MBA in UK: Top 15 Full-Time MBA Programs in Britain according to the MBA Ranking

There is only one list that really matters when it comes to rankings of the top MBA programs in the UK, and that is The Financial Times’ annual list.

For schools in Europe and Asia specifically, the FT roster of the top MBA programs is the most closely watched list in the world. Because of this, it has a lot of sway over the U.K. market—much more than it does over the United States, where the most important ranking comes from U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of MBA programs.

London Business School also makes an impression on the FT, coming in at number eight in the world in the most recent 2024 ranking—a significant leap from its 16th-place showing the previous year. All of the FT’s ranking metrics are consistently met by the program, regardless of its annual rank. Roughly 92% of recent graduates claim that the program helped them accomplish their professional goals.

In terms of career advancement, LBS was rated 12th in the world, and its graduates reported a 108% pay increase over their pre-MBA levels. The highest average annual salary for any MBA program in Britain, according to alumni, is $187,292. As evaluated by alumni, no other MBA program in the United Kingdom received higher overall satisfaction scores. Graduates from LBS rated the school 9.25 out of ten on a scale where ten is the highest possible score.

THE UNITED KINGDOM IS HOME TO TEN OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES’ TOP 100 GLOBAL MBA PROGRAMS

The Financial Times currently lists ten full-time MBA programs among the top 100 in the world. It comes to eleven if you include Hult International Business School, which has campuses in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Dubai, and Shanghai in addition to its campus in London. The Hult MBA was rated 99th in the world last year by the Financial Times. The full-time MBA program at London Business School is the clear winner of the FT list. With just one exception, LBS has been ranked as the best MBA program in Britain for the last ten years.

The University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School was ranked fifth in the world in 2017 by the Financial Times, slightly higher than LBS, which came in sixth. Though Judge has consistently placed second behind LBS on the FT list, that was obviously an anomaly. Although London has never received the Financial Times’ highest global ranking, its MBA program has placed second twice (2021 and 2015) and third twice (2016).

15 MBA programs in the UK have made the Financial Times list in the ten years that have passed. Of these programs, Lancaster University’s Management School has done the best in terms of ranking; it has appeared on the FT list eight times, with its highest rank of 35th in 2016.

The only two schools in the United Kingdom to see improved rankings over the last ten years are Imperial and Durham.

Out of the 15 UK schools, only eight—LBS, Cambridge Judge, Oxford Said, Imperial College London, Alliance Manchester, Warwick, Bayes Business School, and Durham University Business School—have appeared in the FT ranking every year for the past ten years.

Over these ten years, only two full-time MBA programs in the UK have seen an improvement in their FT ranking: Durham University Business School, which moved up 29 spots to become ranked 68th globally last year from 97th, and Imperial College Business School in London, which climbed a dozen spots to become 37th globally last year from 49th in 2013.

Furthermore, the significance of this ranking is undeniable. According to Michael Anthonisz, associate dean of MBA programs at Durham Business School, “It’s critical really.” “Whether I think it should be or not is another thing. A lot of people will look at it but don’t know what the ranking means or how it is calculated. A couple of European schools are looking to opt-out. But we see it as something to be involved in because of its impact on demand and the market.”

Three universities that are not currently on the FT ranking were included in the list when The Economist released its final MBA ranking in 2022. They are Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow (87), University of Exeter Business School (73), and Nottingham University Business School (69th). These three business schools have three separate accreditations.

Ranking Britain’s Best MBA Programs

Currently, the Financial Times list of the top 100 global MBA programs includes ten full-time MBA programs. However, 15 programs have been added to the FT list in the last ten years. Unquestionably, London Business School is the winner. Its MBA program is the highest ranked in the United Kingdom and has been for the past two years, coming in second place globally in 2021 and 2015.

Current U.K. Rank & School	2023 Global Rank	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
1. London Business School	16	8	2	7	6	4	6	3	2	3
2. Cambridge (Judge)	23	22	16	19	16	13	5	10	13	16
3. Oxford (Said)	28	31	17	21	13	27	33	28	22	23
4. Imperial College	37	34	44	55	39	51	45	35	34	49
5. Alliance Manchester	46	43	30	45	59	36	30	38	35	43
6. Warwick	55	57	32	43	36	41	44	46	38	25
7. City University (Bayes)	66	69	61	50	64	46	37	37	45	41
8. Durham	68	95	74	62	43	64	75	66	79	97
9. Cranfield	88	NR	NR	NR	76	61	53	57	45	46
10. Birmingham	97	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	97	97	95	NR
11. Lancaster	NR	76	96	NR	91	70	42	35	50	77
12. Edinburgh	NR	NR	NR	95	87	73	91	98	NR	NR
12. Strathclyde	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	92	NR	98	NR	NR
14. Bath	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	98	80	63	80	73
15. Leeds	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	100	NR	98	84	84