Top 15 Business Schools in the world

London Business School: Rank 1

Country: UK

London Business School jumped two places up in the 2009 survey compared to its 3rd rank last year.

Amongst its other achievements London Business School — sharing the top spot with Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania — boasts of a community that includes 1,300 plus students each year from 121 countries, 150 plus teaching faculty from more than 30 countries and 27,800 alumni based in more than 120 countries.

Situated in Regent’s Park, London, London Business School offers degree programmers like MBA, executive MBA, EMBA-global, Dubai-London executive MBA, Sloan Fellowship MSc, Masters in finance, and PhDs.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,46,565

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania: Rank 1

Country: USA

Established in 1881 in Philadelphia, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, is the world’s first collegiate business school has 84,000 plus alumni in 139 countries, 25 plus research centres and initiatives and 11 academic departments.

The university offers executive education programmes in subjects like finance/wealth, management, healthcare, corporate governance, marketing/sales and technology and operations apart from a host of other courses.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,69,784

Harvard Business School: Rank 3

Country: USA

Offering management courses since 1908, Harvard Graduate School of Business started with a student population of 33 regular and 47 special students and a 15-member faculty.

It reached one of its famous milestones in 1959 when the school admitted women graduates to the second year MBA programme.

Harvard Business School moved up one position in 2009 to rank 3rd against its 2008 position.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,63,637

Columbia Business School: Rank 4

Country: USA

Ranked 3rd in the 2008 survey, Columbia Business School has swapped position with Harvard Business School this year.

Columbia University Graduate School of Business was founded in 1916 by A Barton Hepburn, president of Chase Manhattan Bank then, with 11 faculty members and 61 students.

Currently, the university offers full-time MBA programmes, executive MBAs and doctoral programmes with over 36,000 students. Warren Buffet, the legendary chairman of Berkshire Hathway did his MS in 1951 from Columbia Business School.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,64,310

Insead: Rank 5

Country: Singapore

With two campuses in France (Fontainebleau) and Asia (Singapore) Insead began offering executive MBA programmes in November 2003 from both the campuses. It signed a strategic alliance with Wharton Business School in 2001.

Today, the university boasts of 138 standing and affiliate faculty from 32 countries, 887 MBA students across 76 nations, 9,500 executive MBA students from 100 countries spread across 2,000 companies.

From number 6 in 2008 Insead too has moved up one position in 2009.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,47,908

Stanford University GSB and IE Business School: Rank 6

Country: USA

These two, like London Business School and Wharton School, share the same position. However, in 2008, Stanford (USA) stood 4th and IE Business School (Spain) stood at the 8th position.

So while Stanford moved two points down the ladder IE Business School moved two points up.

Average alumni salary today (in US $) for Stanford GSB: 1,70,340
Average alumni salary today (in US $) for IE Business School: 1,32,925

China European International Business School: Rank 8

Country – China

This is what China and Chinese entrepreneurship is all about. Established on November 8, 1994, a recent entrant into the world of high finance, China European International Business School (Ciebs) — in just its 14 years of existence — has barged into the hallowed top 10 for the second time in a row.

Ranked 10th in 2008 Ciebs has managed to move two positions up to the 8th position this year.

Today Ciebs offers open programmes like multinational management, strategy, leadership, marketing and sales, finance and accounting and corporate governance amongst others.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,51,641

MIT: Sloan: Rank 9

Country: USA

Massachusetts, Cambridge-based, MIT Sloan School of Management has moved up from the 10th position in 2008 to 9th position this year.

While MIT Sloan began its operations in 1914 in engineering administration, it began teaching management courses 11 years later. Today, MIT Sloan offers graduate and undergraduate programmes to more than 1,100 students across 60 countries.

Amongst its illustrious alumni are included names like former Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan, former Hewlett-Packard president and CEO Carly Fiona, and former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,56,451

New York University: Stern: Rank 10

Country: USA

Established at the onset of the 20th century New York University, Stern, is located in Greenwich Village in the centre of New York City.

This university today offers courses as varied as undergraduate BS programme, full-time MBA programme, Langone part-time MBA programme, executive MBA, and PhD programmes.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,44,125

University of Chicago, Booth: Rank 11

Country: USA

Part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, Booth School of Business has dropped two places from number 11 from number 9 in 2008.

Established in 1895 University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the second-oldest school in the US. With faculty strength of 187 in 2008 the university offers programmes like full-time MBA, executive MBA, part-time MBA, and non-degree executive education.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,50,272

Iese Business School: Rank 12

Country: Spain

Ranked 13th in 2008, Iese Business School has improved its position to 12th in the 2009 survey. With over 30,000 successful alumni working in more than 100 countries Iese, established in 1957, offers full-time, part-time and modular MBA and PhD programmes.

Founded in 1958 in Barcelona, Spain, Iese is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,24,645

Dartmouth College, Tuck: Rank 13

Country: USA

At number 13, Dartmouth College, Tuck, a 109-year-old institution, has dropped a position below its 2008 ranking.

Interestingly, unlike other universities, Tuck offers only full-time MBAs apart from a plethora of executive education programmes as well as the Tuck Business Bridge programme for undergraduates.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,56,124

IMD: Rank 14

Country: Switzerland

Located in the cool climes in Lausanne on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, IMD has maintained a status quo at number 14 vis-a-vis its ranking in 2008.

With 20 open enrollment executive development programmes IMD, established in 1990, offers an 11-month MBA programme and distance learning programme in executive MBA. A typical class at IMD consists of students from 22 nationalities and in the age group of 34 to 50 years.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,51,624

Indian School of Business

Country: India

A meteoric rise from number 20 is how one can describe Indian School of Business jump to the 15th position in the Global MBA Rankings 2009 survey.

With over 442 students enrolled for the class of 2009 for its one-year MBA programme the mean and median GMAT score of its student is 714 and 720 respectively.

Established in 2001 by a group of Indian industrialists and academicians ISB is the only Indian management school to make its mark in this global survey.

Average alumni salary today (in US $): 1,48,339