The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) program remains the world's No. 1 EMBA program, according to the Financial Times 2011 EMBA global rankings released today. This is the third year in a row that it has achieved top status.
Jointly offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School) and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program has been in the top 3 since 2005 and was also ranked world's No. 1 in 2007, in addition to its current streak which began in 2009.
The Financial Times 2011 EMBA global rankings tracked the performance of students who graduated in 2008 to take into account their career advancement three years after attaining the EMBA qualification. The success of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program is largely attributed to the impressive career track records of the graduates, their diversity and working experience.
According to the ranking, Kellogg-HKUST EMBA alumni have achieved the highest average salary three years after graduation, reaching US$419,416 per annum, a 63% increase from their average pre-EMBA salary. They rank global No. 2 in terms of the extent to which they fulfilled their most important goals for doing an EMBA, and are world's No. 3 in terms of work experience. The program's student and faculty diversity also rank among the world's best. The research ranking stands high at 14th in the world.
Prof Steven DeKrey, Senior Associate Dean of the HKUST Business School and Founding Director, Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program, commented on the program's consistent high performance. He said, "The program attracts high-caliber senior executives from around the world who wish to go one step ahead in their distinguished careers. The program is uniquely designed, enabling students to gain cutting-edge knowledge and learn from top-tier faculty members from our two highly-regarded business schools."
Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST, congratulated the Business School on the success of its unique partnership program. "We are most delighted to see the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program being put at the top of the world for three consecutive years. It reaffirms the global recognition of the School's remarkable achievements in offering quality programs to develop business leaders for the world. This pursuit of excellence is fully consistent with HKUST's aspiration to be a leading university in the world with significant international impact and strong local commitment."
Prof Leonard Cheng, Dean of HKUST Business School, praised the long-term partnership with Kellogg. "This strong collaboration allows us to offer advanced executive education for global business leaders. We will continue to strive for academic excellence and program innovation that enable us to deliver a world-class business education."
The high level of diversity of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program is also apparent in the current class (2011-12), where 53% of students are based outside Hong Kong including those from Russia, Iraq, India and Singapore. Around 45% are originally from Asia, followed by Americas 30%, Europe 22% and Oceania 3%. The average age of the current class is 37 and they have an average 14 years of work experience.
The 18-month program allows participants to continue their careers while they study. As part of the unique cross-continent program, students may complete up to two global electives at Kellogg's partner schools in Chicago, Miami, Tel Aviv, Vallendar, Toronto and Hong Kong.
About the ranking: The Financial Times' ranking of the world's top 100 EMBA programs is based on the quality of alumni, school and program quality, and faculty research capabilities. Alumni quality is determined by salary and career advancement on completion of the program, work experience, seniority and program feedback. School quality is measured by the diversity of faculty, students and advisors, the global nature of the program and the proportion of faculty with PhD degrees. The research ranking is determined by the scholarly output of faculty in top academic journals.
The full EMBA 2011 rankings table can be viewed at the following webpage:
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/emba-rankings-2011
