Top 10 MBA Programs in Europe for Return on Investment (ROI)

IMD Business School, one of the most prestigious schools in Switzerland, has one of the fastest payback periods. According to Forbes, IMD MBA graduates recoup the cost of their investment in just 2.3 years. The pre-MBA salary is $81,000 and the five-year MBA gain is around $195,000. This gain is the net cumulative amount the typical alumni would have earned after five years by getting their MBA rather than staying in their career.

INSEAD is one of the world’s most famous business schools and it has previously topped the Financial Times’ MBA ranking twice in quick succession. The ROI for INSEAD’s MBA is high because of its alumni, who earn salaries of about $180,000 just three years out of the course. The business school’s breezy 10-month MBA also keeps the opportunity cost of not earning a salary low. 

According to some MBA rankings publications, Imperial College Business School in London is one of the world’s best business schools, with a strong reputation for technology and innovation. Graduates from the MBA earn an average return of $870,200 after a decade, according to the QS Return on Investment Report 2018. That is a massive increase on pre-MBA pay of about $48,500. The QS report takes into account the tuition rates, forgone salary, cost of living and annual salary premium to determine the return. 

Vlerick Business School in Belgium has a sterling reputation in Europe and beyond for a quality MBA program. The 10-year ROI for MBA grads is an impressive $836,775, according to QS. Vlerick also has one of the strongest immediate boosts to earnings, with fresh graduates making about $101,000 out of the business school, a $33,000 increase on pre-MBA pay. 

Mannheim Business School has the “triple crown”: EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA accreditation, and the school’s MBA program is regularly placed in the top 10 in the ROI lists including the one produced by the FT. The salary increase achieved by graduates is particularly impressive: 80 percent after just three years, to $116,000. 

IE Business School in Madrid, Spain is one of Europe’s most elite institutions. Forbes put IE MBA graduates’ five-year MBA gain at an impressive $145,400, a huge increase on the $63,000 pre-MBA salary that they once earned. QS puts the 10-year ROI at $692,725.  

Italy’s SDA Bocconi, which is based in Milan, offers one of the fastest ROIs, with MBA graduates recouping the full cost of the course in 2.2 years. With a post-MBA starting salary that averages $81,900, some $39,000 higher than pre-program pay, it’s easy to see why SDA Bocconi is so popular. 

Cambridge Judge Business School is one of the UK’s most renowned schools, thanks to its connection to the world-leading Cambridge University and its technology and innovation ecosystem. The five-year MBA gain at CJBS is an impressive $140,000, a big bump on the pre-MBA pay of $63,000. 

Durham University Business School, also of the UK, is rated highly for its ROI. Graduates have relatively low tuition fees, but the education quality is high, as is the cohort quality. So three years from graduating, the MBAs earn $120,500, a 110 percent increase on their previous salary. 

France’s EDHEC Business School is one of the country’s best, as it’s a Grande Ecole, one of the historically elite institutions that produced many of France’s top business leaders and politicians. The payback period is a quick 2.2 years, and the salary fresh from graduation is also impressive, at about $112,000.