Top Business Schools in 2020

The recently released QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020 features 501 of the top higher education institutions to study business.

The QS Rankings by Subject are based on four indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper and the H-index (a way of measuring the productivity and published work of a scientist or scholar). You can find more details about the methodology behind the subject rankings here.

Read on to learn more about the best business schools in each region. Alternatively, if you would like to explore the 501 schools in further detail, click here to view the full table.

Top business schools in the US and Canada

An impressive 120 business schools in the US and Canada are featured in this years’ rankings, including four in the top 10. Once again, Harvard Business School is the world’s leading business school, retaining the global title for the fifth consecutive year. Outside of the top 10, there are nine US business schools included in the global top 50, including University of California, Berkeley (UCB, 12^th place), Northwestern University (14^th), Columbia University (18^th), Yale University (19^th) and New York University (NYU, 20^th).

There are 18 Canadian business schools in the ranking, with two entrants making it into the global top 50 – the University of British Columbia is in 40^th place, and the University of Toronto in 43^rd.

Top business schools in Europe

Europe is the most well-represented region in the business school rankings, with a whopping 205 schools ranked, including six in the top 10. INSEAD is ranked as the best business school in continental Europe for the second year running, and London Business School is once again the UK’s best institution.

Outside of the top 10, the University of Oxford drops one position this year to rank in 11^th place. Other notable UK business schools in the global top 50 include The University of Warwick in 23^rd, Imperial College London (joint 24^th) and The University of Manchester (30^th).

In Spain, IE Business School rises a phenomenal 170 places this year, ranking at joint 31^st (from 201-250 last year). Further Spanish representation in the top 50 include ESADE Business School (21^st) and IESE Business School (29^th).

There are a further five European business schools in the global top 50: Copenhagen Business School (15^th); the Netherlands’ Erasmus University Rotterdam (17^th); ESSEC Business School, Paris (joint 31^st); Switzerland’s University of St Gallen (HSG, joint 31^st) and Austria’s WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business) in 37^th.

Top business schools in Asia

There are 104 Asian business schools in the rankings this year, including 12 in the global top 50. The highest-ranked school in Asia is the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 13^th place globally. Two other Singaporean schools made it into the top 50 (out of four ranked schools) - Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in joint 24^th and Singapore Management University in 39^th.

Mainland China is the best represented region in Asia for business schools, with 18 institutions in the rankings, including four in the top 50: Tsinghua University (joint 34^th), Peking University (36^th), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (joint 44^th) and Fudan University in 50^th place.

Hong Kong also has a significant presence in the global top 50, with their highest ranked school, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 16^th place. Other notable schools in Hong Kong include the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in joint 41^st place and City University of Hong Kong in 48^th.

Two schools in South Korea round out the Asian presence in the global top 50 - Seoul National University (SNU) in 38^th place and Korea University in 49^th. Two Indian institutions, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) – Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) – Bangalore narrowly miss out on a spot in the top 50, both ranking at 51-100.

Top business schools in Australia and New Zealand

There are 30 business schools from Australia and New Zealand featured in this years’ rankings (23 in Australia, seven in New Zealand). Australia’s highest ranked program can be found at The University of Melbourne, which comes in 16^th place globally. Other Australian schools in the global top 50 are The University of New South Wales (UNSW, joint 34^th), The University of Sydney (joint 41^st) and Monash University (joint 44^th).

New Zealand has no business schools in the global top 50, but their highest ranked school, The University of Auckland (51-100) scores highly in the research citations per paper and the H-index indicators.

Top business schools in Latin America

There are 23 Latin American business schools featured in the rankings this year, with one program cracking the top 50 – Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) in 47^th place. Four other Mexican business schools feature in the rankings. Colombia is the most well represented Latin American country with six business schools in the rankings, followed by Chile and Mexico with five each, Brazil with four, Argentina with two and Peru with one entrant.

Top business schools in Africa and the Middle East

There are five African universities in the business school rankings, with two universities in Egypt and three universities in South Africa. The highest ranked university on the continent is The American University in Cairo, ranked at 201-250.

14 Middle Eastern schools feature in the rankings, with Lebanon’s American University of Beirut (AUB) and the United Arab Emirates’ American University of Sharjah ranking the highest at 201-250. There are a further two schools in the UAE featured in the rankings, as well as three schools in Saudi Arabia and Israel, a second Lebanese school, plus one school each from Jordan, Oman and Qatar.