What is the Financial Times MBA ranking

The way that the Financial Times MBA rankings work is that they use the following pieces of information to work out what should be on top. In brackets is the weighting that is used.

Salary Today - this is an average of all of the salaries of graduates for the next three years out of their business school. It should be noted firstly that the figures used are in USA dollars and the figures are NOT used for the Financial Times ranking.

Weighted Salary (20) - The average of the salary today figures with an adjustment for the salary variation that takes place between industry sectors. The figure given is the weighted average of the salaries for three years after graduation from the last three surveys.

Salary percentage increase (20) - the increase in salary from the beginning of your MBA up until three years after your graduation.

Value for Money (3) - This is the rate of return for the dollars that are spent on the course from the start of your MBA course until three years after graduation.

Career Progress (3) - How have alumni moved up the career ladders in the three years post-graduation? Changes in seniority and the size of company they are employed in are taken into account.

Aims Achieved (3) - Did alumni fulfil their goals or their reasons for taking an MBA. Measured as a percentage of total returns.

Placement Success (2) - How many of the alumni used career advice to gain employment.

Employed at three months (2) - Percentage of the most recent class that gained employment in the first three months post-graduation.

Alumni Recommendations (2) - What three business schools would alumni that graduated three years ago hire MBA graduates from?

Women Faculty (2) - percentage of female faculty.

Women Students (2) - percentage of female students.

Women Board (2) - percentage of women on advisory board.

International Faculty (4) - percentage of international faculty.

International Students (4) - percentage of international students.

International Board (2) - percentage of internationals on advisory board.

International Mobility (6) - how internationally mobile are the alumni.

International Experience (2) - Weighted average of the four criteria that can measure international exposure within the course.

Languages (2) - On completion of the course - how many working languages are required

Faculty with doctorates (5) - percentage of the faculty who have a doctorate.

FT Doctoral rating (5) - How many doctoral graduates have their been in the last three years, weighted also for how many graduates end up taking a faculty position at a top 50 school.

FT Research rating (10) - There are 35 international academic journals and practitioner journals recognized as being the very best and this measures how many of the faculty have been published in these journals.