Business school rankings
Use sliders above and click the 'Calculate' button to see School Data.
Methodology
This table lists the metrics used in the MBA rankings from Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial Times, Poets & Quants, and Forbes. We’ve included the source of each metric and the official definition from the source. Program size and tuition are for information only and are not used in ranking schools. The methodology of the source publication is described in the definition for each metric.
Rankings calculator methodology: How is the top 30 schools list generated?
For each metric, the top 30 schools ranked in that category are assigned points for their ranking. The top-ranked school receives 30 points and the bottom-ranked school receives one point. Schools that tie receive the same number of points. The custom ranking list is based on the sum across criteria of the weight assigned to each metric times the school’s points on that metric. The best fit list ranks the top 30 schools based on these composite scores. Schools must be ranked in the top 30 schools on one metric and among the top 60 schools on at least one additional metric to be eligible for the calculator.
Metric |
Source |
Definition |
Average Salary & Bonus |
Poets & Quants |
Average (or *Median) starting salary & bonus for previous year MBA grads. Salary based on the number of graduates who reported data. Signing bonus weighted by the proportion of those graduates who reported a bonus. Copyrighted 2023. Poets & Quants. |
Job Placement Rate |
Financial Times |
Employment rate for previous year MBA graduates 3 months after graduation. Those not seeking jobs or for whom no job-seeking information is available are excluded. Copyrighted 2023. Global MBA Ranking 2023. Used under license from The Financial Times. All Rights Reserved. |
Return on Investment |
Forbes |
Alumni at 100 schools surveyed for pre- and post-MBA compensation, career choice, and location. Schools ranked based on five year MBA gains: alumni earnings in the first five years compared to opportunity cost (2 years forgone compensation/bonuses & stock, tuition, fees). It's assumed compensation would have risen half as fast as post-MBA salary increases had alumni not attended business school. Student debt not included in ROI calculations. Data provided with permission of Forbes.com. |
Low Average Debt |
U.S. Department of Education |
College Scorecard. Includes information on cumulative debt at graduation. Field of study-level data files for the pooled 2014-15, 2015-16 award years through the pooled 2017-18, 2018-19 award years containing data at the credential level and 4-digit CIP code combination for each institution. |
Networking |
Bloomberg Businessweek |
Quality of networks being built by classmates; students' interactions with alumni; successes of the career-services office; quality and breadth of alumni-to-alumni interactions; and the school's halo, or brand power, from recruiters' viewpoints. |
Faculty Research |
Financial Times |
Number of articles published by full-time faculty in 50 selected journals weighted relative to the size of each faculty. (Research rankings here only include rank among U.S. schools.) Global MBA Ranking 2023. Used under license from The Financial Times. All Rights Reserved. |
Student Selectivity |
Poets & Quants |
Percentage of previous year’s applicants to the full-time program who were accepted. Copyrighted 2023. Poets & Quants. |
Average GMAT |
Poets & Quants |
Average Graduate Management Admission Test score and average GRE quantitative and verbal scores of full-time MBA students entering the previous fall. Copyrighted 2023. Poets & Quants. |
Post-MBA Salary Increase |
Financial Times |
Average difference in alumni salary from before the MBA to now. Half of this figure is calculated according to the absolute salary increase and half according to the percentage increase relative to pre-MBA salary. Global MBA Ranking 2023. Used under license from The Financial Times. All Rights Reserved. |
Learning Experience |
Bloomberg Businessweek |
Quality, depth, and range of instruction; whether the curriculum is applicable to real-world business situations; the degree of emphasis on innovation, problem-solving, and strategic thinking; the level of inspiration and support from instructors; class size; and collaboration. |
Annual Tuition & Fees |
Poets & Quants |
For information only, not a ranking factor. Out-of-state tuition and fees cost per year for the full-time MBA program. Copyrighted 2023. Poets & Quants. |
Program Size |
Poets & Quants |
For information only, not a ranking factor. Total student enrollment in the full-time MBA program. Copyrighted 2023. Poets & Quants. |
Frequently asked questions
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Why create an MBA Rankings Calculator?
- The inspiration for the calculator was a new ranking developed by Poets & Quants, which essentially assigned a zero weight to criteria that were not focused on student inputs and outputs.This led us to the question: why not come up with a way to let MBA applicants weight categories based on their individual preferences? This is what the MBA Rankings Calculator sets out to do.
Designed with input from prospective MBA students, this resource can help candidates save time generating a short list of schools to explore for a personalized fit.
For example, one applicant may want to emphasize low debt and ROI over competitive GMAT scores in a program. Another may choose a school based on high research performance and an outstanding learning experience. A third candidate may be primarily focused on high salaries, job placement, and networking. There is no one-size-fits-all program for everyone—this tool helps candidates find their best matches.
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Which metrics are used?
- Average salary and bonus, job placement, average debt, return on investment, faculty research, networking, learning experience, student selectivity, and average GMAT score as well as the salary increase from pre-program to post-graduation.
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What are the sources of the data?
- We developed the calculator with data licensed from Bloomberg Businessweek, The Financial Times, Poets & Quants, the U.S. Department of Education, and Forbes. The data provided are for personal, non-commercial use only, based on the copyrights and terms and conditions of the data providers.
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Why were these 10 metrics chosen?
- We tested the calculator with prospective students, including those who had not applied at the Foster School of Business. Based on student feedback, we selected diverse metrics that were important to them while creating a tool that was simple to use.
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How are the rankings metrics weighted?
- For each metric, the top 30 schools ranked in that category are assigned points for their ranking. The top-ranked school receives 30 points and the bottom-ranked school receives one point. Schools that tie receive the same number of points. The custom ranking list is based on the sum across criteria of the weight assigned to each metric times the school’s points on that metric. The best fit list ranks the top 30 schools based on these composite scores.While these metrics are based on the methodologies of the source publications (described in the 'Methodology' tab), users of the calculator can weight each factor separately to create their own custom list.
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Why 30 schools?
- There are more than 60 schools included in the calculator, as different schools are included in different metric rankings. Listing 30 schools in the best fit ranking allows for a diverse range of large, medium, and small schools across the U.S. as well as a blend of private and public schools with different specialties. After the top 30 schools, there is less consistency of schools that are ranked in more than two ranking metrics.
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Why were only United States schools included?
- The majority of potential MBA students who contact our admissions staff are interested in business schools in the United States. While we do recruit students internationally, we are located in the U.S. For these reasons, we decided to focus exclusively on U.S. schools.
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Does the calculator give an advantage to the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business?
- No. The Foster School is ranked in the lowest quartile on some metrics and not ranked at all on others. The metrics were chosen based on prospective student priorities—primarily outcomes for graduates, program selectivity, and reputation with employers and alumni.
To see the top 30 schools in an individual category, allocate 100 points to that metric and click the 'Calculate' button.
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Does the rankings calculator replace or duplicate other MBA rankings?
- No. The rankings calculator is a complementary tool to the existing rankings. It uses data points licensed from Businessweek, The Financial Times, Poets & Quants, and Forbes to help potential students create a custom list of schools that fit their priorities. It also links to each of these rankings so that prospective students can explore the full set of data that each ranking offers. What makes the rankings calculator unique is the opportunity for prospective students to select their own metrics and apply their own weights.
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How can I use these results?
- The results from the rankings calculator data are provided for your personal, non-commercial use based on the copyrights and terms and conditions of the sources: Poets & Quants, Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial Times, and Forbes.University of Washington Terms and Conditions
This website and its contents are owned by University of Washington or third parties and are protected by law, including but not limited to copyright and trademark law. Certain content, such as copyrighted materials and trademarks, are used by permission of third parties. Except as allowed by law (such as fair use) or as expressly permitted in connection with specific content, this website and its contents may not be reproduced, modified, distributed, displayed, performed, or used in any way without the prior written permission of University of Washington or the third-party owner. In the case of content licensed from third parties, the entity that is credited as the copyright holder of such licensed content. You may download freely accessible material (one copy per page) for your personal and noncommercial use only. Licensed data displayed on this site is provided based on the terms and conditions and copyright of the source data providers.
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How can I submit feedback on the MBA Rankings Calculator?
- Please let us know what you think of the MBA Rankings Calculator by sending an email to [email protected].