While traditional rankings place an emphasis on salaries after graduation, or the reputation of a school with top-tier recruiters, there are many candidates around the world who are seeking a different kind of MBA. They are looking for a cultural experience which will help them develop as business professionals and either stay and work in the country of study, or return home with a completely new and fresh perspective. These MBA candidates are looking for diversity.
QS TopMBA has developed a new service called Scorecard. Scorecard allows candidates to evaluate schools based on the criteria which matter to them, rather than the criteria imposed by the organization conducting the ranking. Diversity is one of 17 different criteria to which candidates can apply their own weightings. What are the factors which make up a truly diverse business school? Diversity should incorporate the idea of balance, of not only bringing together people from different parts of the world, but also bringing together people from different social, cultural and educational backgrounds. A high percentage of international students is important. But diversity should be more than just a measure of how many "foreigners" there are in a given programme. Many believe that a high percentage of women will also create a richer learning experience. In addition, many candidates wish to meet people of diverse interests and study backgrounds - a high percentage of candidates who did not study business as a first degree, provides one indicator of such diversity. For the purpose of simplification, QS TopMBA Scorecard presents diversity in the following manner: Values in brackets indicate an equal weighting given to each criteria:
- Percentage of female students (33%)
- Percentage of non-business first-degree students (33%)
- Percentage of international students (33%)
The following charts show the most diverse full-time MBA programmes in North America, and Europe for a standard student profile.
Table 1: Most Diverse Business Schools in USA
| Int'l | Women | Non-Business | ||
| 1 | Brandeis Int'l Business School | 74% | 49% | 90% |
| 2 | University of Michigan Global MBA | 95% | 10% | 90% |
| 3 | Claremont Graduate University - Peter F Druker | 40% | 40% | 80% |
| 4 | Graduate School of Business Administration, Northeastern University | 40% | 36% | 80% |
| 5 | Bentley, McCallum Graduate School of Business | 27% | 45% | 90% |
| 6 | Daniels College of Business, University of Denver | 33% | 31% | 80% |
| 7 | Georgetown MBA, Georgetown University | 39% | 31% | 90% |
| 8 | Monterey Institute International Studies, Fisher Graduate School of International Business | 49% | 49% | 59% |
| 9 | Univeristy of South Carolina | 29% | 30% | 80% |
| 10 | College of William and Mary, Graduate School of Business | 44% | 28% | 86% |
| 11 | H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University | 4% | 49% | 80% |
| 12 | Henry B. Tippie of Management, University of Iowa | 39% | 28% | 90% |
| 13 | Hult International Business School | 90% | 22% | 44% |
| 14 | Pepperdine University, The Graziado School of Business and Management | 30% | 32% | 90% |
| 15 | The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvannia | 41% | 34% | 78% |
| 16 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 56% | 29% | 65% |
| 17 | Alvah H. Chapman Jr., Graduate School of Business, Florida International University | 57% | 43% | 47% |
| 18 | Darden Graduate School of Business Administration | 26% | 30% | 90% |
| 19 | Harvard Business School | 33% | 35% | 80% |
| 20 | S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University | 28% | 30% | 90% |
Source: TopMBA.com/Scorecard
Table 2: 20 Most Diverse Business Schools in Europe
| Int'l | Women | Non-Business | ||
| 1 | Sacred School of Economics | 95% | 45% | 80% |
| 2 | European School of Economics | 71% | 68% | 85% |
| 3 | MBA HEC - University of Lausanne | 45% | 87% | 90% |
| 4 | ICN School of Management | 95% | 41% | 85% |
| 5 | The Birmingham Business School | 90% | 40% | 90% |
| 6 | Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge | 82% | 34% | 80% |
| 7 | University of Southampton School of Management | 75% | 40% | 80% |
| 8 | Durham Business School | 78% | 35% | 80% |
| 9 | GISMA Business School | 75% | 47% | 90% |
| 10 | ESLSCA Graduate School of Business MBA | 85% | 55% | 66% |
| 11 | Oxford Brookes University Business School | 80% | 45% | 80% |
| 12 | Rotterdam School of Management - Erasmus Graduate School of Business | 96% | 30% | 80% |
| 13 | EAE Business School | 95% | 45% | 62% |
| 14 | The School of Management, University of Bath | 60% | 48% | 90% |
| 15 | TENPC MBA Paris School of International Management | 70% | 38% | 90% |
| 16 | London Metropolitan University | 53% | 52% | 90% |
| 17 | Oxford University, Said Business School | 87% | 22% | 90% |
| 18 | Henley Management College | 70% | 34% | 90% |
| 19 | IE (Instituto de Empresa) | 81% | 30% | 85% |
| 20 | London Business School | 85% | 23% | 90% |
Source: TopMBA.com/Scorecard QS does not argue that these lists are by any way definitive, or that the schools at the top of the list are in any way better than their peers - they are simply more diverse, and this will appeal to some candidates. The advantage of Scorecard is that candidates can customise their searches - by changing the weight of different criteria, you get different results. All data contributing to this diversity measure has been sourced directly from business schools and then audited to confirm validity. As a general rule, European business schools tend to be much more diverse than their US counterparts. Keep in mind that the definition of an international student is anyone who comes from outside the country the school is located in. Thus it's obviously much easier for a Swiss or Dutch school than it is for an American school to achieve a high percentage of international students. However, circumstances over the past two to three years have converged to exaggerate this tendency. In the summer of 2003, President George Bush reduced the number of J1 and F1 visas available for international students to study in the US, whilst at the same time increasing the vetting procedure for the allocation of those visas. European business schools, with easier visa requirements, have profited. Many US Business School Deans felt shivers running down their backs, as European schools gained a further competitive advantage. During the previous ten years, MBA programmes across the US had made a commitment to internationalise their student pool, the faculty at their school and the content of teaching materials within their programmes. They believed this was necessary adequately to teach "global business", while at the same time enhancing the reputation of their school. The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia had gradually increased its proportion of international students from 25% when Thomas Gerrity became Dean in 1992, to 46% in 2002 under the current Dean, Patrick Harker. The consequences of President Bush's actions are not to be underestimated. International students are a vital source of funding for US universities at a time when the US government is also cutting back Federal budgets and squeezing expenditure on education in favour of defence. In the state of California, the education budget for universities has been cut by over 25% during Mr. Bush's first term. Visa cutbacks have been directed primarily towards candidates applying from India, China and the Middle East. However, processing delays have affected students from all countries, threatening their ability to take-up offers. The reaction of the top-ranked schools, has been predictable. "Wharton has cut back the proportion of international students to 30% of its' class," says Patrick Harker. The school is heavily over-subscribed and can easily fill places from its home market. Top European schools have been receiving applications from the best candidates around the world, further helping to reduce the quality gap between US and European institutions, if one still existed.
Commitment to internationalise
Some US schools are responding to the challenge by changing their recruitment strategy. There are certain regions of the world where visas are more readily attainable. MBA applicants from Europe still have little difficulty securing visas to study in the USA. As a consequence, more and more US schools are increasing their quotas for European candidates on their programmes. Monica Gray, Admissions Director at Georgetown, says, "For the last four years, we have attended every World MBA Tour venue in Europe - 13 cities in Autumn 2004. We have seen an increase in European candidates on the programme." A force that may counter the effect of the US's new visa restrictions is the considerable weakening of the dollar. With the Euro having surpassed the US$1.33 mark in early January 2005, at the height of the recruiting period, many Europeans will surely be giving serious consideration to a US MBA in 2005. Since July 2001 when one Euro brought just under 84 cents, the dollar has lost 37% of its value. Though it's too early to say exactly what kind of impact this will have on Europeans applying to U.S. programme, many recruiters are expecting this to be significant. Christopher Redo, Assistant Dean for External Relations at the University of San Diego School of Business says, "The value proposition has clearly increased for Europeans seeking U.S. based education. We're hopeful this will translate into a marked increase in applications to our graduate business programmes." Other US schools view the recent changes in visa restrictions as a chance to innovate. "Today, Thunderbird Europe offers more courses than ever before, and with distance learning projects and teleconferencing options in the pipeline, classrooms are no longer hampered by borders. With a foreign student population of over 60%, we viewed this as an opportunity to expand our global programmes, and to allow students to complete their degrees outside of the US." says Cynthia Zoubir of Thunderbird. What are the benefits to an MBA candidate of having a highly international MBA programme? Douglas Dunn, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University (CM) argues, "global business leaders today need to be able to lead and contribute effectively to diverse teams in multicultural settings' highly international class creates opportunities for teaming and sharing of cultural experiences." He adds that the experience of studying overseas encourages a "willingness to embrace change as second nature-and an ability to see opportunities to develop new entrepreneurial businesses." (40% of CM alumni start their own business.) Indeed, as business culture in most western societies becomes more diverse, reflecting the societies themselves, it becomes that much more important that schools prepare their students for this reality. The Bush Administration is under severe pressure to change its Visa policies, and the situation may look radically different again a year from now. While US visa restrictions continue, the proportion of international students and the quality of candidates at European schools are only likely to increase further.
MBAs are gaining popularity
Although the benefits of attracting minorities and international graduates to the business workforce are well understood by corporations, the current economic climate has impeded efforts to cultivate diversity. Many US employers are cutting back instead of recruiting. Fewer funds are available for diversity programme like the National Black MBA Association and the National Hispanic MBA Association, which support minorities in the industry and help advance their careers. Despite this, US-based data suggests that the MBA is gaining in popularity as a graduate degree of choice for all students, especially for women. In fact, the popularity of the MBA with women and other minorities is increasing faster than that of other master's degrees. This was illustrated in attendance numbers at the World MBA Tour: In 2003 28% of attendees were women; this figure increased significantly in 2004 to 34%. Candidates can access TopMBA Scorecard, by visiting www.topmba.com
Share with friends
