QS report credits strong currency, in part, for local graduates’ premium salaries. By Antonia Maiolo.
Australian MBA graduates top the list in the Asia-Pacific region for the highest starting salaries, according to the latest rankings measuring the reputation of degrees amongst employers.
The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report for 2013-14, which assesses employability outcomes for MBA programs, stated that the “stellar salaries” of Australian MBAs were a reflection of the strong Australian dollar.
Macquarie University has one of the highest figures of any business school in the world, at US$143,583 ($158,358) the report stated.
It also found that graduates of Melbourne Business School, La Trobe Business School, Brisbane Graduate School of Business at Queensland University of Technology and Sydney Business School at the University of Wollongong all stand to earn, on average, more than US$100,000.
Graduate salaries at the world’s top US business schools averaged US$123,239, slightly higher than Europe’s US$122,983.
The school with the highest average graduate salary was the Swiss business school IMD (US$159,912), ahead of the US’s Stanford Graduate School of Business (US$156,265).
The ratings group the most popular business schools around the world into four categories – elite global, emerging global, elite regional and emerging regional – based on details given by more than 4318 employers who recruit MBA graduates.
Melbourne Business School ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region, behind INSEAD Singapore (No. 1) and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. No Australian business schools made the elite category.
Professor Zeger Degraeve, dean of Melbourne Business School said the institution was pleased to be leading Australia in this area.
Degraeve said the school’s “classroom diversity” in its full-time MBA program was part of its appeal.
“We recruit our students internationally and ensure we have no one nationality predominating – it is a very different scenario in many US and Asian schools,” he said.
Degraeve said this mix was crucial given the increasingly globalised workforce, because it reflects the sort of workplace emerging managers will encounter.
The program’s academic rigour is partly attributed to the fact that all MBS faculty members have gained their PhDs and taught at the world’s top business schools. They consult to global organisations – which inform their teaching practice – and publish in the world’s top journals, helping MBS forge a global reputation, Degraeve said.
Academics at MBS also invest time in getting all students up to speed on big data analysis, decision-making and persuasion and negotiation skills. Students are given practical learning experiences with what is known as integration Fridays. This is where faculty members teach a case study resembling problems that occur in real workplaces.
The MBA program at Melbourne University also provides workshops, seminars and regular presentations on campus by senior executives from leading organisations and companies.
“We have also invested in and expanded our career support services to offer MBA students extensive one-on-one support,” Degraeve said.
To download the full report, go to topmba.com.
Please login to view content or register for a 4 week FREE Trial.