The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) 2010 'Which MBA?' report has named its annual list of the best business schools in the world. This year the Iese in Barcelona came out on top, followed by IMD, last year's winner, at number two. Number three was the Haas School of Business, followed by the Booth School of Business in Chicago at number four.
With six spots in the top 10, US schools dominated the worldwide ranking of full-time programs. A total of 54 of the rated schools come from the US, 40 are from Europe and 13 are from Asia and Australia.
Ranked the number one full-time MBA program in Asia Pacific and 17th on the world stage in this year's rankings was Melbourne Business School (up from 26th last year).
A number of individual categories combined to create the MBS world-wide ranking of 17. Amongst them was the 'breadth of the MBS alumni network', ranked second, and 'jobs found through the MBS careers service', ranked third. MBS students ranked the education experience sixth. MBS faculty quality was ranked tenth, while increase in salary was ranked 11 internationally.
MBS ranked ahead of INSEAD (23) and Hong Kong University Science and Technology (30). Internationally it has placed ahead of prestigious schools such as Columbia, (20) and MIT Sloan School of Management (19). No other business school in Australia ranked in the top 50.
The Economist ranking surveys students and assesses criteria such as salary increases post-study, career opportunities, personal development/educational experience, and potential to network.
Given these criteria, it's not surprising that the two-year MBA programs, which continue to dominate in the US, have faired better. They ultimately offer more time for personal development and networking and, following the internship after the first year of the program, they also facilitate entry into a new industry or function and thus a career change. Ranking leader Iese is one of the few European schools with a two-year program.