The QS Executive MBA Rankings showcase the world’s best EMBA programs each year. The list typically features prestigious global institutions including the likes of MIT Sloan School of Management in the US, France’s HEC Paris, the UK’s London Business School (LBS) and Spain’s IESE Business School.
The 194 business schools assessed for the 2024 list hail from 45 countries and territories. Among them, business schools from the US have the largest representation with 67 ranked schools, France follows behind with 16, and Canada has the third most business schools with 12.
Schools are ranked according to a number of metrics which are key at executive level. These include: program recognition among employers, the quality of the cohort (presence of C-Suite and management experience), research and innovation, and employability outcomes.
Best schools for Executive MBA programs: Top 10
In 2024, University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School leads the way as the world’s best EMBA program. After placing third in 2023, the school rises to the top buoyed by growth in the experience and quality of its cohort. According to QS, the program is among the world’s best in employer reputation, diversity, and thought leadership.
Following behind and retaining second place for another year is IESE Business School. Based in Barcelona, IESE is one of two top-10 ranking Spanish schools in this list of the best EMBA programs.
Last year’s number one-ranked school, HEC Paris, ranks third this year. Widely regarded as one of Europe’s elite business schools, this year's list sees HEC Paris drops across a number of metrics, most notably cohort work experience and managerial experience.
Two of the most recognizable business schools in the world, LBS and MIT Sloan, round out the top five EMBA programs. MIT retains its place in fourth while LBS enters the top five after placing seventh in 2023. Among employers, the MIT EMBA has the best reputation globally.
Two members of the highly elite M7 business schools—of which MIT is also a member—rank sixth and seventh in the 2024 ranking, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. Kellogg rises from 11th in 2023 due to the strength of its reputation among employers and experience inside the classroom, while Wharton falls one place.
Yale School of Management, which ranked outside the top 10 in 13th previously, rises to place eighth in 2024. Improvements in employer reputation and the work and management experience of students help the school jump five places.
INSEAD, a top global business school which boasts campuses in France, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi drops from eighth to ninth in this year’s ranking of the best EMBA programs. Finally, IE Business School is the second Spanish institution to place among the top 10.
In total, four of the 10 best EMBA programs are based in the US, while two each are based in Spain, France, and the UK.
Best schools for Executive MBA programs: Positions 10-20
Positions 10 to 20 in the 2024 QS list are similarly dominated by business schools in the US. Five US EMBA programs feature here, followed by three UK-based schools and one school from Spain and Singapore, respectively,
In 11th and retaining its position from the previous year is University of California Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Spain’s ESADE Business School, the leading EMBA in the diversity and career outcomes categories, ranks 12th after dropping two places since 2023.
Another M7 school, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, drops three spaces to place 13th in this ranking of the best EMBA programs for 2024. Booth is followed by the sole representative of business schools in Asia among the top 20: National University of Singapore Business School (NUS), up one position since 2023.
The UK’s Warwick Business School and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School have the 15th and 16th best EMBA programs in the world, according to QS. They’re followed by two top US institutions: UCLA Anderson School of Management and Columbia Business School.
Imperial College Business School enters the top 20 after narrowly missing out in 2023. The prestigious London-based school ranks 19th in this year’s list. New York University’s Stern School of Business rounds out the top 20 EMBA programs ranked by QS.
