The Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) has soared 12 places in the latest Financial Times’ Global MBA rankings, with three Australian schools once again represented in the Top 100.
MGSM jumped from 68th in 2015 to 56th this year while the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the UNSW Business School was up to 66th (2015: 75) and Melbourne Business School rose three places to 87th.
The FT Rankings have strict entry criteria and are based on a survey that consists of two parts; one that evaluates alumni salary and experience on the program (which is worth 59%), and the other, information about the school such as calibre of Faculty, strength in research and diversity of cohort. The alumni surveyed this year were the 2012 MBA cohort. For schools to be ranked, 20% of alumni must complete the survey.
| Business School | Rank 2016 | Salary 2016 ($USD)* | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macquarie University | 68 | $126,736 | 68 | – | – |
| AGSM University of New South Wales | 75 | $109,273 | 75 | 62 | 48 |
| University of Melbourne | 90 | $95,356 | 690 | 68 | 62 |
*The average alumni salary three years after graduating.
In a surprise result France’s Insead leapt from 4th to 1st, relegating Harvard Business School, London Business School and Wharton business School one place each to 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.
The list was once again dominated by US schools with seven of the top 10 having their main campus in North America.
FT uses graduate salaries as one of the main factors for determining the list, particularly the average salary increase for students following their MBA, compared to their salary before the MBA.
The weighted salaries for graduates of MBAs from the Australian schools were $US126,736 at MGSM, $US109,273 at AGSM, and $US95,356 at the Melbourne Business School. This compares with $US166,510 from Insead and $US172,501 form Harvard Business School.
The top average graudate salary is from the fifth-placed Stanford Graduate School of Business, with $US185,939.
MGSM Dean Professor Alex Frino said: “Australian schools should be proud of their performance as a whole. Education continues to be an important export for Australia and results like this improve the country’s reputation overall.
“Over the past year, MGSM has experienced the effects of this boost firsthand. Since entering the rankings, we’ve had 50% plus growth in international enrolments. Perhaps more importantly, is the quality of international students that have flooded MGSM with applications.”
MGSM’s ranking eflects the School’s ongoing commitment to providing students with the very best opportunities, which sets them up to achieve at the highest levels in their post-MBA career.
MGSM also climbed the rankings for research performance and the international mobility of its graduates.
“In these areas we have made significant effort by increasing our number of global partnerships with leading institutions and hiring the best financial, business, management and leadership minds to produce world-first research,” said Professor Frino
“These improvements have paid off. This year, MGSM improved 10 places in research performance, and we were the only school to improve our international mobility ranking – we are now ranked 40th globally, up 14 places,” he said.
AGSM Director and Deputy Dean Business School, Professor Julie Cogin said: “This result is the first significant uplift we’ve seen in ten years and reflects the legitimacy and long-term position of AGSM as one of the top 100 business schools in the world.
It also reflects the excellent performance of our alumni. While we are committed to providing an academically rigorous program in a rich learning environment, our ultimate goal is to prepare great people to achieve great things and a life-long community they are proud to be part of.”
“In the last 12 months, we’ve taken stock and made changes to ensure global employability and mobility of our graduates. Our listing firmly in the top 100 of the FT Ranking will allow us to proceed with this strategy and, as we approach our 40th anniversary, enable us to build on the proud history of the School.”
