Hey there, Duncan! What kind of MBA programs do you think are a good choice for international mobility?

The ones listed in the post at the start of this thread.

Hey Duncan ! it would be great if you can give some valuable suggestions regarding the schools where i hold good chance. My profile looks somewhat like this :-
1)B.Tech (Chemical engg) - CGPA: 7.9/10
2) GMAT : 670( Q48, V34)
3) Work Ex : 4.5 years as operations manager in a public sector steel plant at odisha. : Received two promotions in a span of 4 years, certified green belt in lean six sigma, handled number of projects both as team member as well as leader
other KPA: procurement planning, procurement analysis, inventory control
4)Future goals: Want to shift my career into supply chain(FMCG and E-Commerce)
I suspect with this GMAT score, ISB and IIM looks difficult for me. I am considering 1 year MBA program at S.P Jain, Nanyang business school, EDHEC, Mannheim and WHU. From your recent posts, one thing is clear that learning local language is essential to built a career in Europe and i am ready to learn one before arriving at the destination.As of now i am learning German. Which universities do you think i should give a try with this GMAT score ?

[Edited by punk on Feb 18, 2017]

See GMAT Tiers - strong schools for your GMAT www.find-mba.com/board/27082

I guess all the universities which i am targeting is fulfilling the average GMAT score (as per your list). I am more interested to do an MBA with low admission fees. It would be great if you can throw some light on the post- MBA scenario and ROI from the above universities.

Highest return is from the schools with the highest fees. The rankings show the salaries and the value ranking. Forbes ranking shows RoI. Schools with low fees don't have such good returns.

I understand that Duncan. But then there are some limitations too(financial constraints, quality of work ex etc) . Not everyone can get an admit in top B-School. Therefore It would be great if you can give some insights(specifically post MBA scenario) about Mannheim, WHU, Nanyang, SP Jain(PGPM) and EDHEC.

The FT rankings give you a great picture. Assuming that you don't speak fluent, business-level French or German then Nanyang is a better choice than SP Jain.

(I have updated this post with the 2017 FT ranking data)

Lots of MBA students are looking for the opportunity to find work in other countries. The FT rankings are very useful, because they show the schools with the best international mobility, the highest employment rates and the most international students. I've picked the 40 FT schools with the highest international mobility, removed the ten with the fewest international students, and then removed the ten remaining with the worst careers services ("placement", in earlier rankings).

The top 20 schools are below, sorted by their FT 3-year average ranking from top to bottom. I've put a * after the name of schools that made the list in 2016 as well.

3 yr. rank
School name
2 Insead*
4 London Business School*
9 University of Cambridge: Judge*
11 Iese Business School*
11 IE Business School*
18 IMD*
20 Esade Business School
24 SDA Bocconi
28 University of Oxford: Saïd*
34 Alliance Manchester Business School
39 Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
40 City University: Cass*
43 Warwick Business School*
52 Cranfield School of Management*
53 Mannheim Business School
62 University of St Gallen*
66 ESMT Berlin
74 University of Strathclyde Business School*
84 Melbourne Business School
- Edhec Business School

Seven of those are in the bottom half of the FT top 100, up from six in 2016, showing that good outcomes are possible even for students without stellar GMAT scores if they have good applications.

Read the methodology. If they belonged in the list then they would be there.

Hi Duncan,

I'm looking to find a suitable business school for me quite a time, and I would greatly appreciate some advice from you on that matter.
I am from Serbia, and I have a Master of Pharmacy degree, and 6,5 years pharmaceutical industry background (1-year pharmacy work, and 5,5-y in Pharmaceuticals). I have no people managerial experience so far. That is one of the reasons why I would like to undertake a business school. Other reasons are lack of knowledge in business finance, economics, accounting, financial analyses. I want to improve soft skills, project management...
My first choice would be an MBA since the knowledge I am looking for, is combined in an MBA course. Because of the budget limitation, I am looking to find a program within a 30000eur limit.
I speak English and a basic German. Since I am preparing for a GMAT and expecting to have results this fall, rest of the time, I plan to dedicate to learning a language of the country where the school will be, and where I would like to find placement after, which in my case is German or Italian. I was looking into the UK/Ireland, German, Swiss and Italian schools, which have a good connection within pharma industry.

Could you please help me with your opinion regarding the school choices, considering my background and budget, to find the best few options. I would like to find the placement within the Swiss or Italy after the course. The reason why I am also looking into The UK/Ireland schools is that of the quality of the schools and because I would be learning in English from professors who speak English as their first language.

Thank you.

[Edited by pavkem on Aug 22, 2017]

I think that language skills might be more important for you than an MBA. Choose between Switzerland or Italy, and then learn the language first. Perhaps use LinkedIn to research Serbians in the pharma industry: what route did they take, and where did they study. My gut feeling is that an MA or MSc at HSG or the WU in Vienna will be a more afforable and effective route than an MBA at a budget school. The UK options makes no sense strategically.

Thank for your reply.
I have been looking into MA or MSc programs as well. However, most of them last more than a year. I was trying to find one year program. I am 34, and that is why I would like to find a 1 or at least 1,5-year program.
Thanks for pointing out WU, I did not see that program. It is also 2y program. HEC Lausanne offers the same. SIM on HSG is a 1,5y program if I'm not wrong.
The one that could be interesting is MIHMEP on SDA Bocconi, which I've found by searching Serbians in the pharma industry in Switzerland. Most of them, and there are not many since Serbia is a small country, got there after Ph.D. studies or science masters, or without any further education(but through company vertical lines), not through Business Masters. Variety of B-schools is wide, from Edinburgh Uni Masters to MIB Trieste... Nothing stands out. Basel Uni also stands out but it does not offer Business or Marketing Masters in English.
I have been searching ft Management schools rankings and trying to compare value and international mobility, so I can come upon some additional options.
Could you please recommend some more alternatives regarding MA or MSc that I could check? Maybe with some school advantages, that I could use, and that I cannot see on ft rank...

[Edited by pavkem on Aug 23, 2017]

I don't think you should limit yourself to courses in English. Getting your German or Italian to the level needed for study is less than the effort of an MBA. If you want to work in German- or Italian-speaking regions you should assume that you will need the local language fluently in addition to English. So, why not look more broadly? MIP, MIB, CIMBA and Bocconi are certainly options.

Because you are more likely to end up in functional management than general management, I would consider options like the Master of Advanced Studies in Medicines Development at the University of Basel. I would look at the ETH too for their MAS degrees. The ETH MSc in Medicinal and Industrial Pharmaceutical Sciences also looks very useful.

Hi Duncan,

I have admits from german colleges - whu, hhl. As of now im not verse in german, but before joining ill push to get atleast a2 level german. It would be great if you could help me with how the job prospects are in germany especially when ill be coming after taking a big loan...

Job prospects are excellent in Germany if you speak German. With A2 German the job prospects are probably similar to those of people who have A2 language skills in your country: a small number of foreign firms and coffee shops, cleaning, dog-walking etc. HHL has lower salary, but its longer format is probably better for you: it will give you more time to learn the language and to integrate into German culture. Without fluent German, there's very few MBA opportunities.

For non IT folks, job prospects are zero if you dont speak fluent german. It is not possible to make your german fluent in 1 to 2 years. German is a really difficult language. So advice is to do a technical degree such as MS if you are hell bent on moving abroad to Germany. Non IT guys stay away from MBA especially ones from middle class backgrounds.

It is quiet possible to learn German in one or two years of full time study. You can't do it at the same time as an MBA, however. One year to pass the DSH and then a one year masters taught in German sounds ideal.

Even if you speak fluent german it is impossible for non IT folks to get a job in Germany. All companies require the Arbeitszeugnisse from previous employers. No company takes a risk nowadays in Germany or for that matter anywhere in europe.

This is obviously not the case for the top MBAs. They have many international students and most get placement in non-IT roles.