“We are proud that both of our MBA’s appear on the list of the 100 best programmes in the world. For the fifth year running our MBA in partnership with the School of Management at Fudan University in Shanghai is the highest ranked programme from a Nordic business school. Collaborating with leading schools internationally enables us to combine different perspectives on culture, business, innovation, and leadership. This is crucial in an increasingly internationalized world,” says President of BI Inge Jan Henjesand.
The BI-Fudan EMBA programme is ranked number 45 in the world in 2021, down from number 27 last year. BI’s Executive MBA is ranked 90 in 2021, down from 78 last year.
"Competition among the best MBA programmes in the world is very strong. This year, both our programmes have dropped in the rankings. The results inspire us to work even harder to develop our programmes to climb on the MBA rankings in the coming years," continues Henjesand.
The Financial Times ranks schools on 18 indicators. Schools are assessed on the salary of graduates after completing the programme, quality in research, gender distribution among employees and students, and proportion of core courses dedicated to ethical, social and environmental issues. On ethics and sustainability BI’s Executive MBA ranks number 11 in the world, and BI-Fudan ranks number 19 in the world.
“I am pleased to see that our long-term work to incorporate sustainability and ethics in our programmes is recognized. Our MBA-programmes educate current and future leaders who will drive transformation in business and government. It is very important that they develop a sound understanding of sustainability,” says Henjesand.
Salary is by far the most important indicator, comprising 40 percent of the final assessment.
“Graduates from BI-Fudan on average increase their salary by 97 percent after completing the programme. For our Executive MBA the average salary increase is 36 percent. Wage levels for top jobs in Norway are lower in than in many other countries, which naturally affects the ranking,” says Henjesand.
Facts
- The ranking of fulltime MBA-programmes is based on graduates’ career development, salary, academic quality, proportion of international and female students and faculty, course completion and overall ESG rank.
- BI Norwegian Business School was the first educational institution in the world to introduce an international MBA in China.
- The Financial Times has a total of 9 programme rankings. BI participates in five of these: Masters in Management, Masters in Finance, Executive Education – Open, Executive Education Customized, and Executive MBA.
- BI is the only Norwegian school on the 2021 list.
- See the full Financial Times Executive MBA ranking 2021 here.