2021 Rankings
Masters in Management: Pandemic proof

Popularity for pre-experience management training shows no signs of slowing

The pandemic has encouraged many to reassess their lives, especially those thwarted by lockdowns while finishing their undergraduate degrees and entering the job market at an uncertain time. Remaining in education is an appealing opportunity and, as it could lead to secure employment opportunities in a wide variety of industries and roles, it’s easy to see why a masters in management is such a popular choice.

“In times of crisis, the MiM is favoured as graduates with little work experience come back to business schools to further differentiate their CV,” says Roland Siegers, Director of Early Careers Programmes at ESMT Berlin.

The MiM was already a popular degree pre-pandemic. While the MBA may still be the flagship programme of most business schools, training people with several years of experience, the MiM offers business and management training for a very different profile. The programme is designed for people with little or no experience in the world of work, often straight from their undergraduate degrees – and it’s much cheaper than its older sibling, the MBA. Take ESMT Berlin, for instance, with tuition for the MiM programme at €29,500 compared with €43,500 for its full-time MBA.

Corporates buy into the MiM too, wanting to hire graduates who have business skills and knowledge that they can mould into the company’s own ways of working. These recruits come with no ingrained methods or bad habits from previous workplaces that new employers have to undo. It’s an attractive prospect.

It comes with an attractive salary for graduates too. At ESSEC, a French grande ecole based in Paris that has risen in our latest ranking, MiM graduates can expect an average salary of €93,000 five years after graduation – and an impressive income isn’t the only benefit. For those seeking a career that spans borders, the programme is considered an excellent launchpad. At EDHEC, another French grande ecole and home to one of the MiM programmes that has jumped up our rankings, 45 languages are spoken across the cohort and 88% of EDHEC MiM graduates start their careers internationally. For graduates starved of chances to travel, it’s easy to see why the programme glitters with visions of visa rights, international mobility and global job offers.

Siegers predicts that China, the US – with spending packages from the government – and parts of Northern Europe, such as Germany and the Netherlands, are likely to be the most buoyant markets looking to hire MiM graduates.

Other significant climbers in the 2021 MiM rankings include France’s Audencia Business School and Portugal’s Nova School of Business and Economics rising a whopping nine places, followed by Duke University in North Carolina gaining eight.

While most of the indicators have remained the same from our previous MiM ranking, published in 2019, this year sees the introduction of some important new ones. We now look at the gender diversity of faculty, in addition to the existing indicator about the gender diversity of students, and we have moved away from counting the number of MiM-specific overseas alumni chapters and have asked about overseas business school chapters instead. We also have a new formula for the ratio of faculty to students.

As ever, just the top 40 schools are published. The MiM at HEC Paris in France retains the coveted top spot. Both emlyon business school and Mannheim Business School climb enough places to enter the top 10. A number of newcomers, not ranked last year, have entered. These include the MiM programmes at Excelia Business School, Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, and Babson College. The arrival of more US-based business schools is of note in a ranking dominated by their European counterparts. Nine of the top 10 are European schools, the majority of which are based in France.

“We have seen the extent to which a degree from a French grande ecole is a safe bet and a passport to employment, even in times of exceptional crisis,” says Delphine Manceau, Dean of NEOMA Business School. NEOMA’s MiM has risen four places in our ranking and the school reports an increasing number of applications both domestically and internationally. “More than ever, education is a safe haven for a new generation that sees a degree as the best way to prepare for the future.”

It seems to be that, even more during uncertain times, investing in further education, building business skills and developing a network by studying the MiM is an opportunity too good to miss.