The 50 best business schools in the world

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

Earning an MBA can provide business-school graduates with an increased salary, a vast network of industry contacts, and new opportunities - but the extent of these career benefits can vary significantly depending on the school.

For our sixth-annual ranking of the best business schools in the world, we looked at 60 perennially top-rated institutions that offer MBA programs and evaluated them based on the most recent data available on five metrics: reputation (determined through our annual reader survey), average starting salary after graduation, job placement rate (the percentage of graduates who were employed within three months of graduation), average GMAT score, and tuition and fees.

We considered reputation and starting salary the most telling factors of a school's worth, so these categories were weighted more heavily than the other three. You can read a full breakdown of the methodology here.

The revamped methodology reshuffled this year's ranks with surprising results, including the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School topping the list for the first time.

The highest-ranked international school on the list is the London Business School, earning the No. 12 spot.

Read on to see the full list of the 50 best business schools in the world.

Editing by Alex Morrell with additional research by Andy Kiersz.