Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) recently released its Online MBA Rankings for 2022.
The rankings for the online MBA are based on four groups of metrics: Employability, Class Profile, Faculty & Teaching, and Class Experience. In light of Asian Pacific American Heritage (APAH) month, QS found a few interesting insights for business schools based out of Asia. Of note, only one business school in Asia was even in the rankings, India’s Amity University at #52. There are several schools ranked from Australia and New Zealand, but QS considers those to be in the Oceania region.
Daniel Kahn, QS’ Senior Insights Specialist on business schools, found from a recent QS Pulse Survey of over 150 recruitment officers that Asian schools prefer an offline experience and that Asian students much prefer the face-to-face experience. Additionally, Kahn notes “although there are many accredited business schools in Asia, not many offer an online MBA. I believe there are other complications to take into consideration in a country such as India why more can’t offer an online MBA.”
Other highlights from the QS rankings include Spain’s IE business school, which ranked #1 for the fifth consecutive year. In the US, Kahn says look out for new online entrants such as Boston University, which offers an online MBA for a mere $24K compared to Ross (University of Michigan) whose tuition reaches $125K.
However, Kahn explained that from the QS Pulse Survey, demand for online MBA programs is mediocre at best – of the business schools not offering an online MBA currently, a significant 92% said they would not be launching one in the next three years. Some of the primary reasons for this decision are students’ and business schools’ concerns about online networking, and students’ perception that an online MBA offers less return on investment than a traditional in-person experience. In addition, for online MBA programs in the US, international online MBA students don’t qualify for the F-1 visa, adding to the list of downsides.
Here is a snapshot of the top 10 QS Online MBA business schools:
| Rank | School | Country |
| 1 | IE Business School | Spain |
| 2 | Imperial Business School | UK |
| 3 | Warwick Business School | UK |
| 4 | Australian Graduate School of Management | Australia |
| 5 | Marshall (USC) School of Business | US |
| 6 | Alliance Manchester Business School | UK |
| 7 | Kelley (Indiana) School of Business | US |
| 8 (tie) | W.P. Carey (ASU) School of Business | US |
| 8 (tie) | Kenan-Flagler (UNC) Business School | US |
| 10 | Chapman (FIU) Graduate School of Business | US |
For the full list of the top online business schools, click here. To start your business school application journey, contact Admitify today!