The School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School) has been ranked one of the world's top-50 business schools offering full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, according to the latest business education rankings released today by the Financial Times.
"With some 1,500 MBA programs available around the world, (the Financial Times) MBA 2001 lists the cream of the world's full-time MBA programs," writes Della Bradshaw, Business Education Editor of the paper. The survey is the only head-to-head comparison between business schools globally.
This year, the financial daily expanded the ranking to list the top 100 business schools of the world: 51 of them are from the US, 32 from Europe, 9 from Canada, 3 from Australasia, 2 from Asia and 3 from central and South America. HKUST Business School is the only business school from Hong Kong to make this prestigious list of 100 and the only one from the whole of Asia to be in the top 50.
The survey measures a school based on three broad dimensions: the career progression accrued from the MBA (in particular its purchasing power in the marketplace), diversity, and research.
Overall, the HKUST Business School ranks 48th, it is particularly strong in the areas of diversity and research. Within the categories of diversity, it ranks first in the world for the international experience that its MBA program offers, second (after IMD in Switzerland) for its international faculty.
In terms of research, the School ranks 33rd based on faculty publications in top journals, and is one of the only 15 schools in the survey that possess a 100% PhD-qualified faculty.
Professor Chia-Wei Woo, the President of the HKUST, congratulated the School on entering the world top business schools league. "The recognition attained by the School says much about the high status of management education in Hong Kong. There is no doubt that our MBA program will continue to be the premier provider of management education in the region, as seen by the world's leading authorities," he said.
Professor Yuk-Shee Chan, Founding Dean and currently the University's Acting Vice-President for Academic Affairs, said, "when the School was established less than 10 years ago, it was mandated to be the leading business school in Asia by the turn of the century. This prestigious ranking indicates that in addition to achieving this significant milestone, our MBA program has also been recognized as one that offers the best international experience and exposure for the students."
Acting Dean K C Chan of the HKUST Business School said the survey results recognize the level of high quality that a publicly-funded Hong Kong program can achieve. "The School is committed to providing high quality management education in support of Hong Kong's role as a world city. The Financial Times ranking is a strong endorsement of our work. I believe the Hong Kong public is as happy as we are about this prestigious recognition, because this is a direct result of their support without which our achievement would not have been possible. Going forward, we hope the community will continue to invest in us so that we can make even greater contributions to Hong Kong," Professor Chan said.
Dr Steve DeKrey, HKUST MBA Program Director, said, "the Hong Kong business community deserves its own top quality management education program for the development of Hong Kong's talent pool, the fact is, as these results confirm, they have one."
This is the second year the Financial Times has ranked business schools on a worldwide scale. In the year 2000 survey, the paper named 75 top schools in the world and the HKUST Business School was the only one from Asia.
The HKUST Business School was established in 1991. It offers a full range of degree programs from the bachelor to PhD levels. It is the only school in Asia to be awarded dual accreditation by US-based AACSB-the International Association for Management Education and the European Foundation for Management Development. In 1998, the School was ranked one of seven elite Asian business schools by the International Herald Tribune; and its Information Systems division was ranked second in Asia and one of top-25 in research productivity worldwide by Decision Line. In 1999, Economic Inquiry ranked HKUST as the most productive in economics research in East Asia. The School organizes the largest international student exchange program in Asia with participating partners from a total of 60 major business schools from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.