Let’s Get Down to Business: The Best Business Schools Globally

Best Business Schools Rankings: UK and US

There are numerous university ranking systems, including the Academic Ranking of World Universities (based on quality of education, quality of faculty, research output, and per capita academic performance), Times Higher Education World University Rankings (based on teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international outlook), and Webometrics Ranking of World Universities (based on web presence and online visibility).

So, as you can see, each ranking system has its own criteria, and results will vary according to each system. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that most of the usual suspects (your Ivy Leagues and your Oxfords) will always feature prominently. However, as we ALWAYS reiterate, some universities don’t even rank in the top 400, but they will still provide you with an outstanding education if you do the work!

But let’s see what the results for best business schools say …

The 5 Best Business Schools in the UK 🇬🇧

The rankings from QS World University Rankings by Subject are for Business and Management Studies.

 

Ranking (QS System)	University	Established
1 in the UK, 3 globally	London Business School (University of London)	1964
2 in the UK, 8 globally	University of Cambridge Judge Business School	1990
3 in the UK, 9 globally	Saïd Business School (University of Oxford)	1996
4 in the UK, 11 globally	The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)	1895 (Fun fact: cofounded by playwright George Bernard Shaw!)
5 in the UK, 21 globally	Warwick Business School (University of Warwick)	1967

 

To get a feel for the Saïd Business School (named after businessman and philanthropist Wafic Saïd), you can watch this video celebrating the school’s 25th anniversary:

 

 

And if you want to experience the life of a student at LSE (which has produced nine Noble laureates!), you can check out their student vlogs page offering tons of helpful info, such as campus tours, finding accommodating in London, how to connect with your classmates, budgeting tips, how to write your dissertation, how to read academic texts, and study spots on campus.

 

 

Best Business Schools in the US 🇺🇸

The rankings from QS World University Rankings by Subject are for Business and Management Studies.

 

Ranking (QS System)	University	Established
1 in the US, 1 globally	Harvard Business School (Harvard University)	1908
2 in the US, 4 globally	Stanford Graduate School of Business (Standford University)	1925
3 in the US, 5 globally	MIT Sloan School of Management (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)	1914
4 in the US, 7 globally	The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania	1881
5 in the US, 12 globally	Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley	1898

 

Now, if you want to attend the number one business school in the world, you don’t need to enrol in an MBA or PhD program – you can simply do an online course lasting between six and eight weeks! Course topics include Business Essentials, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Finance and Accounting, and Leadership and Management. Below is an example of the certificate you earn on completion of one of the online courses:

 

 

An interesting fact regarding the Stanford Graduate School of Business: It is the most competitive business school globally for an MBA (Master of Business Administration) – 2021’s acceptance rate was just over six percent! If you’re keen to learn more about this highly acclaimed school, you can check out their latest magazine, which includes insightful articles on AI (be sure to read How to Survive the AI Revolution), innovation, stories from alumni, leadership, and common challenges in the workplace, like dealing with difficult bosses.

And if you’d like a tour of the incredible Stanford GSB campus, here’s a video highlighting some of the top spots 👇:

 

 

M7 Business Schools: What’s the Deal?

Can you guess what the M stands for? Master? Merit? Mighty? It’s actually … magnificent!

M7 business schools are the top seven graduate business schools in the US, offering the most prestigious and highly sought-after MBA graduate programs. They have an extremely selective admission process, and applicants must demonstrate substantial academic achievement (including high GMAT* scores) and other significant achievements (community impact, entrepreneurship, leadership, etc.). M7 business schools have (of course) famous alumni who have gone on to become CEOs or hold other executive positions at top global companies.

So, which schools comprise the M7?

• Columbia Business School
  • Prestige: CBS is also an Ivy League school (as are Harvard and UPenn).
• Harvard Business School
  • Famous alumni: CEO and founder of Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg.
• MIT Sloan School of Management
  • Famous alumni: Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations.
• Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management
  • History: Recognise the name of your beloved Cereal brand? Kellogg School of Management was named after John L. Kellogg, the son of the founder of Kellogg’s cereal!
• Stanford Graduate School of Business
  • Salary: Graduates can expect a post-MBA salary of just under 225,000 USD!
• University of Chicago Booth School of Business
  • Nobel laureates: The BSB is associated with a brilliant nine Nobel laureates in Economic Sciences!
• The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Famous alumni: Tesla, SpaceX, and now Twitter (yikes) CEO Elon Musk and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
  • The Wharton School is also the biggest regarding class size, with just over 900 students.

* GMAT stands for Graduate Management Admission Test, the most widely used test to assess if a candidate is ready for graduate business and management programs (especially an MBA). The higher the GMAT score, the better the chances of admission, especially into an M7 school. The GMAT assesses critical thinking and reasoning skills, as well as writing, reading, and analytical skills. M7 schools require GMAT scores over 700 – and stats indicate that only 6% of candidates taking the test get over 700!

 

 

The Best Business Schools in Europe

Europe ranks really well for universities offering Business and Management Studies. Here are the top 5:

• INSEAD, France: 2 globally
  • Fun fact: INSEAD is ranked first in Europe for the number of unicorns founded by an INSEAD alumnus (unfortunately, we don’t mean actual unicorns but rather private startup companies valued at over a staggering $1 billion). 🦄
• SDA Bocconi School of Management (Bocconi University, Italy): 6 globally
  • Fun fact: The SDA Bocconi School of Management is one of only 100 universities that holds what is known as the ‘triple crown’, meaning that three prestigious accreditation associations have accredited it.
• HEC Paris, France: 10 globally
  • Fun fact: Françoise Hollande, former president of France, is an HEC alumnus. It is also one of the oldest business schools globally, founded in 1881.
• Copenhagen Business School, Denmark: 14 globally
  • Fun fact: CBS is one of the largest business schools, with over 20,000 students. Unlike many of the schools listed here, CBS offers a comprehensive undergraduate program. You can choose from economics and maths, communication in companies, international business relations, IT and information in companies, people in organisations, and business startup and development.
• Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands: 15 globally
  • Fun fact: The Rotterdam School of Management was ranked number 1 in the 2021 Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects in the Business Administration category.

If you want a taste of graduating at the prestigious INSEAD, then watch this video of valedictorian speaker Shahbaaz Sabharwal for the 2022 MBA Class (also, if you scroll towards the end of the video, you’ll get a good view of how magnificently magical INSEAD and its surroundings are – literally Hogwarts vibes!):

 

 

Best Business Schools in the World: Continents

And here are the top 100 business schools in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. I was a little biased in presenting my alma mater (Wits University), BUT it is a fantastic university if you’re considering doing an exchange program to South Africa 😉.

 

Latin America

• EGADE Business School Monterry (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico): 30 globally.
• Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC), Chile: 58 globally.
• Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia: 91 globally.
• Business School São Paulo (Universidade de São Paulo), Brazil: 97 globally.
• Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez Business School, Chile: 102 globally.

 

 

Africa

• AUC School of Business (The American University in Cairo), Egypt.
• Cairo University, Egypt.
• UCT Graduate School of Business (University of Cape Town), South Africa.
• Stellenbosch Business School (Stellenbosch University), South Africa.
• Wits Business School (University of the Witwatersrand), South Africa.
  • Fun fact: Wits Business School has the highest number of MBA graduates in Africa. It also has the largest academic institution case centre in Africa, giving students the opportunity to analyse a diversity of real-life business challenges.

Asia

• NUS Business School (National University of Singapore), Singapore: 13 globally.
• Nanyang Business School (Nanyang Technological University), Singapore: 20 globally.
• HKUST Business School Central (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Hong Kong: 24 globally.
• Lee Kong Chian School of Business (Singapore Management University), Singapore: 36 globally.
• Seoul National University Business School, South Korea: 39 globally.

Fun fact: The National University of Singapore’s Business School’s website has an option where you can chat with NSU Business School students to get first-hand insights into what it’s like to study at the school.

 

Oceania

• Melbourne Business School (The University of Melbourne), Australia: 34 globally.
• UNSW Business School (University of New South Wales), Australia: 44 globally.
• The University of Sydney Business School, Australia: 47 globally.
• Monash Business School (Monash University), Australia: 52 globally.
• ANU College of Business and Economics (Australian National University), Australia: 83 globally.
• The University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand: 105 globally.

You can follow this link to see some of the research published by students/alumni/professors of The University of Melbourne’s business school. This paper, ‘How the Linguistic Styles of Donald Trump and Joe Biden Reflect Different Forms of Power’, was SUPER interesting to read!

 

 

Best Business Schools List: Graduate Programs

Many business schools on this list only offer graduate programs, which you can explore after your undergraduate degree. But as we said above, you don’t need to pursue a full-time, long-term degree like an MBA or PhD – a lot of these schools also offer fantastic online short courses with certification that’ll be sure to provide you with invaluable knowledge and skills from top lecturers and professors. Always do your research when searching for a university to study at to see if their programs align with your career goals. And yes, unfortunately, business schools can be very pricy, so be sure to check out our posts on how to secure a scholarship!

Good luck on your quest to becoming the best in the business 😉, and remember: While prestigious schools do give you access to some of the best minds, resources, and facilities in the world (as well as some pretty impressive salary increases upon graduation), there are GREAT minds everywhere, and you can always learn something valuable, no matter where (or when!) you study!