The London Business School, INSEAD and Harvard have emerged as the preferred choice of international recruiters who hire MBAs, according to the 2012-13 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report published by QS, a higher education networking consultancy.

MBA employers were asked to identify the business schools of which they prefer to recruit from.

Top schools

The 3,305 respondents also identified schools they deem to produce excellent hires in ten areas of elective specialisation: finance; strategy; marketing; entrepreneurship; CSR; information management; innovation; leadership, operations management, and international management.

QS claims the survey is the largest of its kind in the world.

In the regional rankings, Harvard, Stanford and Kellogg business schools topped the APAC rankings.

Only IIM-Ahmedabad figured in the top three in the Asia-Pacific region, at No.2. INSEAD led APAC as the preferred campus to recruit MBAs from, followed by IIM-A and the National University of Singapore’s business school.

The report points to a leading cluster of 39 “elite global” business schools spread across North America (22), Europe (14) and Asia-Pacific (3).

While the US total of 15 “elite global” schools is unsurpassed, only Harvard boasts a comparable employer reputation to London Business School and INSEAD.

MBAs from Indian schools emerged as the most academically qualified. Average GMAT scores at IIM Bangalore and IIM Ahmedabad are the highest in the world, ahead of the top schools from Europe or the US.

Business schools in India have been climbing up the ratings over the year. The number of Indian schools featuring in the Asia-Pacific ratings has also increased, with the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade joining the list.

“In an economy that is rapidly growing in global importance, the rise in employer opinion of MBA graduates is extremely promising in ensuring the development of future business leaders to sustain the fast-paced economic growth,” the report said.

But MBAs from top European schools are shown to earn higher average salaries (based on 2011 placement data) than their North American counterparts. Graduate salaries at Europe's 'elite global' schools averaged $109,300 per annum, compared to $101,100 in North America.

Europe strengths

However, while Europe’s schools performed well for employability and graduate salaries, when it comes to specialisations the US schools dominate.

Harvard places number one in four of the 10 subjects covered, ahead of MIT-Sloan (2), INSEAD (1), Kellogg, Northwestern (1), Stanford (1) and Wharton (1).

Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of QS, said in a statement, "The report reveals that graduates of Europe's top business schools are increasingly in demand for their ability to lead and innovate and for transferring best practice management skills to fast-growing emerging economies around the world."

raghavan.s@thehindu.co.in

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