About the FT Business School Rankings

Whether you are looking for a full-time MBA or a two-week course to improve your management skills, the Financial Times rankings list the best management programmes available.


Six rankings are published annually, relating to MBA, EMBA, Master in Finance and Master in Management programmes, as well as non-degree executive education courses. There is also a ranking of top European Business Schools.


FT’s interactive rankings tables allow users to search for a school of interest, sort by selected criteria and filter by location. Programmes can be evaluated across a wide range of criteria, including average salary after graduation, value for money and the latest FT ranking.


Search for a Business School


Rankings Methodologies


Want to know more about how the numbers are put together? See the links below for details:

Global MBA
Executive MBA
Masters in Management
Masters in Finance
Executive Education
European Business Schools

Frequently Asked Questions


1. Can any business schools participate in the FT rankings?

To be eligible to participate, a school should be accredited by AACSB or Equis; it must have a programme that has been running for at least four years; and it must have graduated its first class at least three years before the ranking publication date.


2. Which journals are included in the FT research rank?

Both the MBA and EMBA rankings include a research rank. This is calculated according to the number of faculty publications published in 45 academic and practitioner journals. Points are awarded to the business school at which the author is currently employed. The total is then weighted for faculty size. The full list of journals is available here: 45 journals

3. Which exchange rates does the FT use in its salary calculations?

The FT rankings use Purchasing Power Parity rates, published by the International Monetary Fund, rather than normal currency exchange rates. All salary data are converted into $US equivalents. Unlike conventional current rates, PPP conversion factors take into account the cost of living in the country where a currency is used.

Rankings Timetable


The table below summarises the key months in the rankings process.


Ranking Surveys Open Surveys Close Publication
Global MBA September October January
Executive Education February March May
Masters in Finance March April June
Masters in Management April May September
EMBA June July October
European Business Schools N/A N/A December

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