14. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore — Nanyang Business School
Location: Singapore
Average starting salary: $80,300
Average GMAT score: 665
Nanyang's double MBA and master's degree programs allow students to earn a simultaneous degree from partner business schools, such as a second MBA from Waseda University in Tokyo or a master's in management from France's ESSEC Business School.
All students complete a weeklong Business Study Mission, locally or overseas, in which they attend seminars with industry leaders, meet with local business associations, and visit businesses. The study mission gives students an opportunity to build professional networks and apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world environments.
13. University of Toronto — Rotman School of Management
Location: Toronto, Canada
Average starting salary: $88,400
Average GMAT score: 663
The Rotman School of Management is the only Canadian MBA program on our list, offering students the best business reputation in the country. It draws recruiters from Toronto and beyond, including companies like the Royal Bank of Canada, Bain & Co., IBM, Microsoft, and Accenture, among others.
The school started its own venture incubator in 2012 called the Creative Destruction Lab, and Rotman MBA students are tasked with providing analysis and insight for the lab's startups. Its first cohort has generated more than $165 million in equity value.
12. China Europe International Business School — CEIBS
Location: Shanghai, China
Average starting salary: $76,200
Average GMAT score: 690
Shanghai is China's top economic and financial powerhouse, and CEIBS puts students in the heart of it all. Two-thirds of graduates stay in Shanghai, and 21% go into financial services. CEIBS, established in 1994, has been dubbed mainland China's leading business school for its global focus and wide variety of tailored electives. The school also partners with Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy for students who want to pursue degrees in hospitality management, health administration, and law, respectively.
11. Ramon Llull University — ESADE Business School
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Average starting salary: $72,400
Average GMAT score: 660
ESADE offers a bilingual — English and Spanish — graduate degree in business that provides students the flexibility to heighten their career prospects in a time frame that suits them. The customized program can be completed in 12, 15, or 18 months to allow time for other personal and professional commitments. The 12-month program provides an accelerated MBA degree, while the 18-month program leaves students time for internships, academic exchanges, and other opportunities while completing academic requirements.
10. Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Business School
Location: Hong Kong
Average starting salary: $97,200
Average GMAT score: 656
HKUST Business School offers an Asia-specific business instruction in one of the world's top banking and finance hubs, which is home to 70 of the global top-100 banks and more than 6,000 multinational companies. The full-time MBA program can be completed in 12 or 16 months with an option to participate in an exchange program at one of 60 business schools around the world. Eighty percent of 2014 graduates accepted jobs in Asia after earning their MBA, and 38% started careers in banking and finance.
9. University of Warwick — Warwick Business School
Location: Coventry, England
Average starting salary: $90,800
Average GMAT score: 656
The University of Warwick's business school offers a 12-month MBA program for students with a global-business mind-set that includes an intensive schedule of core and elective modules, a consultancy project, and optional studies abroad. Within 90 days of graduating, 97% of students secured a job in 2015 — one of the highest placement rates on our list. Warwick's top-recruiting companies include Amazon, American Express, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs.
8. International Institute for Management Development — IMD
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Average starting salary: $102,000
Average GMAT score: 670
IMD carefully selects just 90 students for each class of its one-year MBA program, and the program proves career altering for almost all: 94% of the 2014 graduating class changed job function, industry, or geographic location. More than two-thirds of graduates go on to accept jobs in industry positions like manufacturing, technology/media, and consumer products, and the top-hiring companies include Accenture, Amazon, and Cisco Systems.
7. IE Business School
Location: Madrid, Spain
Average starting salary: $77,700
Average GMAT score: 680
IE Business School offers a 12-month international MBA, where students from 90 different countries acquire management experience and expand their cultural intelligence. As the first business school in the world to implement entrepreneurship standards for MBA students, IE reports that 15% of students start their own companies through the school's incubator, Area 31. IE also primes students for careers in consulting and finance — fields in which 38% of 2014 graduates accepted jobs.
6. University of Navarra — IESE Business School
Location: Madrid, Spain
Average starting salary: $93,000
Average GMAT score: 680
A degree from IESE Business School makes a noticeable difference in graduates' earning potential. The average starting salary before entering the program is $45,000, but that number rises to $93,000 for grads, according to the school. And with IESE's bilingual program, students can become fluent Spanish speakers through the multilingual campus environment and intensive classes and by experiencing daily life in Spain.
5. HEC Paris
Location: Paris, France
Average starting salary: $87,000
Average GMAT score: 685
Since its founding in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HEC Paris has become one of the most selective graduate schools in Europe. Its alumni have gone on to run Fortune Global 500 companies like Best Buy, Havas, Michelin, and L'Oréal.
Ninety percent of students accept job offers within 90 days of graduation, and top recruiters for the class of 2014 included Amazon, LinkedIn, and Google.
4. Oxford University — Saïd Business School
Location: Oxford, UK
Average starting salary: $87,700
Average GMAT score: 690
MBA students get a truly global experience during their time at Oxford. For one, the cohorts are diverse — international students make up 95% of the class of 2016 — bringing together viewpoints from a variety of cultures. On top of that, many students also participate in student treks during their year at Oxford, in which they travel to a certain part of the world for a week or two to meet potential recruiters and alumni, gaining a firsthand understanding of what it's like to do business there. Past classes have ventured to Dubai, Singapore, and Silicon Valley.
3. University of Cambridge — Judge Business School
Location: Cambridge, UK
Average starting salary: $108,900
Average GMAT score: 690
Though 89% of students are employed three months out of school, 95% have received job offers within that time period. The one-year MBA program offers a global immersion in traditional business, finance, and other corporate settings, as well as Cambridge's own surrounding tech startup community — charmingly known as Silicon Fen. The MBA class is a diverse one, with students coming from six continents and more than 40 countries.
2. INSEAD
Location: Fontainebleau, France
Average starting salary: $94,100
Average GMAT score: 701
With campuses in France, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, INSEAD's accelerated 10-month MBA program teaches students to lead and innovate across cultures. At $69,700 for tuition and fees, INSEAD is one of the best-value business schools in the world. Last year, 42% of graduates entered the corporate job sector, and an increasing number of grads accepted jobs in tech, with Amazon and Google both as top-10 recruiters.
1. University of London — London Business School (LBS)
Location: London, England
Average starting salary: $119,200
Average GMAT score: 701
University of London's business school is once again the best outside the US. With 75% of the top-500 global companies based in London, the school is a recruiting and networking gold mine for a host of multinational corporations, including Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Co. In addition to earning an MBA, students are required to graduate with a second-language proficiency in one of 15 languages offered by the Modern Language Centre at King's College London.
