Out Now: QS EMBA Rankings 2018

The QS EMBA Rankings 2018 have been released today, ranking the best executive MBA programs around the world. Leading the way globally is the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by MIT Sloan School of Management and London Business School.

As well as a global table, there is also a breakdown of this year’s rankings by region, with separate tables for Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Joint EMBA programs are ranked separately and the EMBA program offered by Columbia Business School, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and London Business School (LBS) is ranked top of the 24 joint EMBAs included this year.

Arnie Longboy, Executive Director of Leadership Programmes at LBS, highlights the importance of rankings like the QS EMBA Rankings 2018 to potential candidates:

“Given it’s a serious decision to make, especially in terms of time and money, a prospective student should try to use as many evaluative tools as possible.  Rankings like this are really useful, not least as a means to create a shortlist of schools to explore further.”

More than 100 EMBA programs worldwide participated in the rankings, which assess schools based on the following ranking indicators:

• Employer reputation (30 percent)
• Thought leadership (25 percent)
• Career outcomes (20 percent)
• Executive profile (15 percent)
• Diversity (10 percent)

Find out more about the methodology used in the rankings here.

Alex Chisholm, head of business school analytics at QS, said: "More than 100 executive MBA programs from around the world participated in the 2018 QS EMBA Rankings. These globally recognized business schools have together produced more than 100,000 EMBA graduates over the years.

"Many EMBA candidates evaluate local options or identify flexible programs to fit within their existing commitments to work and family. These rankings, and the targeted regional tables QS has constructed, can hopefully help them as they navigate this process. 

"Flexibility is increasingly a theme. Around 40 percent of the EMBA programs we collaborated with offer EMBA candidates varying lengths of time requirements to complete the program on their own terms. With regard to content, two out of three programs (66 percent) give students choices in what classes or specializations they can focus on during the program.

"Although global demand for EMBA programs has been mixed in recent years, we found that more than 50 percent of programs reported receiving more applications in the most recent application cycle than they did the year prior."

Wharton tops both the North America and Global tables

North American schools have long been thought of as the home of the MBA, and they continue their dominance in the EMBA rankings, with a first-place finish for Wharton in both the North American rankings and the overall rankings. In addition to this, the global top 10 is made up largely of US schools, with seven programs in the Top 10.

Explore the Global EMBA Rankings 2018 in full here, or click here to view the EMBA Rankings by Region 2018: North America.

The United Kingdom reigns supreme in Europe

Much like North America, Europe (and particularly the United Kingdom) has a history of providing exceptional business education. Five European programs can be found in the global top 10, and most of these are based in the UK. In the global top 10, London Business School is ranked in third place, while there’s also a place in the top 10 for Chicago Booth School of Business’ London campus program.

Rana Lonnen graduated from Imperial College Business School, which is ranked ninth in Europe this year, in 2017 and says the EMBA program changed her life.

“The modules on innovation and design thinking had a big impact on unleashing my creativity and curiosity. The overall EMBA experience gave me the courage, confidence and the leadership to ask questions, challenge the status quo and nurture a safe environment for innovative brainstorming and execution.”

Explore the EMBA Rankings by Region 2018: Europe in full here.

Singapore is the top EMBA hub in Asia

In the Asia-Pacific top 10, four programs are based in Singapore (including second-place INSEAD), which is indicative of the country’s status as a global business center. The top school in the Asia-Pacific rankings is Booth’s Hong Kong-based program. Interestingly, this gives Booth an entry in three different regional rankings: North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Read the EMBA Rankings 2018 by Region: Asia-Pacific in full here.

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is number one in Latin America

Though Latin American programs are less represented in the EMBA rankings than other regions, there are five schools featured this year. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile takes the top spot for the region and narrowly misses out on a spot in the global top 30, ranking 31^st in the world. Out of five Latin American schools in the rankings, three are based in Santiago, Chile.

FIA Business School is ranked second in the region and Israel Aron Zylberman graduated from the EMBA program there in 2003. He says the program “changed my professional life completely” and gave him “a deep sense of strategic management related to the purpose of a company”.

Find out which other schools are included in the EMBA Rankings by Region 2018: Latin America table here.

Top joint EMBA program spans three continents

Our number one joint EMBA program this year is offered by Columbia, HKU and LBS, and spans three continents, with students able to study at some of the best business schools in the world. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cities with the greatest representation in our joint EMBA ranking include global business hubs London, New York, and Singapore, which each feature three times in the top 10. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is the most represented business school in the top 10, with 3 joint programs involving the school making the cut.

Find the top joint EMBA program for you with the EMBA Rankings 2018: Joint Programs table here.