European Business Schools Ranking 2023: methodology and key
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This is the 20th annual Financial Times European Business Schools Ranking. It is a composite ranking based on the combined performance of Europe’s leading schools across five main rankings of programmes published by the FT in 2023: MBA, Executive MBA (EMBA), Masters in Management (MiM) and the two rankings of non-degree executive education programmes. The Online MBA and Masters in Finance rankings are not included.
The European school rank is calculated after removing non-European schools for each of these rankings. MBA, EMBA and MiM account for 25 per cent of each school’s total performance. For Executive Education, the scores obtained for customised and open programmes each account for 12.5 per cent. Schools must have a minimum total weight of 25 out of the possible 100 (from all five rankings) to be eligible, so need at least one masters programme or two executive courses to qualify.
Schools ranked with a joint programme receive a proportional share of the programme’s indexed score. For example, Essec gets 50 per cent of the score achieved by its joint EMBA with Mannheim — worth 12.5 per cent of the possible 100 total weight.
The ranking measures the schools’ quality and breadth of programmes. Quality is given a greater emphasis, so that schools offering high-quality training but not offering all of the different courses considered can still perform strongly overall.
An indexed score is created for each ranking. These scores are then added together, according to the weighting above, creating a combined total for each school, which comprises one-third of the final score. The remaining two-thirds is an average score, derived by dividing the total score for each school by the number of rankings in which it features.
Scores are not simply based on aggregation of published ranking positions. They are calculated using Z-scores — formulas that reflect the range between the top and bottom school — for the individual criteria that make up each ranking.
The following rules are specific to the FT composite European ranking:
Programmes that were assessed but did not make the final rankings for MBA, EMBA, Masters in Management and Executive Education are taken into consideration. They are shown with an asterisk.
If a school has more than one programme in the same ranking, a combined weighted score is awarded. For example, HEC Paris receives 33 per cent of the score achieved by the Trium Global EMBA and the remaining 67 per cent from its own single programme.
Key (weights for ranking criteria in the overall European Business School Ranking are shown in brackets as a percentage)
The European Business Schools ranking is based on the overall scores that each school has achieved for the rankings in which it features, such as MBA, Executive MBA (EMBA), Masters in Management and Executive Education. The composite ranking is not solely based on the data displayed in the European schools table.
MBA
European rank (25): position among European schools that took part in the 2023 FT Global MBA ranking.
Salary today $: average alumni salary three years after completion, US$ by purchasing power parity (PPP). Includes weighted data from the current and two previous years, where available.
Salary increase (%): average difference in alumni salary between pre-MBA and now, three years after completion.
EMBA
European rank (25): position among European schools that took part in the 2023 EMBA ranking.
Salary today $: average alumni salary three years after completion, US$ by purchasing power parity (PPP). Includes weighted data from the current and two previous years, where available.
Salary increase (%): average difference in alumni salary between pre-EMBA and now, three years after completion.
Masters in Management
European rank (25): position among European schools that took part in the 2023 FT MiM ranking.
Salary today $: average alumni salary three years after completion, US$ by purchasing power parity (PPP). Includes weighted data from the current and two previous years, where available.
Salary increase (%): average difference in alumni salary between completion and now, three years after completion.
Executive Education
Open programmes (12.5): position among European schools that took part in the FT ranking of open-enrolment programmes in 2023.
Custom programmes (12.5): position among European schools that took part in the FT ranking of customised programmes in 2023.
Faculty
Female faculty: percentage of female full-time faculty.
International faculty: percentage of full-time faculty whose citizenship differs from country of employment.
Faculty with doctorate: percentage of full-time faculty with a doctoral degree.
FT European Business Schools composite ranking: table notes and tiers
This composite ranking is based on the combined performance of Europe’s leading business schools across the five main rankings of programmes published by the FT in 2023: MBA; Executive MBA (EMBA); Masters in Management; and open-enrolment and custom Executive Education programmes.
All the schools in the ranking are of high quality. Some 160 points separate the top business school, HEC Paris, from the school ranked in 90th place, DCU Business School. The schools are divided into four tiers. Business schools in tiers l and ll score above the average for the cohort, and tiers lll and lV are below it. The difference in scores between business schools ranked consecutively is greater within tiers l and lV than in tiers ll and lll. Tier l includes nine schools from HEC Paris to Essec Business School. Tier ll includes schools from EMLyon Business School, ranked 10th, to Tias Business School in 38th position. Tier lll includes schools from BI Norwegian Business School, ranked 39th, to the University of Glasgow: Adam Smith, ranked 77th. Tier lV includes schools from University of Amsterdam in 78th place to DCU Business School, ranked 90th.
# Figure in brackets refers to data from a separate joint programme for schools with more than one degree that was ranked or placed outside the final table.
† For Masters in Management, salary increase in the three years from completion to now. For MBA/EMBA, the average difference in alumni salary is between before the degree and now, three years after completion.
‡ Faculty data is provided for information and taken from the most recent survey for a published ranking in which the school took part: the MBA, EMBA or Masters in Management 2023.
* The school was ranked outside the final table in 2023 for MBA, EMBA, Masters in Management or Executive Education.
** The school participated in this ranking on the basis of a joint programme. Underlying score based on proportion of total score.
Judith Pizer of Pizer-MacMillan and Avner Cohen acted as database consultants
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