The Top Ten MBA Rankings Of 2014

Look at any one major business school ranking and you get a useful but quite limited view of programs and institutions. And as this year’s volatility in the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking shows, different methodologies may produce surprising, or even dubious results. To obtain, via rankings, a more comprehensive and realistic picture of the business school ecosystem and its individual components, it’s necessary to make use of a number of rankings. Fortunately, for year’s end, Poets&Quants has compiled a rankings collection almost certain to be found nowhere else – a clearinghouse of school-by-school information, viewed from every relevant angle. And beyond the Top 10 rankings, we’ve provided links to another 10 rankings that will further fill in the business school picture with even more perspectives, measurements, and details.

The Top Ten Business School Rankings of 2014:

1. Poets&Quants’ 2014 Top 100 MBA Programs in the U.S.

In the clash of the titans, a new victor emerges. For the first time since Poets&Quants debuted its composite ranking, Stanford Graduate School of Business edged out Harvard Business School. This ranking combines the five most influential business school rankings in the world, weighting them according to their degree of authority and credibility. The composite methodology cuts out many of the major rankings’ deficiencies, producing a list that’s now consulted more than The Economist’s.

2. Poets&Quants’ 2014 Best International Business School Ranking

Outside the U.S., European business schools dominate the high end of the MBA program spectrum. The U.K. and Spain each claim three spots in the top 10. One fast-rising star is Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, whose six-position rise over 2013 was matched by an Asian institution, the National University of Singapore’s business school, which finished 14th.

3. The Best Online MBA Programs in the U.S.

While industry experts tend to agree that top full-time MBA programs have considerable staying power, there’s no ignoring the rise of online business education. At least 20 of the top 100 business schools now offer online MBA programs. And eight schools in the top 50 offer an online MBA. Generally, the better the school, the more their online MBA program resembles their on-campus MBA program.

4. Which Business School Rankings Really Matter?

Rankings here, rankings there, rankings everywhere – many are useful, but which ones are the most used? The Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants surveys business school applicants to find out which rankings are consulted the most. That U.S. News & World Report‘s ranking is now just ahead of Businessweek‘s as most-consulted is not a surprise. That Poets&Quants‘ ranking is now more consulted than The Economist‘s, Forbes‘, and The Wall Street Journal‘s might raise some eyebrows.

5. 2014 U.S. News’ MBA Ranking

It’s getting a little crowded at the top. WIth Wharton achieving its best-ever result in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of top MBA programs in the U.S., it joins Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School in a three-way tie at No. 1. Wharton surpassed the other two institutions for average salary and bonus, along with employment at and three months after graduation. Wharton fell below Stanford and HBS in the areas of GPA, GMAT scores, and acceptance rates.

6. Duke Tops 2014 Businessweek Ranking

Businessweek‘s 2014 MBA program ranking was full of surprises, the most prominent and controversial of which was the placement of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business at No. 1. Fuqua had placed 22nd in student satisfaction, and hadn’t cracked the top five since 2000. Another surprise: Harvard Business School, widely believed to have the best MBA program in the world, didn’t even make the top five. And Yale University School of Management rose 15 places to No. 6.

7. Recruiter Rankings: U.S. News vs. BW

One of the better tools for gauging a school’s value is the reputation it has among employers. What do employers think about schools after interviewing and hiring their graduates? Does an MBA program produce graduates that business owners and managers want to hire? Recruiter surveys by Businessweek and U.S. News & World Report provide useful insights into how particular schools are perceived by recruiters.

8. 2014 Financial Times’s Global MBA Ranking

It was a good year for U.S. schools in the Financial Times’ international ranking. Many full-time U.S. MBA programs gained two or three places, with two – University of Washington’s Foster School and Boston University School of Management – leaping ahead 20 spots each. The picture was less pretty for Canadian and U.K schools.

9. Chicago Again Tops Economist Ranking

Nothing shocking about the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business coming out on top in The Economist‘s 2014 ranking of full-time MBA programs – Booth had won three times in the previous four years. But two American schools rose nine places, and an upstart from Paris leapt far ahead of London Business School and INSEAD.

10. Academics vs. Recruiters: Which Schools Perform the Best?

Representatives from academia tend to take a rosier view of business schools than do representatives of employers. In fact, among the top 50 business schools, academics ranked schools higher than did recruiters 82% of the time. Still, both the peer assessments and recruiter assessments provide valuable information about which schools are seen to have the best academics, and which are seen to produce the most employable graduates.