The Wharton School has been ranked the best business school for studying an executive MBA in North America for the second year running in the QS EMBA Rankings by Region 2020.

Released today, the QS Global EMBA Rankings 2020 reveal the top executive MBA programs around the world, as well as providing a regional breakdown to help you find a top school near you. The rankings also include a separate table of the best joint programs.

You can find out more about the methodology used to produce the rankings here.

10) The Fuqua School of Business

Kicking off our top 10 EMBA programs in North America is Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, which scored highly for both employer reputation and diversity, two of the indicators used to compile the ranking.

The EMBA program is 18 months in duration, with Class of 2022 students paying US$149,500 in tuition.

The 2020 class has 94 students (up from an intimate 48 students the previous year), with an age range of 26-52, and a range of five to 28 years work experience.

47 percent of the class are female, 19 percent international representation, 25 percent entered the program already in possession of an advanced degree, and 22 percent have international citizenship.

9) Columbia Business School

Situated in New York is Columbia Business School. Columbia’s flagship Executive MBA program can be completed either through the 20-month Friday/Saturday option, or the 24-month Saturday schedule.

Columbia’s EMBA program scored very highly for employer reputation, thought leadership and diversity in this year’s ranking. The current cohort is made up of 146 students (in two clusters), 34 percent women and 23 percent international students.

Students enter the program with an average age of 33, an average of nine years’ work experience, and four years’ managerial experience. Fees for students this year, and in January 2021 are US$213,240.

8) NYU Stern School of Business

Situated a stone’s throw away from the financial heart of the US, NYU Stern is one of two New York institutions featured in the top 10. Stern’s program scored very highly for employer reputation and thought leadership in particular.

Students on Stern’s EMBA program have an average of 14 years’ work experience, and seven years’ managerial experience. Of the class, 30 percent are female, 30 percent have an international background, and 40 percent hold an advanced graduate degree.

The 22-month program costs US$204,000.

7) Yale School of Management

Yale School of Management’s EMBA is the next on our list, scoring very highly for thought leadership and career outcomes.

The program starts with a two-week in-residence session, then classes are held every other weekend on Friday and Saturday for 22 months.

Yale SOM’s Class of 2021 has 74 students enrolled, with an average of 13 years’ work experience, as well as five years’ managerial experience. The cohort boasts 36 percent women and 22 percent international students, while 41 percent also possess advanced degrees.

The program for students entering in July 2020 will be US$193,500.

6) Kellogg School of Management

Working our way towards the middle of the table is Kellogg School of Management’s Executive MBA program, however, the program does achieve the highest score in North America for its reputation among employers, while also scoring highly for thought leadership.

Every year, EMBA participants at Kellogg congregate in Evanston for Global Network Week, and they’re also required to complete one set of global electives.

As a group, students on Kellogg’s EMBA meet either one weekend or two weekends a month. Female students make up 31 percent of the class, while 14 percent are international students. The average age of an executive MBA student at Kellogg is 38, while they typically start the program with 14 years’ work experience, and eight years’ managerial experience. 

Students pay US$213,564 for the two-year program.

5) Haas School of Business

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley Haas’s executive MBA program scored a close to perfect score for thought leadership, and very highly for employer reputation.

The EMBA program at Haas promises a global experience, with an immersive course that will send you to Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, and global business hubs like Shanghai or São Paulo.

There are 68 students in the cohort, of which 32 percent are female students and 12 percent are underrepresented minorities. 17 countries are represented in the class, and the students have an average of 13 years’ work experience and nine years’ managerial experience before commencing their studies.

The cost for the 19-month program is US$194,000.

4) UCLA Anderson School of Management

Next, we venture to LA’s Anderson School of Management, which scored very highly in both employer reputation and thought leadership.

Anderson’s class has 137 students, with students averaging 14 years’ work experience and nine years’ management experience. 30 percent of the cohort have C-Suite experience (the highest percentage in the top 10). 

The cohort also boasts 22 countries of origin, with 21 percent of students hailing from abroad. Over a third of the class (35 percent) are female.

As classes are on the weekends with flexible scheduling (either biweekly or monthly), you’ll complete your EMBA in just 22 months. Past electives cover a broad range of topics including entrepreneurship, macroeconomics and management communication.

Fees for the two-year program are estimated at US$167,992.

3) Chicago Booth School of Business

And we’ve reached our bronze medalist – Chicago Booth School of Business. Booth created the world’s first Executive MBA program in 1943, so it’s clear to see why the program retains its soar. Booth scored very highly across employer reputation, thought leadership, and career outcomes.

Depending on whether you study Booth’s EMBA program in the US or one of their other campuses, tuition fees will vary. Chicago’s program fees for June 2020 are US$194,000 – which covers three residential weeks in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong.

2) MIT Sloan School of Management  

This year’s runner-up for the title of best executive MBA program in North America is MIT Sloan, which earned a perfect score of 100 for thought leadership and also ranked extremely well for diversity and employer reputation.

The MIT Executive MBA is a 20-month program, with classes once every three weeks. There are four week-long modules, 26 weekend sessions (spaced about three weeks apart) for iterative development, and a one-week international project trip during the capstone Global Labs action learning experience.

The Class of 2020 has 126 students, an average age of 41, and 17 years’ work experience. 16 percent of students have C-Suite experience, and 48 percent are international.

Tuition payments (Class of 2022, matriculating September 2020) total US$178,302 – the same price as the previous academic year.

1)  The Wharton School

And here we are, our winning program for North America yet again. The Wharton School’s Executive MBA program – scoring very highly across all indicators – features a required one-week Global Business Week, and students can also take part in Global Modular Courses at locations such as Israel, India, Brazil and more.

Wharton’s Class of 2021 has 236 students, an average age of 36, 12 years’ work experience, and a median GMAT score of 700.

Students entering Wharton’s two-year program in May 2020 paid US$214,800, but no need to worry, as Wharton grads note whopping salary increases – not too bad a return for the best EMBA in North America!

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has been ranked the best in the world for the second year running in the QS Global EMBA Rankings 2020.

Released today, the QS Global EMBA Rankings 2020 reveal the top executive MBA programs around the world, as well as providing a regional breakdown to help you find a top school near you. The rankings also include a separate table of the best joint programs.

You can find out more about the methodology used to produce the rankings here.

The top 10 in the world can be seen below:

10) Haas School of Business

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley Haas’s executive MBA program scored a close to perfect score for thought leadership, and very highly for employer reputation.

The EMBA program at Haas promises a global experience, with an immersive course that will send you to Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, and global business hubs like Shanghai or São Paulo.

There are 68 students in the cohort, of which 32 percent are female students and 12 percent are underrepresented minorities. 17 countries are represented in the class, and the students have an average of 13 years’ work experience and nine years’ managerial experience before commencing their studies.

The cost for the 19-month program is US$194,000.

9) UCLA Anderson School of Management

Next, we venture to LA’s Anderson School of Management, which scored very highly in both employer reputation and thought leadership.

Anderson’s class has 137 students, with students averaging 14 years’ work experience and nine years’ management experience. 30 percent of the cohort have C-Suite experience (the highest percentage in the top 10). 

The cohort also boasts 22 countries of origin, with 21 percent of students hailing from abroad. Over a third of the class (35 percent) are female.

As classes are on the weekends with flexible scheduling (either biweekly or monthly), you’ll complete your EMBA in just 22 months. Past electives cover a broad range of topics including entrepreneurship, macroeconomics and management communication.

Fees for the two-year program are estimated at US$167,992.

8) Saïd Business School

A new entry in this year’s global Executive MBA top 10 is the Oxford Executive MBA. The program scored very highly across all indicators.

The program consists of 16-18 week-long modules (depending on your choice of electives) which run approximately every five weeks to fit alongside work commitments.

Said’s Executive MBA program features a class size of 74, with an average age of 38, 34 percent women on the program, as well as 23 employment sectors featured within the cohort.

This year’s program starts in September, and students can choose either the 22- or 24-month options. Tuition for the program is £91,350 (US$113,743). 

7) INSEAD

INSEAD’s Global Executive MBA program achieved high scores for thought leadership and career outcomes, as well as a perfect score for employer reputation (the only school to achieve this in the top 10).

Students in the GEMBA Class of 2019 have an average of 14 years’ work experience. The program is designed in a modular format, with students able to choose primary locations in Europe in Fontainebleau, Singapore in Asia, or the Middle East section in Abu Dhabi.

The Europe section starts in October, taking 14 months to complete with 63 days out of office. Tuition fees are €125,500 (approx. US$140,644). The Asia section starts in August, with 57 days out of office and takes 17 months, with tuition fees of SG$196,000 (approx. US$140,429). The Middle East section starts in October, spanning 15 months with 55 days out of office, and tuition fees of US$135,000.

6) Chicago Booth School of Business

Chicago Booth School of Business created the world’s first Executive MBA program in 1943, so it’s clear to see why the program retains its soar. Booth scored very highly across employer reputation, thought leadership, and career outcomes.

Depending on whether you study Booth’s EMBA program in the US or one of their other campuses, tuition fees will vary. Chicago’s program fees for June 2020 are US$194,000 – which covers three residential weeks in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong.

5) London Business School

The Executive MBA at London Business School achieved high scores for employer reputation, thought leadership and career outcomes.

The LBS EMBA is divided into two streams in two locations: London and Dubai. There are also options for international assignments and electives in locations including, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Mexico City, San Francisco, Athens and Hong Kong.

The 20-month program, commencing in January or September, has fees of £98,500 (approx. US$121,982) for London and US$128,600 for Dubai.

4) MIT Sloan School of Business

This year’s runner-up for the title of best executive MBA program in North America is MIT Sloan, which earned a perfect score of 100 for thought leadership and also ranked extremely well for diversity and employer reputation.

The MIT Executive MBA is a 20-month program, with classes once every three weeks. There are four week-long modules, 26 weekend sessions (spaced about three weeks apart) for iterative development, and a one-week international project trip during the capstone Global Labs action learning experience.

The Class of 2020 has 126 students, an average age of 41, and 17 years’ work experience. 16 percent of students have C-Suite experience, and 48 percent are international.

Tuition payments (Class of 2022, matriculating September 2020) total US$178,302 – the same price as the previous academic year.

3) HEC Paris

In bronze position this year (up from joint fifth last year) is HEC Paris Executive’s MBA program. The EMBA scored highly for employer reputation, thought leadership, executive profile, and career outcomes.

The HEC Paris EMBA offers a variety of part-time options, split into two main strands – the International Paris EMBA or the International EMBA. The Paris EMBA options are all taught in Paris, while you can study in Doha, Qatar on the International EMBA.  

The program takes between 15 and 18 months to complete, with fees of €82,950 (approx. US$93,048) for Paris. The most recent cohort have an average age of 40 with 15 years’ work experience.

2) IESE Business School

Moving up two spots in the global top 10 is the Global Executive MBA program at IESE Business School. The program achieved very high scores across all ranking indicators.

Students have the option of completing the EMBA in one of four locations: Barcelona, Madrid, Munich or São Paulo. In your second year you can choose to study an international immersion with cohorts from around the world – locations include New York, Shanghai and Nairobi.

Fees for the 18-month Global EMBA program are €73,700 (approx. US$82,679.61). This includes tuition, course materials and most meals during residential modules. Participants on the program have an average of 10 years’ work experience, 30 percent are female, and 20+ nationalities are represented.

1）The Wharton School

Taking the top spot for yet another year is the MBA for Executives program at The Wharton School. The Executive MBA program – scoring very highly across all indicators – features a required one-week Global Business Week, and students can also take part in Global Modular Courses at locations such as Israel, India, Brazil and more.

Wharton’s Class of 2021 has 236 students, an average age of 36, 12 years’ work experience, and a median GMAT score of 700.

Students entering Wharton’s two-year program in May 2020 paid US$214,800, which includes tuition, most course materials, room and board, and a Land Package for the Global Business Week.

The QS EMBA Rankings combine input from thought leaders in business & management alongside the perceptions of global employers who recruit from the world’s best EMBA programs, and is further enhanced by program-specific indicators. The results bring together over 200 schools & programs, each of which were surveyed. A total of 202 programs were ranked, 26 of which are joint EMBA programs.

In order for a school to be eligible, two preconditions must be met:

• Schools must have at least one graduating class
• Schools must have either AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS or EPAS accreditation

While these preconditions are essential, it can nonetheless be difficult to define exactly what should be classified as an Executive MBA. One guarantee of a program being an EMBA despite issues with naming or description, is the program being registered with the Executive MBA Council.

EMBAs that follow all preconditions can still feature technical aspects that make their classification potentially problematic. For example, one school may offer multiple EMBA classes across multiple campuses. In cases such as these, the classes are considered as being one entry for the purposes of the ranking. This includes schools such as Wharton.

Data Collection

Data is collected from two long-standing QS surveys; the QS Global Employer Survey & the QS Academic Survey. The responses from these surveys span a total of five years, with responses from more recent years having greater weighting. In addition to these surveys, schools were asked to submit data relating to their EMBA programmes covering a variety of topics.

The QS Employer Survey and Academic Surveys account for 30 percent and 25 percent of the ranking weight, respectively. Executive Profile, which includes average years’ work experience, managerial experience, and c-suite experience make up 15 percent of the ranking weight. Career Outcomes make up 20 percent of the ranking weight, which includes salary uplift within a year of graduation, as well as the percentage of students who were promoted within a year of graduation. The remaining 10 percent of the ranking weight is Diversity of class, which includes both the representation levels of women and number of nationalities among a program’s students.

Employer Index (30%)

Each employer is asked to list, unprompted, the international schools from which they have recently attempted to recruit MBAs. Each time a school is selected by an employer, it receives one vote. The total number of votes made this way for each school is referred to as the ‘total unprompted votes.’

From a list of over 500 business schools that have been categorized by region, employers are then asked to identify the schools which they consider attractive for hiring business school graduates. In order to be included on the list, a school must have been recommended by an employer in the previous year of the research. Each time a school is selected, it is given one vote, and the total for each school is referred to as the ‘total prompted votes.’

The total prompted and total unprompted votes are added together to create the ‘total employer votes.’ In order to ensure balanced results that are not subject to influence from the economic cycle, an average of the ‘total employer votes’ is taken from the current year’s research and the four previous surveys. 

For joint programs, where the scores from a number of schools are considered, the highest performing school receives an inflationary adjustment to account for the strengths this institution brings to the partnership.

Thought Leadership (25%)

Respondents are first asked to identify their areas of expertise – specifically, the countries, regions, and up to five faculty areas with which they are most familiar. For each of the five faculty areas, they are then asked to list up to 10 domestic and 30 international institutions that they consider excellent for research in that area. They are not permitted to choose their own institutions and only responses related to business and management are used for this ranking.

QS combines responses from the last five years and, where any participant has responded more than once in the five-year period, their previous responses are discarded in favour of the most recent response alone. Responses from previous three years are weighted at full value while earlier responses are discounted somewhat.

QS used more than 5,000 responses from academics with expertise in the fields of business and management taken between the years of 2015 and 2020. For joint programs, where the scores from a number of schools are considered, the highest performing school receives an inflationary adjust to account for the strengths this institutions brings to the partnership.

Years of Work Experience (5%)

The class average for years of pre-EMBA work experience is taken from schools which provided data alongside publicly available sources.

Management Experience (5%)

The class average for years of pre-EMBA management experience at the managerial level is taken from schools which provided data alongside publicly available sources.

C-Suite Experience (5%)

The proportion of a class with c-suite experience is taken from schools which provided data alongside publicly available sources.

Number of Nationalities (5%)

The number of different nationalities among a school’s students is taken from data provided by schools and publicly available sources.

Female Representation (5%)

The proportion of women enrolled on an EMBA program is taken from schools who provided data alongside publicly available sources.

Salary Uplift (10%)

The average growth of student salaries 12 months after completion of the course is taken from data provided by schools and calculated from publicly available sources. If schools provide pre- and post-program salary levels, but not salary uplift, the increase is derived.

Promoted (10%)

The proportion of students who received a promotion within 12 months of completing their EMBA program was collected from data provided by schools and publicly available sources.

All indicator scores are summed together to produce an overall score, which is ranked & then split into the following regions:

• Global Programs (excluding joint offerings)
• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East and Africa
• Joint Programs