The 2018 Best Executive MBA Program Rankings

The Best Executive MBA Rankings by Ivy Exec have been held for three years already. This year, they not only include more participants, but are also recognized by more organizations.

About 6,000 top professionals have been surveyed, which makes 20% more than last year. The survey gave Ivy Exec information about more than 250 EMBA programs in different countries. The final top list of EMBA programs consists of 168 participants.

The goal of the rankings is to help people who have yet to decide which EMBA program to take. As an EMBA degree requires a lot of time and money, the rankings will be helpful in choosing the best-suited school. The rankings are based on several factors, among them prestige, career advancement, curriculum, global experience and life balance, IVY reports.

Ranked #1: INSEAD Global Executive MBA

The INSEAD Global Executive MBA program dominates the EMBA rankings for the second consecutive year. It has the top places in prestige, career advancement, curriculum and global experience. Also, it has secured the top spot in Europe.

What makes this program different? It may be the special Leadership Development Program, which helps students become better leaders. Students taking part in this program have a mentor who evaluates and supports them. Additionally, group coaching teaches the best leadership behaviors.

The Top 10 EMBA Programs

Last year, regional rankings were added to the list, which helped future EMBAs decide on their program of choice knowing it will not be far from their home and work. This year, the top-5 remained mostly the same, with one exception: Wharton MBA for Executives moved from the 7th place up to the 4th. The rest – INSEAD (#1), Kellogg Executive MBA (#2), Chicago Booth Executive MBA (#3) and London Business School Executive MBA (#5) – remained unchanged since 2017.

Among other important changes: Columbia Business School Executive MBA went up from #10 to #6, whereas Duke Global Executive MBA moved one notch down (from #6 to #7) since last year. On the 8th place is the IMD Executive MBA followed by the Berkeley MBA for Executives. To round out the top-10, MIT’s EMBA got the 10th place.

All these programs have global recognition and positive reviews from students who learned a lot about leadership while attending them. Still, even past the top-10, there are notable business schools that are no less popular and prestigious.

2018 EMBA Rankings Highlights

The rankings give prospective students information not only relevant to the cost of tuition, but also location, international travel, demographics and diversity, up to the average post-graduate salary numbers, which will help you determine if the return on investment suits you.

Regionally, the following EMBA programs have proved to be of interest:

• United States

• North East

• NYU Stern EMBA Program

• The Rutgers Executive MBA Program

• Hult International EMBA

• The Yale MBA for Executives

• Fox EMBA

• Mid-Atlantic/South

• The Duke Global EMBA

• The Darden EMBA

• The UNC Executive MBA Program

• Weekend and Modular MBA Programs for Executives at Emory Goizueta

• Auburn Executive MBA

• Midwest

• The Kellogg EMBA Program

• Chicago Booth EMBA

• Ross School of Business EMBA

• The Fisher EMBA

• The Michigan State Broad EMBA

• West

• The Berkeley MBA for Executives Program

• The UCLA Anderson EMBA

• EMBA at Loyola Marymount University

• The UC Irvine EMBA Program

• The University of Colorado EMBA Program

• Chapman University EMBA

• Asia

• NUS Asia Pacific EMBA

• SMU Executive MBA

• Nanyang EMBA

• CEIBS Global MBA

• PGPMAX Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives

• Europe

• Oxford Executive MBA

• IESE Global Executive MBA

• The Cambridge EMBA

• The Henley EMBA

• CBS Global EMBA

• Latin America

• University of Los Andes EMBA Program

• Universidad Panamericana EMBA Program

• University of Rio de Janeiro EMBA

• Fundação Getulio Vargas EMBA

• IAE Executive MBA

Among the 28 Global Joint EMBA programs are the following: 

1. EMBA-Global Americas and Europe (Columbia University & London Business School)

2. Kellogg-HKUST EMBA Program (Northwestern University & Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology)

3. TRIUM Global Executive MBA (New York University & London School of Economics & HEC Paris School of Management)

4. The Executive MBA Americas (Queen’s University & Cornell University)

5. Kellogg-WHU EMBA Program (Northwestern University & WHU)

If you haven’t decided on your future Executive MBA program yet, perhaps this ranking will help you find the educational institution where you’ll learn the best leadership skills and gain the most knowledge.

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