MBA Olympics: The best business schools in the world

Which are the world's best business schools for MBA salaries? Which school wins gold for its Online MBA? Alongside the Olympic Games taking place in Paris, we’re hosting a very special MBA Olympics.

Based on Financial Times MBA rankings data, we’ve compared top MBA programs, pitting them against each other to find out which schools are the best for MBA salaries, career prospects, women, international diversity, Online MBAs, Executive MBAs, and more.

So which country comes out on top? To find our winner, we awarded business schools from across the world three points for a gold medal in each MBA Olympics event, two for silver, and one for bronze.

Two countries draw for the gold medal in our MBA Olympics this year: the USA, with three gold medals, two silver, and one bronze; and France, with four gold medals and two bronze.

With its strong performance across many categories, it’s no wonder that the US has long been the world's most popular study destination for business school students.

The UK puts up a great fight, winning one gold, three silvers, and two bronze, and coming in second place. Spain takes third place, with one gold, two silver, and one bronze. 

Here are the business schools taking the podium in our MBA Olympics:

MBA Olympics Events: 

World's Best Business Schools

Average graduate salary for MBAs

Gold: Stanford, USA: $250,650

Silver: Harvard, USA: $246,509

Bronze: Wharton, USA: $245,772

The US dominates the Financial Times ranking: the eight highest graduate salaries all come from US schools. M7 business schools Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton secured average graduate salaries above $240,000, the highest average MBA salaries in the 2024 ranking. 

MBA Salary increase 

Gold: Indian School of Business: India, 229%

Silver: Fudan University of Management, China: 194%

Bronze: Shanghai University of Finance and Economics: China, 190%

China rockets up the leaderboard here, with MBA students at Fudan University School of Management and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics achieving an average salary increase of more than 190% after graduation.

Though China secures both silver and bronze here, the gold medal goes to the Indian School of Business, where graduates more than triple their pre-MBA salaries.

MBA Career Services 

Gold: Georgia Tech, Scheller College of Business, USA

Silver: UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA

Bronze: Fudan University School of Management, China

Unsurprisingly after its graduates’ performance in the MBA Salary Increase event, Fudan University School of Management boasts a top-of-the-table position for career services, taking the Bronze medal.

Gold and Silver positions are both held by US schools. Scheller College of Business is known for its networking opportunities. UCLA Anderson offers the dedicated Parker Career Management Center to help students access one-to-one career coaching and strategize their careers.

% International Students

Gold: Joint winners with 100% international students are:

• IMD — International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland
• ESCP Business School, France
• Essec Business School, France
• Tias Business School, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
• Cranfield School of Management, UK
• Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands
• Audencia, France
• Grenoble Ecole de Management, France

Silver: Joint second place with 98% international students are:

• University of Cambridge: Judge, UK
• Esade Business School, Spain
• IE Business School, Spain
• University of Oxford: Saïd, UK
• Hult International Business School, US
• Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Denmark
• University of St Gallen, Switzerland

Bronze: Joint third with 97% international students are:

• Edhec Business School, France
• Eada Business School Barcelona, Spain
• University of Edinburgh Business School, UK

It’s a crowded field in this event, and for good reason. More international students enrolled into a program brings greater networking opportunities. If you want to build your international contacts then European business schools in France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are your best bet.

Business schools in Spain, the UK, Hong Kong, and France come close in second; and the UK makes its first appearance, with at least one school in each position.

% Women

Gold: Washington University: Olin, USA: 65%

Silver: Joint second place with 64% women students are Sungkyunkwan University GSB, South Korea, and CUHK Business School, Hong Kong

Bronze: Fudan University School of Management, China: 62%

Most MBA programs on the Financial Times’ list are male-dominated. Among the Financial Times’ top 100 MBA programs, women make up 50% or more of the class in only 13 schools.

However, as this category shows, there are MBA programs that have more women than male students. For example, women make up 65% of MBA students at Washington University: Olin.

Just three schools on the Financial Times’ list have achieved perfect 50:50 gender parity in 2024:

• ESCP Business School, France
• Audencia Business School, France
• University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, US

Online MBAs

Gold: IE Business School, Spain

Silver: Imperial Business School, UK

Bronze: Warwick Business School, UK

Online MBA programs offer students the chance to step up their business skills and knowledge without having to commit to the expense and intensity of a full-time in-person program.

Often, this means that students can level up their careers quicker, because they can work while they learn and apply their MBA teachings in the workplace.

No wonder, then, that the average salary increase among the top 10 online MBA programs as ranked by the FT is 30%. 

Executive MBAs

Gold: Kellogg/HKUST, Hong Kong

Silver: CEIBS, China

Bronze: ESCP Business School, France

Hong Kong takes gold for Executive MBAs. The Kellogg/HKUST joint EMBA program, based in Hong Kong, is consistently ranked top of the world's best Executive MBA programs by the Financial Times. China also performs strongly, with CEIBS also a great option for professionals looking to enter the C-suite. A strong performance from ESCP Business School earns France a bronze medal. 

MBA Olympics: The Medal Table

All figures in this article are from the Financial Times Global MBA 2024 ranking and the EMBA and Online MBA rankings