FT European Business School Rankings 2018
The top 95, based on 2018 FT rankings
Europe has long been a continent defined by its divisions, whether east and west, Anglo-Saxon and Latin or those pushing to leave or further integrate the EU. But there was at least one uniting factor across Europe this year, the growth of business education.
Most surprising has been the UK’s maintenance of its position in the top 25 of the European schools table, despite fears about the impact of Brexit. London Business School, which retained the number one spot, plays in a different league to many British business education providers. But there are also more UK schools in the top 25, with seven British institutions this year, up from six in 2017. France has six schools in the top 25 but 25 in the complete ranking of 95, compared with the UK’s 22.
There is an irony in that some of the loudest voices of concern about the UK’s exit from the EU have come from within academia and business schools. Although the reasons for UK schools doing relatively well in the past 24 months are complex, they can certainly thank the drop in the value of the pound, making tuition fees relatively cheaper for students from overseas. Concerns about US policies towards foreign students also make the UK a relatively attractive option.
Britain has also enjoyed a particular boost from the government’s imposition of an apprenticeship levy, forcing employers with a payroll of more than £3m to put aside an equivalent of 0.5 per cent of their wage bill for staff training. In a classic example of the law of unintended consequences, a large part of this money, which policymakers had assumed would be spent on the training of school-leavers, has been used to send senior executives on part-time MBA and masters level business degree courses.
More than 1,400 people will enrol in “levy-friendly” MBA courses this year alone, according to the poll by TES, the Times Educational Supplement. Cranfield School of Management, one of the highest climbers on this year’s European ranking list, up from 30 in 2017 to 17, was among the pioneers of such MBA courses.
Beyond the UK, applications to European business school programmes grew by 3.2 per cent this year, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which administers the business school entrance exam.
European schools are far more reliant on overseas students than their equivalents in other regions. GMAC figures show that 77 per cent of applications to European schools that took part in the survey were from non-native students, compared with 41 per cent for institutions in Asia and 39 per cent to schools in the US.
Fortunately, this is a growing market, with 63 per cent of European schools in the GMAC survey reporting a growth in international applications. It is widely accepted in business education that a more diverse range of nationalities makes for a better student experience because so much learning is through discussion and group projects, which are enhanced by a range of viewpoints and perspectives.