MBAs rise in world rankings
Bridie Smith
January 29, 2008

AUSTRALIA'S business schools have improved their global standing, although just two made it on to the Financial Times' prestigious ranking of the world's top 100 MBA programs.

The University of NSW's Australian Graduate School of Management was named Australia's highest ranked business school this year, gaining 10 places to sit at 39, while the Melbourne Business School came in at 75, an improvement of four places on its performance in 2007.

According to the rankings released yesterday, graduates increased their salary by 96% -earning an average salary of just over $US122,300 ($A139,127).

Graduates of the Melbourne Business School increased their earnings by 76% to about $US106,978.

In a list traditionally dominated by American business schools, the London Business School this year claimed second spot, the highest ranking ever attained by a European school. The top-ranking business school was the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; it has been in the top spot for eight of the past 10 years. Wharton graduates had a salary increase of 132%, taking their average earnings to just more than $US166,000.

In third place was the Columbia Business School, where graduates earned $US169,730. Stanford University GSB secured fourth place (with a graduate income of $US175,766) and Harvard Business School ($US163,493) rounded out the top five.

In the annual survey, the Financial Times evaluates the MBA programs by looking at the career progress of alumni, the schools' research and intellectual outputs and the diversity and international experience offered.

China's Ceibs business school was the top-ranking MBA program in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by the Hong Kong UST Business School in second place. The Australian Graduate School of Management ranked fourth in the Asia-Pacific region, while the Melbourne Business School was seventh.