Coming Soon: QS Online MBA Rankings 2020

The QS Online MBA Rankings 2020 will be released on April 22, revealing the top 47 business schools offering online MBA programs for students around the world.

This year's rankings are particularly timely, with business schools and universities around the world having to adapt and transition to online learning in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Last year, Spain's IE Business School was ranked as the best online MBA provider in the world - but can the school take the top spot for a fourth year in a row?

Nunzio Quacquarelli, CEO and founder of QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said: “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is obliging higher education providers to ensure that they are able to offer outstanding teaching and learning experiences in the virtual classroom, and demand for online education is likely to accelerate as lockdowns across the world continue.

"QS are offering a ranking that has proved itself ahead of the curve in trying to capture both the standard of online learning experience in innovative ways, and in recognizing the importance of independent employability data in offering quality assurance.”

“Online students tend to be particularly attuned to the key questions of whether their potential programs will be recognized by employers, and whether they will be sacrificing teaching quality for flexibility. This ranking enables them to make more informed comparisons according to these key criteria.”

What the schools say

Ahead of this year's rankings launch, we spoke to leading business schools about the importance of online education given the impact of Covid-19. Federico Frattini, Dean of Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Management, said: "Although many have been slow to adopt online learning as a necessary function, at MIP we have always been strong supporters of digital learning, and in recent years we have gained a great deal of experience in this area.

"My hope is that the coronavirus emergency will leave behind a greater familiarity with - and a better understanding - of the value of online learning, which is a flexible and inclusive approach to teaching, with huge potential applications beyond a situation of emergency like the one we are all currently experiencing."

Nick Wailes, Director at AGSM and the Deputy Dean of UNSW Business School, echoed these views, saying: "Even prior to the outbreak of COVID19, demand for high quality online education was accelerating. Our students are busy working professionals who need to be able to fit their studies around their other commitments, professional and personal and they don’t want to be forced to make a trade off between quality and flexibility.

"We are experiencing a 'flight to quality' in the online learning space. In a Covid-19 world, being able to offer quality online experiences is critical. Many professions will need to enhance their leadership capabilities to be effective in this new world and the skills that an MBA helps you build will be critical to continued success.

"Interestingly, our experience in online has meant that we were able to move all of our learning online rapidly and this has meant that students in our face to face programs have been able to continue to progress through their programs."

Finally, Pietro Micheli, Course Director for the Distance Learning MBA and Professor of Business Performance and Innovation at Warwick Business School, said: “Even before the pandemic, technology is pointing to more education being done online. The last recession ushered in innovations like MOOCs and education platforms such as FutureLearn and Coursera, so the severe downturn that we are likely to see could bring another acceleration towards online learning.

“The flexibility of online helps people continue their education around their increasingly busy lives and now people are realising it is very possible to work from home and study from home with the same rich learning materials and networking experience it may well open the online market up even more. 

“However, I think increasingly it will be a combination of both online and offline that bring a truly immersive experience to students. Putting lectures on video means more time can be given to discussion and seminars where ideas and theories are analyzed more. It also frees up time for more innovative learning such as using drama, acting out case studies, music, theater, design and other creative techniques to bring learning to life. This will also improve students’ interpersonal skills and leadership qualities, the soft skills that are needed to motivate and work within a team.”

Find out more about the world's top online MBA programs when our rankings are published in full on April 22.