The Financial Times has updated its Online MBA Ranking for 2017.
For the fourth year in a row, the ranking is led once again by IE Business School's Global MBA program, whose 2013 graduates were found to have salaries of $191,216, on average, the most among all schools in the ranking.
Second place belongs to Warwick Business School's MBA by Distance Learning. This is the fourth year in a row that Warwick has taken the runner-up position.
Taking spot number three is University of Massachusetts Amherst: Isenberg, whose Online MBA program jumped six spots from last year. The FT noted average salaries (just over $159,000) as a main reason for the jump.
Australia's AGSM, which broke into the top 10 last year, rises once again this year to take position number four. The Online MBA from University of Florida: Hough dropped two places this year to round out the top-five.
George Washington University's Online MBA, which is placed sixth this year, is the highest-ranked new entrant. Other new additions this year include the EuroMBA program, which ranks 12, and Colorado State University's Online Professional MBA (ranked 19).
This is the fourth year that the FT has ranked online MBA programs. A total of 22 programs took part in the ranking process; 20 made it to the ranking. To be included, a business school must have accreditation from AACSB and/or EQUIS and have run online programs for at least four years. Although flexible/hybrid MBA programs are included in the ranking, at least 70 percent of an MBA's curriculum must be delivered online to be considered. Participants on the courses must pass a selection process before enrolling and an examination process before graduating.
The data on which the ranking is based was collected through two surveys, one filled out by the schools and one by each MBA program's alumni. The alumni survey accounts for 65 percent of the ranking. The most important criteria include salary today, which accounts for 20 percent of a school's ranking, salary increase (10 percent), online interaction (10 percent), and FT research rank (10 percent), which is calculated according to the number of articles published by each school's full-time faculty.
Below is a table which shows the 15 schools ranked in the FT's Online MBA Ranking 2017.
The FT's Online MBA Ranking 2017
| 2017 Rank | Business School | MBA Program | Change from 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IE Business School | Global MBA | no change |
| 2 | Warwick Business School | MBA by Distance Learning | no change |
| 3 | Umass Amherst - Isenberg | Online MBA | +6 |
| 4 | AGSM | MBAx | +4 |
| 5 | Florida - Hough | Online MBA | -2 |
| 6 | George Washington University | Online MBA | not ranked in 2016 |
| 7 | IU - Kelley | Kelley Online MBA | -2 |
| 8 | Babson - Olin | MBA Blended Program | -2 |
| 9 | Durham | Online MBA | -5 |
| 10 | Syracuse - Whitman | MBA@Syracuse | not ranked in 2016 |
| 11 | ASU - Carey | Online MBA | -1 |
| 12 | EuroMBA | EuroMBA | not ranked in 2016 |
| 13 | Northeastern | Online MBA | -6 |
| 14 | Bradford | Distance Learning MBA | -3 |
| 15 | University of Nebraska at Lincoln | Online MBA | -3 |
| 16 | FIU - Chapman | Corporate MBA | -3 |
| 17 | Centrum Católica | Virtual International Managerial MBA | -2 |
| 18 | NCSU - Jenkins | Professional Online MBA | not ranked in 2016 |
| 19 | Colorado State University | Online Professional MBA | not ranked in 2016 |
| 20 | Drexel - LeBow | Online MBA | -6 |
For more information on MBA rankings, please see FIND MBA's MBA Rankings page.
See FIND MBA's previous coverage of the Online MBA Rankings from the FT:
- The Financial Times Releases 2016 Online MBA Ranking
- The Financial Times Publishes 2015 Online MBA Ranking
- The FT Releases Online MBA Program Ranking (2014)
Image: IE Business School
