Chicago’s Booth School of Business Ranked Number One for EMBA in Asia-Pacific Region

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has been ranked the best business school for executive MBAs in the Asia-Pacific region in the QS EMBA Rankings by Region 2018.

Released today, the QS EMBA Rankings 2018 feature a ranking of the best EMBA programs globally and by region, with Booth topping the Asia-Pacific table. The rankings also include a separate table of the best joint programs. You can find out more about the methodology used to produce the rankings here.

The top 10 in the Asia-Pacific region can be seen below:

Unsurprisingly, the business hub of Singapore has the most schools in the Asia-Pacific region’s top 10, with four institutions making the list, including second place INSEAD, as well as the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Business School, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

Financial capital Hong Kong has the second-highest number of schools, including first place Booth, Ivey Business School and CUHK Business School. Australia has two schools in the top 10, Melbourne Business School and AGSM at the University of New South Wales, while China has just one, third-placed CEIBS.

As well as ranking first in the Asia-Pacific region, Chicago’s Booth School of Business is also ranked joint fifth globally, tied with the Haas School of Business. While Booth is primarily based in Chicago, it also offers EMBAs at a permanent Hong Kong (and London) campus, making it eligible for the Asia-Pacific (and Europe) rankings, as well as the North America rankings.

Booth may not have achieved a flawless score in any of our ranking indicators, but it secured its position as the best in the Asia-Pacific region by scoring extremely highly across the board, achieving the highest score in the region for thought leadership.

Booth’s EMBA program takes place over 21 months primarily based in their Hong Kong campus. The cost for the Hong Kong course is HKD 1,305,000 (approx. US$166,243), which includes tuition, all books and course materials, some meals, and hotel accommodation for three residential weeks in Chicago and one residential week in London. The average EMBA student at Booth enters the program with 13 years of work experience behind them.

Richard Johnson, Chicago Booth Associate Dean for the Executive MBA program in Asia and Europe, enthuses about the benefits of the global nature of Booth’s EMBA program to students:

“Nearly a third of the program is spent studying with students from all three of our campuses, expanding your network globally. Students are exposed to a huge variety of different ideas, perspectives, cultures, and types of businesses, challenging them to think more globally about business.”

INSEAD is ranked second in the region, and its EMBA course takes place primarily at the institution’s campus in Singapore. INSEAD scored highly on all ranking indicators, achieving the highest score in the Asia-Pacific region for employer reputation. Its Global Executive MBA lasts for a total of 17 months, spanning 3 countries, and costs SG$184,000 (approximately US$140,640). According to the school, the average salary achieved by EMBA graduates within 12 months of graduation is US$220,942.

Australian Annabelle Helps graduated from INSEAD’s EMBA program in 2016 and is the Head of Investment Execution at Westbourne Capital. She self-funded her studies and says the program gave her a better understanding of herself.

“I’ve gained the confidence to move from a narrow professional path. I didn’t value the non-technical subjects and personal/leadership development elements of the EMBA course content at the time, but after completing it I’ve found that those are the elements I draw on the most.”

In third place is CEIBS, which achieved a perfect score for diversity, but failed to score as well as Booth or INSEAD for employer reputation. 32 percent of the current EMBA class at CEIBS are women, while 31 percent are international. In total, the class consists of 16 different nationalities. The program at CEIBS in based in Shanghai, but candidates must complete at least two global electives to graduate. The 20-month program costs US$96,000.

Only one school in the Asia-Pacific rankings cracked the global top 10 (Booth), while a further one made it into the top 15 (INSEAD). However, the rest of the top 10 for the Asia-Pacific region all feature within the top 50 of the global table (you can learn more about the top EMBA programs globally here). In total, 14 schools in the Asia-Pacific region feature in this year’s ranking.