Sydney Business School Makes It To Top Of Boss MBA Rankings

The University of Sydney Business School achieved the top score on the Australian Financial Review’s BOSS Magazine MBA Rankings.

The results are in on the best MBA courses in Australia, as the Australian Financial Review recently released its BOSS magazine MBA rankings.

Taking the tops spot on the list was the University of Sydney Business School’s MBA, which was ranked as the nation’s number one program of its kind, followed by the University of Queensland Business School and Melbourne Business School.

In welcoming the ranking result, the Dean of the Business School Professor Greg Whitwell said that it had “served to reinforce the School’s preeminent position as a provider of leadership oriented executive education”.

“In 2013 we entered a crowded and highly competitive field with a program that focused on personal as well as professional development and we are proud of what we have been able to achieve,” Professor Whitwell said.

“We are a school that wants to make a positive difference and we have again shown that we are able to do so.”

In April, the schools that chose to participate received a detailed questionnaire asking them for data on a range of areas, including: entry requirements; the education level of enrolling students; the academic qualifications, business experience and research output of teaching staff; accreditations held by the school; and class sizes.

At the same time, MBA alumni were asked to participate in a multiple-choice questionnaire which asked detailed questions about their satisfaction with their course and the level of improvement they believed it had made to their business skills. It also asked them whether they felt their MBA was value for money.

Of the new students enrolling in Sydney Business School’s MBA program, 3.2% were international students and more than 45% were female, according to the AFR’s figures.

“We are particularly pleased with the way we have been able to address the MBA gender gap” Sydney Business School MBA Director Professor Guy Ford said.

“While most programs have a 30 to 35 per cent female participation rate, we have achieved a gender balance through our strong commitment to diversity of inclusion.”

The business school’s fees came in at $61.5K; the most expensive ranked MBA course was Melbourne Business School, which the AFR measured as $85.5K.

Sydney Business School’s ranking success comes in the wake of its decision to launch a full-time MBA program next year, which will focus on the skills to “lead in an increasingly complex and volatile world”.

“As with our current part-time program, next year’s full-time MBA will focus on developing skills around creativity, critical analysis and a systems approach to problem solving. We will also work to develop the personal and interpersonal skills needed to lead effectively,” Professor Whitwell said.

“We feel it is our responsibility to nurture future leaders who can thrive in a world subject to more change and uncertainty than ever before. A full-time MBA is an important vehicle for us to do so,” he said.

BOSS MBA Schools Rankings – 2017

The University of Sydney Business School

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#1  600 94 3.2% 45.7%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 25 90.9% 100% 1973 $61.5k

 

UQ Business School, University of Queensland

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#2  624 130 8.5% 27.7%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 30 81.5% 70.4% 1972 $57.1k

 

Melbourne Business School

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#3  540 249 24.5% 36.1%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
52  94.7% 63.2% 1963 $85.5k

 

Griffith Business School, Griffith University

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#4  468 233 0.9% 39.9%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 18 100% 57.9% 1992 $51k

 

Adelaide Business School, University of Adelaide

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#5  516 80 6.3% 36.3%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 17 73.3% 100% 1963  $57k

 

QUT Graduate School of Business

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#6  504  62 3.2% 33.9%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
28 75% 96.4% 1989 $55.4k

 

University of South Australia Business School

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#7  368 90 1.1% 38.9%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 23 100% 68.2% 1980 $45k

 

Curtin Graduate School of Business

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#8  432 146 9.6% 41.8%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
36  66.7% 75% 1988 $47.4k

 

School of Business & Law, Central Queensland University

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#9  576 35 22.9% 34.3%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 30 98.9% 88.9% 1988 $40.6k

 

Bond Business School

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#10  577 48 54.2% 39.6%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 26 80% 80% 1989 $54.2k

 

Deakin Business School

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#11  396 244 2.9% 37.3%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 16 93.3% 33.3% 1981 $50.5k

 

La Trobe Business School

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#12  432 153 25.5% 41.8%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 25  71.9% 31.3% 1994 $53.3k

 

Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#13  408 40 35% 52.5%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 14 80% 93% 1988 $47.2k

 

School of Management & Enterprise, University of Southern Queensland

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#14  624 303 52.1% 32%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 25 93.3% 26.7% 1990 $32k

 

Victoria Graduate School of Business, Victoria University

Rank Class contact hours entire course New students enrolling New international students New female students
#15  432 46 30% 45.7%
Average class size for core subjects Teachers with PhD Teachers with current business experience Year first offered Annual Fees
 19 100% 42.1% 1992 $35.7k

 

Ben Ready
Ben Ready founded MBA News in 2014 and is the Managing Editor. He is a former business and finance journalist with Australian Associated Press (AAP) and Dow Jones Newswires in London. Ben completed his MBA in 2012 and was awarded the QUT GMAA Entrepreneurship Prize. He is also the founder and Managing Director of RGC Media & Mktng (rgcmm.com.au).