surveys alumni three years after graduation to see how they have progressed in their careers and to determine how they assess the effect of their MBA. Average salary increase, each school's statistical placement data, and factors determining the diversity and international reach of the school are also considered.

Forbes Forbes rankings come out every two years and are based SOLELY on return on investment: They look at tuition costs, and average living costs as well as salary data before and after the MBA, and five years after the MBA. The 2012 ranking compiled data gained in 2011, meaning they were surveying graduates of 2006. Their rankings could conceivably change a lot after they start surveying students from classes that graduated after the 2008 financial crisis.

QS Top MBA 200 consists of the top 200 business schools, divided by region, that global employers prefer in survey results of over 600 companies. It does not purport to be a complex study of B-school quality, but is solely based on recruiter data. Hence, results can be a bit unusual depending on where the responding recruiters are coming from (note the unusually high number of Canadian schools in the QS elite schools list.) The QS World MBA Tour and QS rankings are very popular with Russian students since the QS World MBA tour has been regularly coming to Russia for more than a decade.

US News and World Report (US News) rankings come out yearly. U.S. News only ranks U.S. business schools. It also ranks all other majors in both graduate schools and undergraduate programs. Because of its broad focus it is the most popular ranking service in the U.S. This rankings is based in large part on the opinions of academics from rival schools. Opinions of corporate recruiters also make up a large part of this ranking. Statistics on job placement are another large percentage.