Top 10 MBA Programs in Europe 2020

The QS Global MBA Rankings 2020 have been released today, ranking business schools from around the world. The rankings are also split up into regions: Asia, Europe, Canada, Oceania, Latin America, and the US.

MBA programs were ranked based on the indicators of employability, entrepreneurship and alumni outcomes, return on investment, thought leadership, and diversity. You can find out more about the methodology used to produce the rankings here.

This year, 64 schools in Europe were ranked – the top 10 MBA programs in the Europe in the 2020 rankings are:

10) SDA Bocconi

• Tuition fees: US$65,339
• Percentage of female students: 42 percent
• Percentage of international students: 70 percent
• Students in class: 108

Kicking off Europe’s top 10 is the 12-month MBA program at SDA Bocconi, which scored particularly highly for return on investment (the second highest in the European top 10). Students can enjoy a salary uplift of 127 percent on average post-graduation. For nine months students take core classes and concentrations, with up to another six months where you can choose from individual internships, entrepreneurial projects or group business labs to put your learning into practice.

9) Imperial College Business School

• Tuition fees: US$66,264
• Percentage of female students: 45 percent
• Percentage of international students: 90 percent
• Students in class: 73

The London-based MBA program at Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London, was one of the highest scorers in the European top 10 for diversity. Students have to complete a number of pre-study modules to ensure that they have the basic knowledge and skills required for the start of the program. This includes an accounting primer, a data analysis primer and a finance primer. Students can also participate in the Imperial Innovation Challenge, a one-week learning lab finding and presenting a solution to a business problem plus workshops and talks with industry experts.

8) ESADE

• Tuition fees: US$78,522
• Percentage of female students: 30 percent
• Percentage of international students: 97 percent
• Students in class: 187

ESADE’s 18-month program has a decidedly international focus. Study tours take you to a range of destinations worldwide on five different continents. You can also do an international exchange of up to 4 months from a choice of 45 partner schools, including Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and Warwick Business School. Although the program is taught in English; Spanish, French and German language lessons are also available.

7) Saïd Business School

• Tuition fees: US$72,890
• Percentage of female students: 39 percent
• Percentage of international students: 93 percent
• Students in class: 313

Saïd is the business school of Oxford University – the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It achieved the highest score in the European rankings for thought leadership, although fell short for diversity. The one-year MBA program at Saïd follows the wider university’s three term structure, divided into sets of core and elective modules focusing on three themes related to current world business challenges: Entrepreneurship, Global Rules of the Game and Responsible Business.

6) Judge Business School

• Tuition fees: US$70,087
• Percentage of female students: 36 percent
• International students: 51 nationalities represented
• Students in class: 206

Narrowly beating its biggest rival, Oxford, to sixth place is the MBA program at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. The one-year program achieved the third-highest score in Europe for ROI, with students enjoying a 66 percent salary increase post-graduation. Cambridge emphasizes that students can tailor their MBA program to their specific business goals through electives, a global consulting project, and concentrations. They offer 10 MBA concentrations, including Digital Transformation, Energy & Environment, Finance and Marketing.

5) IE Business School

• Tuition fees: US$81,387
• Percentage of female students: 32 percent
• Percentage of international students: 92 percent
• Students in class: 389

Madrid’s IE Business School offers its International MBA program which lasts for 11 months. A particularly interesting element of IE’s MBA is the ‘Professional Fitness’ program, which all students are enrolled in. This contains two distinct elements: Career Fitness and Behavioral Fitness. Career Fitness helps you to land the job of your dreams through advice and workshops, whereas Behavioral Fitness practices more productive workplace behaviors and enhances leadership skills.

4) IESE Business School

• Tuition fees: US$97,532
• Percentage of female students: 26 percent
• Percentage of international students: 90 percent
• Students in class: 356

Narrowly missing out on a spot in the top three is the MBA program at IESE Business School. It scored particularly highly for ROI, with an impressive average post-graduation salary uplift of 124 percent. The program lasts between 15 and 19 months and is based in Barcelona. The school encourages connection with its Spanish roots, offering a Business Spanish learning program for MBA students as well as the option for advanced and native Spanish speakers to graduate with a bilingual MBA diploma.

3) HEC Paris

• Tuition fees: US$66,690
• Percentage of female students: 34 percent
• Percentage of international students: 93 percent
• Students in class: 274

In the bronze medal position, the HEC Paris MBA achieved the highest score in the European rankings for ROI. HEC graduates enjoyed a staggering 152 percent salary increase post-MBA. The 15-month program focuses on developing leadership potential, such as leadership seminars, a student-run MBA multisport MBA tournament and the HEC Global Leaders Series, with influential speakers from the world of business.

2) London Business School

• Tuition fees: US$104,493
• Percentage of female students: 40 percent
• Percentage of international students: 91 percent
• Students in class: 485

The top British business school in Europe, London Business School’s MBA program lasts for 21 months. London is one of the world’s main financial capitals, with 100 percent of the world's leading financial institutions represented in the city, and three quarters of the top 500 global companies using it as their base. Their employment stats are impressive, with 94 percent of MBA graduates accepting a job offer 3 months after graduation.

1) INSEAD

• Tuition fees: US$98,009
• Percentage of female students: 35 percent
• Percentage of international students: 96 percent
• Students in class: 536

The highest-ranked European program, and third in the world, is INSEAD. The school scored very highly for Return on Investment (ROI), with an average 100 percent salary increase for MBA graduates. The program lasts 10 months, with opportunities to study at INSEAD’s three campuses in Fontainebleau, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Students complete 14 core courses and have a choice from over 75 elective options.

This article is based on 2020 data, check out the latest Global MBA programs rankings here.