Click here to discover the top buisiness schools in 2019.
If you’re planning to study business then leaving university with a good degree and strong career prospects are likely to be very high on your list of priorities.
Which universities are most likely to impress an employer when they look at your job application though? Below, we count down the ten best business schools for employer reputation, according to the indicator used to compile the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018.
Want the bigger picture? View the full business school ranking here.
Honorable mentions
Firstly, there are some universities we should mention before launching into our top 10 business schools with employers. These institutions featured in the overall top 10 in the business school ranking, but failed to rank that highly for employer reputation.
The University of Pennsylvania is ranked 13th for its employer reputation and fifth overall, while the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is ranked 25th in the world for employer reputation and ninth overall.
10. National University of Singapore (NUS)
Ranked 10th for employer reputation and 15th overall, the National University of Singapore (NUS)’s business school boasts some of the best employment rates in Singapore. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in November 2016, 99 percent of NUS’ Bachelor of Business Administration (Accountancy) honors degree students were in full-time employment six months after graduating, earning an average of S$3,435 a month (~US$2,600).
NUS Business School has a careers portal for students, “NUS BIZ Symplicity”, in which students can personalize their profiles, view exclusive internships and job postings, RSVP for events, book appointments with career advisors, record mock interview videos and more. The school is also active in running recruitment events such as industry panel discussions.
9. Peking University
Based in China, Peking University is ranked ninth in the business school ranking for employer reputation and 28th overall. The university itself is mainly located in Beijing but its HSBC Business School (PHBS) is actually found at the university’s only satellite campus, in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
PHBS is also opening a UK campus in Oxford, set to admit its first students in Spring 2018, which will give students the chance to study for a year in the UK and another year in China.
If you study business in Shenzhen, you’ll benefit from close proximity to the global financial center of Hong Kong, and the school’s careers center offers seminars and workshops designed to improve your interview and networking skills.
8. The University of Melbourne
Ranked 14th overall for business (up from 22nd in 2017) and eighth for employer reputation, the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Business School is the highest-ranked in Oceania.
Melbourne Business School will provide you with advice and support through careers coaching, industry events, résumé reviews, LinkedIn training, networking workshops and mock interviews.
The school also runs the unique Personal Effectiveness Program, in which MBA students work with experienced career consultants to become market-ready by mastering skills such as leadership, structured thinking and collaboration. It also promotes networking by giving you opportunities to meet top companies and get involved with student-run professional clubs within the wider Melbourne Business School community.
7. London Business School
Although it’s ranked seventh in this list, London Business School (LBS) is actually ranked third overall for business and is the highest-ranked of the top business schools in the UK – achieving the highest score in the whole table for academic reputation.
96 percent of LBS’ master’s in management 2017 graduates accepted a job offer three months after graduation, in various roles within finance, consulting and technology.
LBS’ Career Centre Team continually builds relationships with recruiters around the world, and you’ll also benefit from a career skills team of various qualified, professional career coaches with business backgrounds.
6. Stanford University
Stanford University’s Stanford Graduate School of Business is ranked sixth for both employer reputation and overall, achieving its strongest score for academic reputation. Stanford topped the most recent QS Graduate Employability Rankings and has a solid reputation for being the alma mater of a large number of successful figures in business, such as the founders or co-founders of Google, LinkedIn, YouTube, Nike, Netflix and Snapchat.
Study here and you can take advantage of the Career Management Center (CMC)’s career resources, with opportunities for one-on-one coaching, meeting with industry insiders and experienced alumni, as well as access to a global database of senior executive positions.
5. INSEAD (France)
Ranked second overall in our ranking of top business schools and fifth for employer reputation, INSEAD markets itself as “The Business School for the World” with campuses in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi).
INSEAD boasts an impressive alumni network of entrepreneurs and CEOs of companies including Admiral, Vistaprint, Flybe, Royal Caribbean International, Citymapper and Bang & Olufsen.
Alumni can access alternative job boards through the Career Development for Working Professionals (CDWP) platform, while current MBA students are able to choose from more than 75 electives to tailor their degree in line with their interests and career goals.
4. University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is ranked eighth overall for business and fourth for employer reputation this year, earning its strongest score in this indicator.
The university’s Saïd Business School teaches both undergraduate and graduate business degrees and aims to blend the best of the new and old (having only been founded as recently as 1996, while the University of Oxford itself is more than 800 years old).
MBA students at the school are supported in their graduate job search by the Career Development Centre, which arranges recruitment events with MBA employers, a Talent Development program which includes career workshops, and student “treks” – student-led visits to particular regions to discover how business is done there.
3. University of Cambridge
The highest-ranked of the top business schools in the UK for employer reputation, the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School is actually ranked seventh overall. The school is active in encouraging and enabling entrepreneurship from its students, with close ties to the nearby “Silicon Fen” (also known as the Cambridge Cluster), an area home to a large concentration of high-tech software, electronics and biotechnology businesses.
It also has an Entrepreneurship Centre which runs the start-up accelerator Accelerate Cambridge, a three-month program which combines entrepreneurship training with regular coaching, mentoring and access to a shared workspace.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Ranked fourth overall for business and second for employer reputation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Sloan School of Management offers 10 degree and non-degree programs and has an alumni network of 120,000 people in more than 90 countries. More than 650 companies have been founded by MIT’s alumni, including big names like E*Trade, Gartner, Genentech, HubSpot, InVivo Therapeutics, Teradyne, and Zipcar.
As many MIT Sloan programs qualify as STEM subjects, international students are able to extend their optional practical training in the US by 24 months after graduation and gain experience in US companies and start-ups in their field of study for longer.
1. Harvard University
Number one in our look at the top business schools in the world according to employer reputation, Harvard University’s Harvard Business School (HBS) is also number one overall in the ranking.
HSB’s Career & Professional Development (CPD) office places importance on giving new MBA students time for reflection and self-assessment, building a successful academic foundation before starting the recruitment process and learning about their options (before arriving on campus, students complete the CareerLeader® online assessment tool).
Of the class of 2017, 89 percent accepted an employment offer within three months of graduating, with a median base salary of US$135,000. Graduates took jobs in industries such as consulting, financial services, technology, health care and manufacturing.
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