That journey came to a successful conclusion today (December 1), as INSEAD was named No. 1 for the first time in The Financial Times‘s annual ranking of European business schools. INSEAD jumped an incredible 17 places from last year as its MiM program, launched in 2019, was factored into its overall score for the first time, giving the French school programs in all categories in the magazine’s ranking.
HEC Paris fell out of first place in the Euro B-school ranking for the first time in six years, dropping to second. London Business School slipped to third from second, IESE of Spain dropped to fourth from third, and ESCP, which has multiple campuses around Europe, dropped to fifth from fourth.
2024 FINANCIAL TIMES’S EUROPEAN BUSINESS SCHOOL TOP 10
Rank in 2024
Rank in 2023
Rank in 2022
Three-year average rank
School name
Location (main campus)
1
18
15
11
Insead
France/Singapore/UAE
2
1
1
1
HEC Paris
France
3
2
2
2
London Business School
UK/UAE
4
3
6
4
Iese Business School
Spain/US/Germany
5
4
3
4
ESCP Business School
France/Germany/Italy/Poland/Spain/UK
6
5
4
5
SDA Bocconi School of Management
Italy
7
7
7
7
Edhec Business School
France
8
9
9
9
Essec Business School
France/Singapore/Morocco
9
6
5
7
University of St Gallen
Switzerland
10
8
10
9
IE Business School
Spain
INSEAD HAD DROPPED 15 PLACES IN THE RANKING BETWEEN 2021 & 2023
There were some noteworthy leaps further down the ranking. Two schools made big jumps to join the top 25: Trinity Business School in Dublin, Ireland, which went from 32nd to 24th, and the UK’s Cranfield School of Management, which jumped from 37th to 25th. More dramatically, Skema Business School in France jumped to 26th from 71st, an improvement of 45 places, most of any school in the ranking; and EBS Business School in Germany moved up to 50th from 81st. (See the complete ranking on the next page.)
Porto Business School rose 14 positions to the 39th spot due to notable improvements in most evaluated categories, particularly in the Executive Education categories, where it ranks 33rd in Custom programs and 28th in Open programs. In the Executive MBA, Porto is in the 56th position, standing out as the second-best school nationally in this category. “We are very pleased with these results, which place us among the four business schools with the highest rise in positions in The Financial Times ranking, evaluating 100 institutions,” José Esteves, Dean of Porto Business School, says in a news release. “This recognition strengthens our motivation to continue developing innovative educational solutions aligned with the demands of the global market.”
INSEAD Dean Francisco Veloso tells Poets&Quants that the Euro B-school ranking “reflects the consistent excellence in everything we do at INSEAD — from our world-class faculty delivering impactful programs and groundbreaking research, to our ability to drive innovation and create value at every level of business education.”
INSEAD ALUMNI HAVE SECOND-HIGHEST SALARY IN RANKING
FT ranks B-schools by their MBA (25%), EMBA (25%), MiM (25%), and custom (12.5%) and open (12.5%) executive education programs. For MBA, EMBA, and MiM, scores are based on two main factors: average alumni salary three years after completion, and average difference in alumni salary between before their degree and three years after completion.
INSEAD, with FT‘s No. 1 MBA in Europe, has an MBA alumni salary of $198,904, a figure eclipsed only by the $202,534 at SDA Bocconi in Italy. INSEAD’s average MBA salary increase is 110%. In the MiM category, INSEAD grads make an average base salary of $118,984, 68% higher than their pre-MiM salary.
“From shaping high-potential talent to developing senior executives and supporting organizations in navigating complexity, our programs continue to redefine leadership and business,” says Veloso, whose school was named Poets&Quants‘ Program of the Year last December. “We are committed to empowering individuals with the skills, agility and global perspective to lead with lasting impact.
“In a world defined by rapid change and growing complexity, INSEAD’s enduring excellence comes from our steadfast dedication to our lasting mission of bringing together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society.”
See the next page for the complete 100-school Financial Times ranking.
HEC Paris dropped out of first place in the FT Euro B-school ranking for the first time since 2018
FINANCIAL TIMES EUROPEAN BUSINESS SCHOOL RANKING 2024
Rank in 2024
Rank in 2023
Rank in 2022
Three-year average rank
School name
Location (main campus)
1
18
15
11
Insead
France/Singapore/UAE
2
1
1
1
HEC Paris
France
3
2
2
2
London Business School
UK/UAE
4
3
6
4
Iese Business School
Spain/US/Germany
5
4
3
4
ESCP Business School
France/Germany/Italy/Poland/Spain/UK
6
5
4
5
SDA Bocconi School of Management
Italy
7
7
7
7
Edhec Business School
France
8
9
9
9
Essec Business School
France/Singapore/Morocco
9
6
5
7
University of St Gallen
Switzerland
10
8
10
9
IE Business School
Spain
11
10
12
11
EMLyon Business School
France
12
12
17
14
Esade Business School
Spain
13
14
25
17
University of Oxford: Saïd
UK
14
13
11
13
IMD — International Institute for Management Development
Switzerland
15
11
16
14
Warwick Business School
UK
16
16
13
15
WHU — Otto Beisheim School of Management
Germany
17
15
14
15
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Netherlands
18
21
24
21
Nova School of Business and Economics
Portugal
19
19
8
15
ESMT Berlin
Germany
20
17
21
19
Mannheim Business School
Germany
21
24
22
22
University College Dublin: Smurfit
Ireland
22
22
27
24
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
Portugal
23
23
20
22
Stockholm School of Economics
Sweden
24
32
37
31
Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Business School
Ireland
25
37
56
39
Cranfield School of Management
UK
26
71
58
52
Skema Business School
France
27
30
27
28
Eada Business School Barcelona
Spain
28
20
18
22
University of Cambridge: Judge
UK
29
28
19
25
Imperial College Business School
UK
30
25
38
31
Audencia
France
31
33
40
35
Grenoble Ecole de Management
France
32
34
41
36
Neoma Business School
France
33
31
23
29
Vlerick Business School
Belgium
34
29
39
34
Kedge Business School
France
35
35
35
35
Henley Business School
UK
36
38
33
36
Tias Business School, Tilburg University
Netherlands
37
36
31
35
Polimi School of Management
Italy
38
40
52
43
Kozminski University
Poland
39
53
59
50
University of Porto – FEP | PBS
Portugal
40
49
51
47
Alliance Manchester Business School
UK
41
26
26
31
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
Germany
42
39
48
43
BI Norwegian Business School
Norway
43
44
67
51
Iscte Business School
Portugal
44
27
29
33
Bayes Business School (formerly Cass)
UK
45
50
34
43
Aalto University
Finland
46
41
43
43
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
Austria
47
55
63
55
Iéseg School of Management
France
48
47
36
44
Copenhagen Business School
Denmark
49
52
62
54
Prague University of Economics and Business
Czech Republic
50
81
–
–
EBS Business School
Germany
51
51
45
49
HEC Lausanne, University of Lausanne
Switzerland
52
54
61
56
Excelia Business School
France
53
45
45
48
NHH Norwegian School of Economics
Norway
54
46
55
52
TBS Education
France
55
61
72
63
Luiss University/Luiss Business School
Italy
56
60
57
58
Rennes School of Business
France
57
47
49
51
Antwerp Management School
Belgium
58
57
66
60
Durham University Business School
UK
59
–
52
–
Hult EF Corporate Education
UK
60
67
63
63
University of Edinburgh Business School
UK
61
42
45
49
Nyenrode Business Universiteit
Netherlands
62
74
82
73
ZHAW School of Management and Law
Switzerland
63
43
42
49
Koç University Graduate School of Business
Turkey
64
65
50
60
HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management
Germany
65
71
72
69
University of Cologne
Germany
66
66
90
74
Bologna Business School
Italy
67
–
72
–
Louvain School of Management, UCLouvain
Belgium
68
70
78
72
Lund University School of Economics and Management (Lusem)
Sweden
69
75
76
73
MBS (Montpellier Business School)
France
70
59
65
65
ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management
Portugal
71
–
80
–
Burgundy School of Business
France
72
64
69
68
University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business
Slovenia
73
71
80
75
Hanken School of Economics
Finland
74
82
88
81
Jönköping International Business School
Sweden
75
76
84
78
Institut Mines-Télécom Business School
France
76
63
54
64
Lancaster University Management School
UK
77
–
88
–
EM Strasbourg Business School
France
78
56
70
68
Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (ULB)
Belgium
79
62
72
71
University of Strathclyde Business School
UK
80
–
–
–
Maastricht University School of Business and Economics
Netherlands
81
–
60
–
University of Zurich
Switzerland
82
85
82
83
IAE Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management
France
83
–
–
–
University College Cork: IMI/CUBS
Ireland
84
–
–
–
IQS — Universitat Ramon Llull
Spain
85
88
92
88
University of Antwerp Faculty of Business and Economics
Belgium
86
80
79
82
Essca School of Management
France
87
86
–
–
ESC Clermont Business School
France
88
77
95
87
University of Glasgow: Adam Smith
UK
89
68
77
78
ICN Business School
France
90
–
–
–
University of Bath School of Management
UK
91
87
86
88
Esdes Business School
France
92
78
–
–
University of Amsterdam — Amsterdam Business School
Netherlands
93
–
–
–
Paris School of Business
France
94
–
–
–
Católica Porto Business School
Portugal
95
–
86
–
Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management
