MBA employers rate world's top business schools

Aspiring business owners are constantly being given opportunities for further study at business schools worldwide, but the sheer volume of institutional programmes available can often make choosing the right one a difficult task.

An annual report of the world’s top 200 business schools most preferred by MBA employers has accumulated over 2000 responses from 42 countries.

The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report, produced by the QS Intelligence Unit, brings to light an alternative to traditional MBA rankings by highlighting the overall value of MBA programmes around the world according to the qualification’s end consumer – the MBA employer.

Business institutions in the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report are rated through both ‘regional’ and ‘specialisation’ categories in order to paint an accurate picture of which business schools excel in their relating fields.

When asked which business schools MBA employers would prefer to hire from, institutions in the Asia-Pacific region saw Melbourne Business School (Australia) coming third behind IIM Ahmedabad (India) which came second and INSEAD Singapore which came out in first place.

Specialisation categories included were finance, strategy, marketing, entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, information management, innovation and international management.

Among the many top Asia-Pacific regional entries were a number of Australian institutions including Melbourne Business School (3^rd), University of New South Wales – AGSM (6^th), Sydney Business School (13^th), Macquarie Graduate School of Management (14^th) and Monash University Faculty of Business and Economics (15^th).

Managing director of QS, Nunzio Quacquarelli, says, “The number of Asia and Australian schools featured in the report has increased from 10 in 2004 to 36 this year.

“This rapid rise in the number of internationally recognised schools is indicative of the improving standards of Asian institutions, as employers increasingly recognise the quality of MBA graduates from certain schools in the region.”

Complete results of individual specialisations and employers’ most preferred business schools in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East for 2011 can be found on www.topmba.com.