Bloomberg Businessweek recently released its list of the 2026-2027 best business schools, ranking 97 business schools in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Canada. This year, rankings were based on surveys from students (25%), alumni (40%), and recruiters (35%), with the focus on compensation, learning, networking, and entrepreneurship. It is worth noting that, this year, inclusion was not one of the categories.
Personal MBA Coach would like to share our thoughts on the latest Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings and business school rankings in general.
Bloomberg MBA Rankings in The United States
For the fourth year in a row, Stanford GSB topped the US rankings, receiving high scores in three out of four main categories. It is worth noting that Stanford GSB’s scores in compensation, networking and entrepreneurship remained unchanged, while the score for learning went down by 2 points. Once again, Stanford GSB is followed by Wharton (my alma mater). Wharton gained points for learning (+22), networking (+3), and entrepreneurship (+9). Another school to rise from fourth place to third in the ranking is Harvard Business School. Harvard gained points in compensation (+5) but lost points in learning (-19) and networking (-4).
Kellogg placed 4th (an improvement from its 5th place ranking last year), gaining points for compensation (+1) and networking (+3) for the second year in a row. UVA Darden closed out the top five, a significant jump from its tenth place ranking last year. Darden gained 10 points in learning and 11 points in networking. Dartmouth Tuck once again finished 6th, following by Chicago Booth, which remained in 7th place despite losing a few points in every category. Berkeley Haas dropped from 3rd to 8th after losing 26 points in the learning category. Cornell Johnson dropped to 9th, sharing the spot with MIT Sloan. Last year, MIT Sloan was ranked 11th.
The European Bloomberg MBA Rankings
This year, IMD reclaimed the top spot after briefly losing it to SDA Bocconi last year. SDA Bocconi lost points in each category, placing 2nd. IE jumped four positions and was ranked #3, earning points in each category. St Gallen took 4th place, followed by INSEAD.
Asia-Pacific MBA Rankings
This year, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics again topped the Asia-Pacific ranking, followed by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. HKUST was third, and Indian School of Business placed 4th. Woxsen University closed out the top five.
The Canadian Bloomberg MBA Ranking
The Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings include five Canadian MBA programs this year, compared to four last year, but only four of these are ranked. Concordia and Western swapped places, with Western Ivey topping the rankings. Queen’s Smith joined this year’s ranking and came in third, ranking best in networking, learning and entrepreneurship. McGill dropped to #4, and HEC Montreal remained unranked this year.
How to Think About MBA Rankings
Exploring MBA rankings can be a great way to build your target school list, though remember that almost every ranking source will give different results. Plus, as Personal MBA Coach has shared in the past, you should pay attention to a school’s average ranking over time and not be overly concerned by year-to-year fluctuations. Check out this blog for more detail on how to use rankings.
Finally, with the lines blurring between top schools, available financing also should be a key consideration. You may be able to secure more substantial funding from one school vs. another: last year, our clients earned over $11M in scholarships. Often you will be better served selecting a school with a slightly lower ranking but a more favorable financial package. Some M7 schools are very generous with scholarships, and others are not.
Again, do not overreact to these new rankings but do keep an open mind about expanding your MBA list.
