With coronavirus shutting down on-campus training, its electronic counterpart has been evolving speedy — and on the internet MBAs are attaining in status.
Business enterprise educational facilities are generating much more on the internet MBAs and improving current programmes. This 12 months, much more educational facilities than ever participated in the FT’s position of these programs, though very little has adjusted at the top of the desk.
Warwick Business enterprise College retains the top slot for the fourth 12 months in a row. The major cause is the salaries that its alumni command: an typical of $207,725 3 several years soon after graduation. The college also ranks best for alumni occupation progression.
FT On the net MBA position 2021 — top 15

Discover out which educational facilities are in our position of On the net MBA degrees. Find out how the desk was compiled underneath (methodology) and see a record of On the net MBA programmes in our directory Also, browse the relaxation of our coverage at www.ft.com/on the internet-finding out.
In 2nd spot, also for the fourth consecutive 12 months, is Spain’s IE Business enterprise College. It hosts the best share of international learners, at ninety two for each cent, and of overseas board associates, at ninety six for each cent. For the third 12 months, IE also ranks best for corporate social obligation, calculated by the variety of credits from core programs masking CSR matters.
The UK’s Imperial College Business enterprise College, in third spot, is the best new entrant. Its alumni reach the 2nd-best typical salary, at $184,899, and the college is rated top for international mobility: based mostly on the place graduates were just before their MBA, on completion, and now.
One more newcomer is University of Utah: David Eccles. The US college is rated thirteenth all round and comes first for alumni assessments of the conversation involving learners, and for the availability of faculty.
Indiana University’s Kelley College has underlined the strengths of its professions company, on the internet programme supply and investigation — classes in which it repeats very last year’s top placing.
Alumni of Italy’s Politecnico di Milano College of Administration report the best salary improve 3 several years soon after graduation — 45 for each cent — and the college comes third for CSR.
Although there are variations in the way the proportion improve in salary is calculated in the FT rankings for on the internet MBAs and for full-time MBAs, the facts offer some appealing comparisons. The typical increase for the on the internet programs is 29 for each cent, in comparison with 123 for each cent for the top 15 full-time programmes in the 2021 world MBA position.
This displays students’ demographic profile. Full-time MBA learners are likely to be in their late 20s and may delight in fast promotion. On the net MBA learners are much more probably to be in their mid-30s and much more proven, so their salary is much more probably to plateau.


For this kind of learners, who may also be juggling important relatives and qualified tasks, overall flexibility and decreased tuition costs are great benefits of the on the internet format. Alumni report that educational facilities are executing a fantastic occupation in delivering articles and tests on the internet, while teamwork and conversation with other learners rating considerably less nicely.
Alumni networks for on the internet MBAs are also rated decreased than for full-time MBAs. A single finding is that, while most alumni researched purely on the internet, people on “mixed-mode” programmes, with some in-individual articles, were probably to make much more occupation development subsequently: just around 24 for each cent of “mixed-mode” alumni reported huge development in their professions — defined by seniority and sizing of firm — in comparison with just around 17 for each cent of “online-only” alumni.


Rated educational facilities done nicely in a variety of the topics taught: basic administration and organisational behaviour have been continually hugely rated by alumni for the previous 5 several years. Fintech and ecommerce training been given decreased scores, as did IT, while this is the sector that most alumni get the job done in.
This year’s position is based mostly on surveys from educational facilities and alumni who finished their on the internet MBA in 2017. Although thirty educational facilities took component, the alumni reaction rate was as well small in 15 conditions to be agent, so these were ineligible to qualify for the closing position.
Additional reporting by Sam Stephens.
Crucial to position desk
• Weighting percentages are proven in brackets underneath.
• For the 3 gender-associated criteria, educational facilities that have 50:50 (male: female) composition get the best rating.
Income right now US$ (twenty): typical alumnus salary 3 several years soon after graduation, $ PPP equivalent (see methodology).†
Income improve (ten): proportion improve in alumnus salary in present occupation versus 3 several years ago on graduation.†
Worth for dollars (3): calculated according to alumnus salary, tuition, fees and other costs.†
Job development (four): progression in alumni seniority and the sizing of firm they now get the job done for, versus 3 several years ago on graduation.†
Aims accomplished (four): extent to which alumni fulfilled their goals for taking an on the internet MBA.†
Occupations company (four): effectiveness of college professions company for occupation counselling, personalized advancement, networking events and recruitment, as rated by alumni.†
Programme supply (five): how alumni rate the on the internet supply of are living educating classes, other educating materials and on the internet tests.†
On the net conversation (ten): how alumni rate the conversation involving learners, teamwork, and availability of faculty.†
Female faculty (3): proportion of female associates of faculty.
Female learners (3): proportion of female learners on MBA programme.
Girls on board (one): proportion of female associates on college advisory board.
Worldwide faculty (four): proportion of faculty who are not citizens of the nation the place they are utilized.
Worldwide learners (four): proportion of present learners who are not citizens of the nation in which the college is located.
Worldwide board (2): proportion of board who are not citizens of the nation in which the college is located.
Worldwide mobility (five): based mostly on alumni citizenship and the international locations the place they labored just before their MBA, on completion, and 3 several years soon after.†
School with doctorates (five): proportion of full-time faculty with a doctoral degree.
Corporate social obligation rank (3): proportion of credits from core programs dedicated to CSR, ethics, social and environmental concerns.
FT investigation rank (ten): calculated according to the variety of articles or blog posts revealed by a school’s present full-time faculty associates in 50 academic and practitioner journals involving January 2018 and October 2020. The rank combines the complete variety of publications with the variety weighted relative to the faculty’s sizing.
Additional notes
The next facts are for info only and are not utilized in the position calculations.
Class tuition and fees (regional currency): Programme tuition and fees paid by the most not too long ago enrolled class to total the programme, in the currency of the nation in which the college is located. Figure reveals weighted typical.
Average completion time (several years): The typical total of time learners choose to total the programme.
On the net educating materials (%): Share of programme educating materials that are shipped on the internet.
Overall pleasure: Average analysis by alumni of the study course, scored out of ten.
† Involves facts for class of 2017 and a person or two preceding classes if readily available.
How the Economical Occasions On the net MBA 2021 position is compiled
This is the eighth once-a-year version of the Economical Occasions position of the most effective on the internet MBA programmes globally. A total of thirty educational facilities took component in the 2021 version.
All taking part company educational facilities need to fulfill the FT’s strict entry criteria. The college need to be accredited by AACSB or Equis and programmes need to have operate for 4 consecutive several years. At least 70 for each cent of the articles need to be shipped on the internet. The individuals need to also pass a assortment process just before enrolling and an examination process just before graduating.
Info were gathered through two on the internet surveys — the first was finished by taking part educational facilities and the 2nd by their alumni who concluded their On the net MBA in 2017. Some 733 of them finished our questionnaire — a reaction rate of about 19 for each cent.
The position has eighteen criteria. Alumni responses advise 9 criteria that alongside one another add 65 for each cent of the total pounds. One more eight criteria are based mostly on the college facts, accounting for 25 for each cent. The remaining criterion, the investigation rank, counts for ten for each cent.
Alumni-informed criteria are based mostly on facts gathered in the previous 3 several years. Responses from the 2021 survey carry 50 for each cent of the total pounds and people from 2020 and 2019 account for 25 for each cent each individual. Excluding salary criteria, if only two years’ facts are readily available, the weighting is break up sixty:forty, if facts are from 2021 and 2020, or 70:thirty, if facts are from 2021 and 2019. For salary figures, the weighting is 50:50 for two years’ facts.
The first two alumni criteria are typical income 3 several years soon after graduation and the salary improve in comparison with their spend on graduation, with respective weights of twenty for each cent and ten for each cent. For the latter, 50 % of the pounds applies to the complete improve and 50 % to the proportion improve (the revealed figure). Salaries are transformed to US dollars applying the Worldwide Financial Fund buying ability parity fees revealed in October 2020.
The salaries of non-income and public sector workers and full-time learners are eliminated, as are the best and most affordable salaries for each individual college, in order to estimate a normalised typical. At last, salaries are weighted to mirror variations involving sector sectors.
“Value for money” for each individual college is calculated by dividing typical alumni salary 3 several years soon after graduation by the programme’s total value, together with tuition fees and other expenditures. Any monetary assistance provided to alumni is subtracted from the total value.
College criteria consist of the variety of workers, board associates and learners by gender and nationality. For gender criteria, educational facilities with a 50:50 composition rating the best.
The corporate social obligation group is based mostly on the proportion of credits from core programs dedicated to CSR, ethics, social and environmental concerns. It carries a pounds of 3 for each cent.
The investigation rank is based mostly on the variety of articles or blog posts by full-time faculty in 50 internationally recognised academic and practitioner journals. The rank combines the variety of publications from January 2018 to October 2020, with the figure weighted relative to the sizing of the faculty.
The On the net MBA position is a relative listing. Educational facilities are rated versus each individual other by calculating a Z-rating for each individual criterion. The Z-rating is a statistic that reveals the place a rating lies in relation to the signify. These scores are then weighted as outlined in the position critical and extra alongside one another for a closing rating.
Following eliminating the educational facilities that did not fulfill the reaction rate threshold from the alumni survey, a first edition is calculated applying all remaining educational facilities. The college at the bottom is eliminated and a 2nd edition is calculated, and so on till the top ten have been recognized. The top ten educational facilities are rated appropriately to deliver the 2021 record.
Judith Pizer of Pizer-MacMillan acted as the FT’s databases marketing consultant. The FT investigation rank was calculated applying Clarivate Analytics facts from the Web of Science, an abstract and quotation databases of investigation literature.
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