The QS Online MBA Rankings highlight the best online MBA programs across the globe, looking at factors such as employability, faculty and teaching, class profile and class experience.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a postgraduate interdisciplinary programme focused on disciplines that teach key business practices including: accounting and finance, business analytics, management, marketing, and supply chain management among others.
Choosing an MBA programme continues to be a worthwhile investment, equipping students with the essential skills for a global business landscape that continues to advance and evolve.
Online MBA programmes are designed around online distance learning, giving students greater flexibility to complete the course around the other aspects of their lives.
The Rankings are published on TopMBA.com, where our users can also view the results by regional breakdowns.
The QS bespoke methodology seeks to highlight programmes that have strong links to industry, positive career returns, and offer value for money.
Key Dates
Research for the QS Online MBA Rankings begins in November and the Rankings are published in April
Data Collection
| Date Starts | Date Ends | |
| Survey Contacts Submission | November | January |
| Academic Survey | November | March/April |
| Employer Survey | November | March/April |
| Institution Data | November | February |
Rankings
Along with the overall Global Online MBA Ranking, we also publish regional rankings.
- Asia-Pacific Online MBA Rankings
- Europe, Middle East and Africa Online MBA Rankings
- Latin America Online MBA Rankings
- North America Online MBA Rankings
An overall rank in the global ranking is transformed into an overall rank in the corresponding sub-regional ranking, using the same overall and indicator scores as the global ranking. Indicator ranks in the regional rankings are not available.
Methodology
In each of our rankings we use a range of measurements as part of our methodology. These can be split into three broad groups.
Each ranking is made up of a different group of measurements, with some being used across several rankings and others unique to one project.
Lens
A group of Indicators which are related to the same theme
Indicator
A measurement of one aspect of an institution’s performance. Institutions are scored and ranked within indicators and those indicator scores contribute to its overall rank and score
Metric
A more specific calculation that forms part of an Indicator
Lenses and indicators
Below you can find the weightings for each lens and indicator in this ranking. Weightings are reviewed on an annual basis. Click on each measure for more detailed information.
Where any of the submitted data falls under guidance of the MBA CSEA standards, these are adhered to.
| Lens | Weighting | Indicator | Weighting |
| Faculty and Teaching | 35% | Academic Reputation | 15% |
| Full-time Faculty-Student Ratio | 10% | ||
| Completion Rate | 10% | ||
| Class Profile | 30% | Number of students enrolled | 10% |
| Applicants/place ratio | 5% | ||
| Percentage of women | 5% | ||
| Number of nationalities | 5% | ||
| Mean work experience | 5% | ||
| Employability | 30% | Employer Reputation | 30% |
| Class Experience | 5% | Class Experience | 5% |
Eligibility and Inclusion
To be eligible for the Executive MBA Rankings an institution must:
- Have either AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS or EPAS accreditation. We also allow schools which have rated at least 3 or more QS Stars
- Have an average class size of least 20 students
- Have at least one graduating class
- Have classes where roughly 90% is taught online
Data Submission
All institutions can submit data for the rankings. This data is important in ensuring our rankings are as accurate as possible.
Where we don’t have data submitted by an institution, we feature them on the strength of proprietary and publicly available or previously supplied data. Our rankings are designed with this in mind.
Submission Platform
You should submit data via the QS MoveIN platform.
Please contact our Institution Support Team via our helpdesk if you do not have login details, or need further support.
You can find more information on QS MoveIN HERE
Our rankings are not opt-in/opt-out, so it is in an institution's best interest to ensure that we reflect them accurately by submitting their data.
If you would like your institution to be considered for inclusion in the Rankings and your institution has not received a submission email, please contact: rankings@qs.com.
Data Reporting Period
For the majority of the data we request, the reporting period should cover the academic year previous to our rankings cycle.
This will be approximately January to December for the Southern Hemisphere, and August to July for the Northern Hemisphere.
There are exceptions to this, so please refer to our data dictionary if you are unsure.
Marketing Assets
If your institution is included in the rankings we have a range of assets available to you to allow you to highlight your achievement to students and others.
All ranked institutions should receive the relevant marketing assets at launch. If you are ranked and have not received anything from us please contact: rankings@qs.com
Certificates
All ranked institutions will receive a digital and PDF certificate when they receive their Fact File highlighting their rank.
Certificates are designed for digital or physical use.
Badges
All ranked institutions will receive digital badges when they receive their Fact File email.
This will allow institutions to share and embed their credentials easily, whilst also providing reassurance to viewers of the validity of the credential, as the badges are fraud and tamper-proof, protected by the highest-level protection using blockchain technology.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What does the term “tuition fees” refer to?
A: "Tuition fees" stands for the published financial cost a student must pay for an educational programme. This should exclude additional charges such as registration or application costs.
Q: How do you define “international students” in the survey?
A: Number of students who are foreign nationals. The term ‘international’ is hereby determined by citizenship.
EU countries: include all foreign nationals, even nationals from other EU states.
Hong Kong: include students from Mainland China.
In case of dual citizenship, the deciding criteria should be ‘citizenship obtained through birth’. Please visit Data Appendix – QS Quacquarelli Symonds for more information.
Q: How do I submit employer/academic lists?
A: Every school will be invited to the survey individually. Please contact our support team via our helpdesk (Submit a request – QS Quacquarelli Symonds) if you need help.
Q: May I have an extension on the deadline date?
A: This is usually possible within reason. Please contact our support team via our helpdesk (Submit a request – QS Quacquarelli Symonds) if you need to ask for an extension.
Q: Can I fill out the survey in PDF, Word or Excel formats?
A: No. We need the survey to be done online through our data submission portal. Please contact our support team via our helpdesk (Submit a request – QS Quacquarelli Symonds) if you do not have login details, or need further support.
Q: If I open a survey, does that mean I show my intent to submit information?
A: No. We will only consider finalised applications that have been submitted by the school.
Q: Why can I only see previous surveys and not the current ones?
A: Open the portal and scroll down; click on “Start New Application” - the new surveys will then appear.
Please contact our support team via our helpdesk (Submit a request – QS Quacquarelli Symonds) if you do not have login details, or need further support.
Q: Do you survey alumni as part of the ranking?
A: Not directly. However, if they have gone on to become academics or in positions of hiring responsibility in companies, they may be surveyed as part of our Academic and Employer Reputation surveys.
Q: What is your policy regarding GDPR?
A: QS is GDPR compliant. We treat all data safely and securely. For more information please visit Information_Security_Policy.pdf (qs.com).
Please note that contact details provided for the surveys:
- Will not be used for any commercial or business matters,
- Will be used for the sole purpose of inviting participants to the relevant QS reputation survey, which will inform the QS World University Rankings.
- Will not be submitted or transferred to any other organisation.
- QS will ensure that all rights of the 'data subject' will be preserved.
Q: If you don’t survey alumni then why do you request alumni contact details?
A: Alumni may be featured on our websites, we may also quote them in webinars or other QS marketing materials. Please note that alumni information will not be used to build or inform any of our rankings. If we do use any alumni-related information we will contact them before using their information or before the ranking is released.
Q: Should I just include Full Time faculty?
A: Please also count Full Time Equivalent FTE as per definitions here Data Appendix – QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
Q: Should I just include Faculty that is relevant to a particular programme, or count the whole Faculty cohort of the Business School?
A: Please include the cohort of Faculty staff.
Q: When counting Faculty staff, should I just include core staff or core and adjunct Faculty?
A: Please use both core and adjunct Faculty staff.
Q: What do you mean by “advanced degrees”?
A: We are referring to 'postgraduate' degrees.
Q: We are not sure whether our programme is suitable for your ranking, as its name is slightly different to the QS ranking name.
A: If the course content and class profile is comparable to the other programmes in the ranking, please feel free to add relevant information. We understand that names of programmes tend to fluctuate across institutions.
Please reach out to our specialist team on Submit a request – QS Quacquarelli Symonds to discuss this matter further if necessary.
Q: Do I have to fill out all of the rankings surveys?
A: No. We know some schools don’t collect every data point we are asking for. The most important responses are the questions connected to the rankings (as indicated in the survey). Please note that if you do not provide responses to these questions, QS will look for publicly available information and/or make estimates as necessary.
Q: Does it affect my rank if I don't submit employer/academic contacts?
A: If you supply employer and academic contacts then this should increase your chance of being nominated. However, it might also increase the chance of some of your peers being nominated.
The survey is well established - we receive around 40,000 responses a year. Given this large database of existing employer nominations, not submitting a list is unlikely to impact your final ranking position. However, it has the potential to make a marginal difference in your reputation scores, especially if you are located in an underrepresented market.
Q: After I have submitted all data, can I get a copy of what I submitted?
A: Of course. You will be able to see a PDF of your answers on your dashboard. Please contact us Submit a request – QS Quacquarelli Symonds if you need further help.
Q: When will I receive my institution’s results?
A: We aim to send a detailed competitive fact file of your results approximately two weeks before launch. Please ensure QS has the right contact/s in your institution who will receive these files.
Q: If we have several intakes/cohorts then which incoming class do we report on?
A: We are looking to capture the essence of your program. The best answer would be to average the cohorts to get your final answer.
Q: Regarding the applicant/enrollment question: Are you referring to the academic year or the calendar year for the reporting?
A: As long as you are consistent in reporting (per year) then you are free to use whichever is easier.
