NUS, SMU climb in Financial Times' executive MBA programme rankings; NTU slips

EXECUTIVE Master of Business Administration (EMBA) offerings from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) have climbed in global rankings compiled by the Financial Times (FT), while Nanyang Technological University's rankings slipped.

The 2017 edition of FT's annual ranking of global EMBA degrees showed NUS Business School's offering ranked 18th globally, up one spot from 2016, while SMU's EMBA jumped eight places to secure 24th place, up from 32nd last year. NTU placed 30th this year, down 12 spots from last year's 18th.

NUS's offering saw a 59 per cent increase in post-graduate alumni salaries, up from 11 per cent in 2016, with graduates landing an average annual salary of US$262,596 three years after graduation. The school took 51st spot, up 22 places, in "career progress", which is defined by changes in seniority and the size of the company school alumni work in, versus before starting the programme.

SMU's EMBA programme graduates will earn an average of US$338,725 three years after graduation, with a 20 per cent increase in average alumni salary from before the EMBA to their pre-EMBA salary. However, its career progress rank slipped 18 places to 96.

Despite the drop in position, Nanyang Business School's programme saw an increase in its average alumni salary to US$256,201, up US$23,806 from last year.

Jochen Wirtz, vice-dean of graduate studies at NUS Business School, said that the NUS EMBA programme "remains one of the top single school degree programmes in the world - providing strong Asian insights with global perspectives, from India and China to South-east Asia".

Commenting on SMU's results, Gerard George, dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, and professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said that the school aims to "provide transformative education and develop global leaders with an Asian perspective".

"The rise in our rankings this year into the top 25 is a strong indication of our growing impact in Asia and worldwide," he said.