North America

North America
Business schools in the USA and Canada most favoured by employers

4.1. North America

There has been a gradual slow-down in recruitment demand in North America in 2008, especially in financial services. With the softening economy, applicant demand for MBA places is at record levels in North America.

Despite the volatility of the business cycle, employers again voted the most popular business schools in North America to be Harvard Business School (Harvard) and The Wharton School (Wharton) at the University of Pennsylvania. The MBA is now over 100 years old, but for more than half of that time it was largely confined to the USA, and to schools such as Harvard and Wharton that have gone on to become the giants of global business education.

This year Harvard has retained an edge over its Philadelphia-based rival in terms of its employer votes (number of prompted and unprompted votes received from distinct employers around the world). Kellogg, Columbia, Stanford, Chicago and MIT follow closely behind. Less than thirty employer votes separate the scores of MIT, Duke, Michigan, Berkeley, NYU, UCLA, Thunderbird, Yale and Tuck, which are the only other schools in North America achieving over 40 votes by employers around the world. These schools make up the top cluster in North America.

Kenan-Flagler and Darden head up the next cluster. A little way behind follow South Carolina, Western Ontario, Texas at Austin, Southern California, Boston University, Queen’s, Emory and Georgetown which are all differentiated by a span of just seventeen employer votes.

There is an increased concentration within the next cluster of schools, all of which exceed 10 employer votes, but have no more than 20: Indiana, Purdue, HEC Montreal, Cornell and Toronto are at the top of this cluster followed by McGill, British Columbia, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon, Babson, Georgia Institute of Technology, Minnesota and Notre Dame.

Canadian business schools have made much progress. In recent years, they have strengthened their presence amongst our top North American schools, with HEC Montreal, British Columbia, Western Ontario, McGill, Queens, McMaster, Alberta, Calgary and Victoria all featuring prominently. This year, Western Ontario is the top performing Canadian school.

Employers’ top 10 preferred schools in North America are: Harvard, Wharton, Northwestern, Columbia, Stanford, Chicago, MIT, Duke, Michigan and UC Berkeley.

4.2. Table: Schools in the USA and Canada most favoured by employers
School Name	Country	Regional Rank 2008/9	Regional Rank 2007/8	Employer Votes		Avg. GMAT Score	Avg. Years Work	Class Size
School Name	Country	Regional Rank 2008/9	Regional Rank 2007/8	2008/9 - 2 Year Avg	2008/9 - Index	Avg. GMAT Score	Avg. Years Work	Class Size
Columbia Business School	USA	4	4	105.5	61	707	5	721
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University	USA	8	8	63.5	37	700	5	410
Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley	USA	10	10	59.5	34	710	5	240
Harvard Business School	USA	1	1	165	96	714	4	900
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University	USA	3	3	106	61	700	5	514
Kenan - Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	USA	16	15	37.5	22	682	5	279
Massachusett Institute of Technology	USA	7	9	67	39	710	5	746
NYU Stern	USA	11	11	57.5	33	700	5	415
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan	USA	9	7	62.5	36	700	5	427
Stanford University Graduate School of Business	USA	5	6	83	48	721	4	370
Thunderbird School of Global Management	USA	13	12	42	24	610	5	548
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth	USA	15	17	40.5	23	713	5	255
UCLA Anderson School of Management	USA	12	13	49	28	704	4	360
University of Chicago, Booth School of Business	USA	6	5	83	48	710	5	550
University of Virginia's Darden School of Business	USA	17	16	35.5	21	688	4	333
Wharton, University of Pennsylvania	USA	2	2	151.5	88	713	6	800
Yale School of Management, Yale University	USA	14	23	41	24	700	4	193
Boston University School of Management	USA	22	27	23.5	14	668	5	158
Goizueta Business School, Emory University	USA	24	22	21.5	12	685	5	158
HEC Montreal	Can.	28	35	19	11	610	6	172
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, Univeristy of Toronto	Can.	30	31	18.5	11	660	5	262
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University	USA	26	25	20	12	656	5	227
Krannert School of Management, Purdue University	USA	27	24	19.5	11	661	3	143
Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California	USA	21	18	25.5	15	685	5	217
McCombs Sch. Bus., Univ. of Texas at Austin	USA	20	19	26	15	669	5	260
McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University	USA	25	21	21.5	12	677	5	256
Queens School of Business	Can.	23	26	22.5	13	661	6	53
Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario	Can.	19	20	30	17	660	5	130
S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University	USA	29	28	19	11	682	5	309
University of South Carolina, Moore School of Business	USA	18	14	30.5	18	640	4	188
Babson College	USA	36	38	13	8	631	5	155
Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University	Can.	31	30	15.5	9	650	5	57
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia	Can.	32	36	14.5	8	617	6	115
Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University	USA	35	29	13.5	8	696	4	210
University of Illinois - Illinois MBA	USA	33	n/a	14	8	627	4	100
Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management	USA	34	n/a	13.5	8	642	5	176
Alberta MBA Programs, University of Alberta	Can.	40	n/a	10	6	600	6	55
Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University	USA	49	n/a	8	5	632	4	81
Bentley, McCallum Graduate School of Business	USA	68	n/a	4.5	3	621	4	494
Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota	USA	38	40	11.5	7	661	5	107
Carroll School of Management, Boston College	USA	65	n/a	4.5	3	651	5	101
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management	USA	45	n/a	8.5	5	613	4	68
College of William and Mary, Mason School of Business	USA	43	n/a	9.5	6	613	4	102
Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University	USA	70	n/a	4.5	3	640	4	90
DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University	Can.	50	n/a	7.5	4	620	3	171
Florida International University, Chapman Graduate School of Business	USA	62	n/a	4.5	3	539	7	45
Freeman School of Business, Tulane University	USA	57	n/a	6.5	4	650	5	101
George Washington University	USA	48	n/a	8	5	625	5	98
Georgia Institute of Technology	USA	37	n/a	12.5	7	669	4	n/a
Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary	Can.	47	n/a	8	5	610	5	46
Hult International Business School	USA	55	n/a	7	4	580	7	246
J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University	USA	66	n/a	4.5	3	610	6	45
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University	USA	53	n/a	7.5	4	642	4	126
Joseph M. Katz GSB, University of Pittsburgh	USA	67	n/a	4.5	3	620	3	137
Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, DePaul University	USA	69	n/a	4.5	3	620	4	49
Max M. Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University	USA	52	n/a	7.5	4	661	4	143
Mays MBA Program, Texas A&M University	USA	46	n/a	8.5	5	665	4	91
Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame	USA	39	n/a	11.5	7	657	5	134
North Carolina State University	USA	41	n/a	10	6	610	3	42
Olin School, Washington University in St. Louis	USA	42	n/a	10	6	654	4	139
Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine	USA	64	n/a	4.5	3	670	5	100
Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland	USA	51	n/a	7.5	4	650	5	133
University of California- Davis	USA	44	n/a	8.5	5	674	5	60
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	USA	61	n/a	5	3	650	4	99
University of Massachusetts Boston MBA Program	USA	58	n/a	6.5	4	584	4	35
University of Miami	USA	72	n/a	4.5	3	628	2	27
University of San Diego, Rady School	USA	63	n/a	4.5	3	671	5	57
University of Victoria - Faculty of Business	Can.	59	n/a	5.5	3	600	6	50
University of Washington School of Business	USA	54	n/a	7	4	679	6	10
University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Business	USA	56	n/a	6.5	4	656	4	106
William E. Simon GSBA, University of Rochester	USA	71	n/a	4.5	3	673	4	119
York University, Schulich School of Management	Can.	60	n/a	5.5	3	660	7	333

Source: QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers’ Choice

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