The annual FT Global Masters in Management Ranking is issued by the UK-based Financial Times. It ranks master’s degree programs in management based on 17 criteria that are assessed based on data provided by the universities and surveys of alumni who completed the respective programs three years ago.

A consistent track record of good results

WU participates in this FT ranking with its English-taught Master’s Program in International Management/CEMS. In Austria this program is available exclusively at WU. This program offers students an education that is highly regarded internationally and includes an exchange semester at a renowned partner university abroad, an international internship for gaining practical experience, and networking opportunities for establishing contacts to leading companies. WU Rector Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger says, “WU has a consistent track record of good results in this ranking. This confirms that our Master’s Program in International Management/CEMS is one of the leading programs in Europe.”

International experience and attractive career prospects

The ranking is based on 17 categories in three areas: alumni career progress, diversity (percentages of female and international students and personnel), and international experience and research. In detail, the results show that 96% of WU alumni find a job within three months of graduating. WU also achieves great scores for the international environment and the opportunities for gaining international experience that it offers to its students. This is also reflected in higher levels of career mobility later on, higher salaries for program graduates, and above-average student satisfaction with the program. Even during the pandemic, WU offered its students opportunities for gaining international experience by creating online alternatives and allowing students to postpone exchange stays abroad that had to be canceled. Due to COVID-19, the FT decided to reduce the weight given to international experience in this year’s ranking by 50%. WU’s Rector says, “As more and more people are protected against COVID-19, we hope that it will soon be possible to resume student mobility on a global scale. Hopefully we’ll soon see the international opportunities that we offer our students fully reflected in this ranking again.”

WU at third place in the German-speaking region

Coming in at 18th place out of 100 universities listed in the 2021 ranking (following 11th place out of 90 universities last year), WU is in the same league as renowned institutions such as Italy’s Bocconi University and Spain’s Esade Business School (tied for 16th place). Following the University of St. Gallen, which takes the top spot in the ranking, and  ESMT Berlin (12th place), WU is the third-best university in the German-speaking region. The first two places remained unchanged from the last few years: Switzerland’s University of St. Gallen tops the ranking, followed by HEC Paris. The University College Dublin’s Smurfit School comes in third this year.

To view the complete ranking, please click here.