HEC Paris takes the top place in FT European rankings
The French institution has overtaken London Business School in the latest tables
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A top French institution has overtaken its leading British rival as the foremost European business school, in the Financial Times’s latest annual composite rankings assessing the range of qualifications offered.
HEC Paris came first in the FT European Business Schools ranking, which judges schools’ overall performance across their MBAs, Executive MBAs, Masters in Management and Executive Education programmes. It beat London Business School, the leader for the previous two years.
The latest assessment takes into account the ratings in each of the FT’s most recent rankings for the different qualifications, which reflect performance on factors including salary earned three years after graduating, the quality of research and faculty and student diversity.
Peter Todd, dean of HEC Paris, said: “We’re always proud when we get good results and of what we’ve achieved but we’re never satisfied. The market is highly competitive and the competition is only intensifying.”
While France is often associated with a large state and criticism of private capitalism, six of the top 20 European business schools in the FT ranking are based in the country, which has a long tradition of selective and highly competitive entry among the brightest national school leavers and a strong draw for foreign students learning about business.
Many of the leading French business schools were created independently from universities by the country’s regional Chambers of Commerce, including ESCP, based in Paris, which has just celebrated its 200th anniversary. As funding from the chambers dries up and schools seek fresh investment, they are exploring ways to diversify their ownership and sources of income.
A number of the business schools, including HEC, Insead and Essec, have hired deans and other senior faculty from outside France to offer significant teaching in English as well as French — a draw for students from other countries. Many have satellite campuses and partnerships with other institutions in and beyond Europe.
The UK also has six business schools among the top 20 in the latest FT European ranking, as well a branch of ESCP, which also has campuses in Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland. The list also includes three in Spain, two in Switzerland and one in each of Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
At a time when applications to MBAs at US business schools are stagnating and there has been a broader rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, European institutions have received a boost in the number of international students applying to study. Several Chinese business schools have also opened campuses within Europe.