MIT Sloan School of Management.
22 STAND ALONE U.S. EMBAs RANKED
MIT Sloan was the highest-ranked standalone U.S. Executive MBA program in the ranking, coming in at No. 19 globally despite slipping seven places from No. 12 last year. The school also reported the highest alumni salaries among standalone U.S. programs at $434,702, with graduates earning 70% more than before entering the program.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School was the second-highest-ranked standalone U.S. program, falling seven places from No. 16 to No. 23, while Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management climbed three spots to No. 27.
Yale School of Management also gained three places to No. 28. Yale stood out on two other measures: 76% of alumni reported achieving their goals, the highest share among standalone U.S. programs, and the school ranked 15th globally for environmental, social and governance (ESG) teaching, also the best U.S. standalone showing.
Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management was among the biggest American gainers, jumping 17 places from No. 50 to No. 33. Its New York City EMBA reported average alumni salaries of $266,906 and a 61% salary increase. Columbia Business School’s standalone New York EMBA entered the ranking at No. 37, reporting salaries of $274,356. That program is separate from Columbia’s partnership with London Business School, which returned to the global ranking at No. 7.
Duke Fuqua’s 26-point rise in the ranking, among the largest in the world, was also the largest improvement among American programs. The University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business, meanwhile, rose 18 positions from No. 100 to No. 82.
Several other prominent American schools lost ground. Michigan Ross slipped two places to No. 47, UCLA Anderson fell seven spots to No. 43, and Emory University’s Goizueta Business School dropped five places to No. 73. UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business experienced one of the steepest declines, falling 24 places from No. 67 to No. 91.
In all, 22 standalone U.S. programs appeared in the 2026 global top 100, with only four cracking the top 30. Their results underscore the importance of international partnerships in the FT ranking: Although no standalone American program reached the global top 10, several U.S.-affiliated joint programs did.
U.S. Standalone Programs In The Financial Times 2026 Global EMBA Ranking |
||||||
2026 Rank |
School |
2026 Salary |
Salary Increase (%) |
Aims Achieved (%) |
ESG Rank |
2025 Rank |
| 19 | MIT Sloan | $434,702 | 70% | 72% | 91 | 12 |
| 23 | Penn Wharton | $358,876 | 65% | 72% | 79 | 16 |
| 27 | Northwestern Kellogg | $344,378 | 64% | 70% | 69 | 30 |
| 28 | Yale SOM | $276,082 | 56% | 76% | 15 | 31 |
| 33 | Cornell Johnson | $266,906 | 61% | 70% | 81 | 50 |
| 37 | Columbia Business School | $274,356 | 67% | 65% | 88 | — |
| 43 | UCLA Anderson | $272,834 | 52% | 70% | 27 | 36 |
| 47 | Michigan Ross | $328,535 | 53% | 73% | 90 | 45 |
| 48 | Georgetown McDonough | $240,666 | 59% | 68% | 31 | 51 |
| 49 | Duke Fuqua | $241,717 | 54% | 71% | 96 | 75 |
| 60 | NYU Stern | $255,470 | 47% | 65% | 89 | 58 |
| 62 | Texas A&M Mays | $253,972 | 47% | 65% | 92 | 74 |
| 65 | Texas McCombs | $270,958 | 52% | 65% | 87 | 64 |
| 73 | Emory Goizueta | $248,762 | 55% | 62% | 100 | 78 |
| 78 | USC Marshall | $225,625 | 28% | 71% | 99 | — |
| 82 | Tennessee Haslam | $247,139 | 45% | 70% | 85 | 100 |
| 84 | Utah Eccles | $201,787 | 45% | 69% | 70 | 88 |
| 84 | Georgia Tech Scheller | $207,156 | 43% | 65% | 58 | — |
| 91 | UC Irvine Merage | $215,167 | 52% | 66% | 73 | 67 |
| 94 | Rice Jones | $276,500 | 27% | 58% | 97 | — |
| 96 | Michigan State Broad | $186,441 | 57% | 69% | 94 | 98 |
| 98 | Rutgers Business School | $256,602 | 53% | 64% | 82 | 93 |
| Source: Financial Times 2026 Global Executive MBA Rankings. Includes U.S.-based, standalone executive MBA programs, excluding international joint-degree partnerships. | ||||||
CHICAGO BOOTH WITHDRAWS FROM FT EMBA RANKING
One notable absence from the 2026 ranking is the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, which confirmed to Poets&Quants that it has withdrawn its Sokolov Executive MBA program from the Financial Times ranking, citing concerns that the methodology does not adequately reflect its program’s distinctive structure.
Booth ranked No. 35 globally in 2025, down eight places from No. 27 in 2024. Its 2025 alumni reported average salaries of $303,355.
In a statement to P&Q, the school emphasized the structure of its EMBA, which offers the same faculty and data-driven curriculum across three global campuses, grounded in its educational philosophy known as the Chicago Approach.
“Chicago Booth’s long-standing practice has been to rely on the impact of its graduate management education experience – and not on third-party global rankings – when highlighting its successful student outcomes and institutional value,” the school says.
“Since most of the Financial Times’ submission criteria are simply not applicable to Chicago Booth’s EMBA curricular distinction, programmatic structure, global presence, and connection to a leading research university, the school has withdrawn from the publication’s EMBA rankings at this time.”
The school adds that prospective students should draw their own conclusions about the value of rankings and “go beyond such information to find what Booth has to offer.”
METHODOLOGY
The Financial Times’ annual Global Executive MBA Ranking evaluates 100 programs worldwide using data submitted by business schools and surveys of alumni three years after graduation. The methodology places substantial weight on alumni career outcomes, particularly average salaries, salary increases since completing the program, and career progression.
Salaries are adjusted for purchasing power parity to account for differences in living costs across countries. The ranking also measures how well graduates achieved their goals, the international diversity of students and faculty, international course experience, the strength of alumni networks, faculty research and environmental, social and governance (ESG) teaching.
Schools must meet the FT’s eligibility requirements, including international accreditation and minimum program size.
The complete FT Global EMBA ranking for 2026 is presented below. You can find more data in the FT release here.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES 2026 GLOBAL EMBA RANKING |
|||||||||
| 2026 FT Rank | Name | Location | Salary (USD) | Salary Increase (%) | Aims Achieved (%) | ESG Rank | 2025 Rank | 2024 Rank |
Three-Year Average Rank
|
| 1 | Kellogg/HKUST Business School | Hong Kong | 607,684 | 69 | 73 | 43 | 4 | – | – |
| 2 | Ceibs | China/Switzerland/ Ghana |
567,019 | 105 | 74 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | IESE Business School | Spain/US/ Germany/Brazil |
431,065 | 89 | 72 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 7 |
| 4 | Skema Business School | France/US/China/ Brazil/UAE |
361,941 | 101 | 75 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 7 |
| 5 | ESCP Business School | France/UK/Germany/ Italy/Spain/Lebanon/ UAE |
341,326 | 92 | 72 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Guanghua-Kellogg | China/US | 588,889 | 78 | 69 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 9 |
| 7 | EMBA-Global: Columbia/LBS | US/UK | 353,076 | 105 | 73 | 83 | – | 7 | – |
| 8 | Washington University: Olin | China | 649,429 | 105 | 69 | 76 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | National University of Singapore Business School | Singapore | 542,224 | 83 | 68 | 33 | 23 | 32 | 21 |
| 10 | University of Cambridge: Judge | UK | 408,540 | 85 | 76 | 37 | 20 | 25 | 18 |
| 11 | Arizona State University: W. P. Carey | China | 535,358 | 112 | 67 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 12 | Insead | France/ Singapore/UAE |
374,537 | 64 | 72 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | HEC Paris | France/Qatar | 392,822 | 69 | 70 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
| 13 | IE Business School | Spain | 447,420 | 45 | 67 | 2 | – | 19 | – |
| 15 | Trium: HEC Paris/LSE/NYU: Stern | France/UK/US | 449,088 | 65 | 72 | 46 | 6 | 5 | 9 |
| 16 | University of Oxford: Saïd | UK | 445,402 | 71 | 70 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 14 |
| 17 | Fudan University School of Management | China | 574,665 | 113 | 68 | 48 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| 18 | CUHK Business School | Hong Kong | 355,103 | 85 | 71 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 21 |
| 19 | MIT: Sloan | US | 434,702 | 70 | 72 | 91 ** | 12 | 6 | 12 |
| 20 | London Business School | UK/UAE | 379,379 | 82 | 70 | 67 | 13 | 16 | 16 |
| 21 | Essec Business School/Mannheim Business School | France/Germany/ Singapore |
305,575 | 78 | 71 | 12 | 18 | 21 | 20 |
| 22 | Essec Business School | France/Singapore/ Morocco |
302,259 | 77 | 68 | 21 | 29 | 43 | 31 |
| 23 | University of Pennsylvania: Wharton | US | 358,876 | 65 | 72 | 79 | 16 | 14 | 18 |
| 24 | HKU Business School | China | 338,216 | 121 | 66 | 28 | 19 | 24 | 22 |
| 25 | Neoma Business School | France/China | 201,174 | 59 | 73 | 6 | 38 | 46 | 36 |
| 26 | Edhec Business School | France | 230,302 | 70 | 73 | 7 | 28 | 26 | 27 |
| 27 | Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management | US | 344,378 | 64 | 70 | 69 | 30 | 20 | 26 |
| 28 | Yale School of Management | US | 276,082 | 56 | 76 | 15 | 31 | 14 | 24 |
| 29 | University of St Gallen | Switzerland | 295,364 | 74 | 74 | 8 | 24 | 34 | 29 |
| 30 | Kedge Business School | France/China | 225,086 | 91 | 74 | 30 | 24 | 28 | 27 |
| 31 | BI Norwegian Business School/Fudan University School of Management | China | 326,789 | 117 | 69 | 34 | 21 | 30 | 27 |
| 32 | Henley Business School | UK/Finland/ South Africa |
212,289 | 56 | 68 | 22 | 33 | 52 | 39 |
| 33 | Cornell University: Johnson | US | 266,906 | 61 | 70 | 81 | 50 | 64 | 49 |
| 34 | Kellogg/WHU Beisheim | Germany | 269,887 | 54 | 69 | 54 | 42 | 29 | 35 |
| 35 | IMD — International Institute for Management Development | Switzerland | 295,212 | 48 | 62 | 51 | 26 | 17 | 26 |
| 36 | emlyon business school | France/China/ Morocco |
271,298 | 61 | 66 | 13 | 39 | 40 | 38 |
| 37 | Columbia Business School | US | 274,356 | 67 | 65 | 88 | – | – | – |
| 38 | Indian School of Business | India | 420,715 | 70 | 67 | 74 | 53 | 40 | 44 |
| 39 | Warwick Business School | UK | 205,111 | 62 | 70 | 40 | 34 | 30 | 34 |
| 40 | SDA Bocconi School of Management | Italy | 272,154 | 76 | 59 | 36 | 27 | 23 | 30 |
| 41 | Vlerick Business School | Belgium | 226,100 | 67 | 68 | 60 | 49 | 56 | 49 |
| 42 | Stockholm School of Economics | Sweden | 199,629 | 48 | 71 | 10 | 40 | 67 | 50 |
| 43 | UCLA Anderson School of Management | US | 272,834 | 52 | 70 | 27 | 36 | 32 | 37 |
| 44 | Bayes Business School | UK | 243,284 | 70 | 65 | 47 | 55 | 53 | 51 |
| 45 | ESMT Berlin | Germany | 241,458 | 40 | 65 | 11 | 42 | 45 | 44 |
| 46 | Singapore Management University: Lee Kong Chian | Singapore | 312,020 | 34 | 64 | 57 | – | 55 | – |
| 47 | University of Michigan: Ross | US | 328,535 | 53 | 73 | 90 | 45 | 39 | 44 |
| 48 | Georgetown University: McDonough | US | 240,666 | 59 | 68 | 31 | 51 | 49 | 49 |
| 49 | Duke University: Fuqua | US | 241,717 | 54 | 71 | 96 | 75 | – | – |
| 50 | Frankfurt School of Finance and Management | Germany | 221,688 | 43 | 68 | 35 | 54 | 37 | 47 |
| 51 | University of Zurich | Switzerland | 223,600 | 50 | 67 | 42 | 57 | 74 | 61 |
| 52 | Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University | Netherlands | 186,640 | 56 | 66 | 23 | 37 | 58 | 49 |
| 53 | Kellogg/York University: Schulich | Canada | 217,635 | 49 | 67 | 25 | 32 | 36 | 40 |
| 54 | Mannheim Business School | Germany | 256,272 | 41 | 69 | 63 | 40 | 68 | 54 |
| 55 | Iscte Business School | Portugal/UK/Spain | 254,430 | 49 | 64 | 5 | 81 | 92 | 76 |
| 56 | Yonsei University School of Business | South Korea | 378,108 | 89 | 61 | 17 | – | 49 | – |
| 57 | Western University: Ivey | Canada | 194,822 | 51 | 65 | 56 | 51 | 56 | 55 |
| 58 | University of Toronto: Rotman | Canada | 195,629 | 37 | 65 | 78 | 47 | 54 | 53 |
| 59 | Peking University: HSBC | China | 416,080 | 60 | 64 | 77 | 71 | 90 | 73 |
| 60 | New York University: Stern | US | 255,470 | 47 | 65 | 89 | 58 | 38 | 52 |
| 61 | Antwerp Management School | Belgium | 273,660 | 60 | 67 | 64 | 68 | 79 | 69 |
| 62 | Texas A&M University: Mays | US | 253,972 | 47 | 65 | 92 | 74 | 76 | 71 |
| 63 | Kozminski University | Poland | 243,231 | 51 | 67 | 66 | 68 | 62 | 64 |
| 64 | Indian Institute of Management Bangalore | India | 285,934 | 102 | 67 | 84 | 72 | – | – |
| 65 | University of Texas at Austin: McCombs | US | 270,958 | 52 | 65 | 87 | 64 | 42 | 57 |
| 66 | Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Business School | Ireland | 187,678 | 46 | 66 | 86 | 75 | 65 | 69 |
| 67 | Audencia | France/Algeria/ Morocco/China |
150,480 | 32 | 61 | 45 | 82 | 89 | 79 |
| 68 | Rennes School of Business | France/China | 137,224 | 60 | 68 | 49 | 89 | 73 | 77 |
| 69 | Queen’s University: Smith | Canada | 166,051 | 49 | 70 | 93 | 80 | 75 | 75 |
| 70 | Sabanci Business School | Turkey | 337,562 | 35 | 63 | 62 | 48 | – | – |
| 71 | The Lisbon MBA Catolica | Nova | Portugal | 196,714 | 46 | 64 | 41 | 70 | 49 | 63 |
| 72 | Aalto University | Finland | 185,900 | 36 | 65 | 68 | 92 | 88 | 84 |
| 73 | Emory University: Goizueta | US | 248,762 | 55 | 62 | 100 ** | 78 | 48 | 66 |
| 74 | HEC Lausanne, University of Lausanne | Switzerland | 195,738 | 34 | 63 | 71 | 62 | 70 | 69 |
| 75 | Korea University Business School | South Korea | 304,125 | 90 | 64 | 61 | 61 | 62 | 66 |
| 76 | Hult International Business School | UK/UAE | 186,517 | 36 | 64 | 55 | 66 | 71 | 71 |
| 76 | University College Dublin: Smurfit | Ireland | 187,159 | 51 | 66 | 95 | 86 | 81 | 81 |
| 78 | University of Southern California: Marshall | US | 225,625 | 28 | 71 | 99 | – | – | – |
| 79 | National Sun Yat-sen University | Taiwan | 296,564 | 80 | 66 | 72 | 64 | 87 | 77 |
| 79 | KFUPM Business School | Saudi Arabia | 315,771 | 106 | 68 | 80 | – | – | – |
| 81 | Incae Business School | Costa Rica/ Panama |
202,124 | 38 | 64 | 38 | 60 | 68 | 70 |
| 82 | University of Tennessee: Haslam College of Business | US | 247,139 | 45 | 70 | 85 | 100 | 100 | 94 |
| 82 | University of Porto – FEP | PBS | Portugal | 161,815 | 63 | 63 | 53 | 95 | – | – |
| 84 | University of Utah: David Eccles | US | 201,787 | 45 | 69 | 70 | 88 | 94 | 89 |
| 84 | Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller | US | 207,156 | 43 | 65 | 58 | – | 81 | – |
| 86 | Cranfield School of Management | UK | 169,800 | 55 | 65 | 59 | 83 | 72 | 80 |
| 87 | Copenhagen Business School (CBS) | Denmark | 209,848 | 42 | 63 | 50 | 59 | 58 | 68 |
| 88 | Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (ULB) | Belgium | 166,008 | 52 | 65 | 44 | 98 | – | – |
| 89 | Koç University Graduate School of Business | Turkey | 321,140 | 32 | 65 | 65 | 73 | 44 | 69 |
| 89 | Polimi School of Management | Italy | 192,252 | 51 | 60 | 32 | 77 | 98 | 88 |
| 91 | University of California at Irvine: Merage | US | 215,167 | 52 | 66 | 73 | 67 | 91 | 83 |
| 91 | Melbourne Business School | Australia | 166,739 | 31 | 61 | 98 | 84 | 76 | 84 |
| 91 | Tias Business School, Tilburg University | Netherlands | 183,947 | 49 | 63 | 52 | 84 | 79 | 85 |
| 94 | Rice University: Jones | US | 276,500 | 27 | 58 | 97 | – | 95 | – |
| 95 | University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business | South Africa | 244,062 | 20 | 57 | 39 | – | 85 | – |
| 96 | Michigan State University: Broad | US | 186,441 | 57 | 69 | 94 | 98 | 97 | 97 |
| 96 | Maastricht University, School of Business and Economics | Netherlands | 158,819 | 32 | 65 | 18 | – | – | – |
| 98 | Rutgers Business School | US | 256,602 | 53 | 64 | 82 | 93 | 78 | 90 |
| 99 | NHH Norwegian School of Economics | Norway | 154,845 | 29 | 61 | 75 | – | – | – |
| 100 | Eada Business School Barcelona | Spain | 133,367 | 50 | 56 | 29 | – | 99 | – |
DON’T MISS: FINANCIAL TIMES 2025 GLOBAL EMBA RANKING
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