19 October 2009

NUS Business School's Executive MBA ranks 11th globally

• Quantum leap by 9 places in Financial Times' EMBA Rankings
• FT identifies NUS EMBA among global elite

The National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School's Asia Pacific Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) programme has been ranked 11th in the world in the Financial Times EMBA 2009 Rankings, released today. This is the highest ranking ever achieved by any Singapore MBA programme in global MBA rankings.

Professor Bernard Yeung, Dean and Stephen Riady Distinguished Professor of NUS Business School said, "NUS Business School has made significant gains in this year's results - we jumped nine places, from 20th last year to 11th this year. This is a great achievement and the School has every reason to be proud of the improvement. We are greatly encouraged by this recognition by our stakeholders in the region and the world. Our ranking as 11th worldwide confirms that we are on track to be Asia's Global Business School."

Particularly noteworthy is that the Financial Times had placed the NUS Business School in the top group of Business Schools. The NUS Business School's EMBA also occupies the top rank among independent (not twinned with another university) EMBA programmes offered by Asian Schools.

The School was also placed first globally in the "International Students" criteria, indicating that it had the highest percentage of international students in its programmes. Indeed, its most recent graduating class comprises students from 12 countries around the world. The NUS EMBA was also ranked among the top 10 in the "international course experience" provided. To date, students from 30 countries have graduated from this programme.

"Our top ranking under the 'international students' criteria is an outstanding achievement. We have been strong proponents of having a wide diversity of EMBA students to enable them to interact, understand and appreciate the rich tapestry of cultures and practices from one another," remarked Ms Chua Nan Sze, Director of the Executive MBA Programme at NUS Business School.

The School's leap of 45 spots to 21st place in the criteria of "Aims Achieved" which is the extent to which alumni fulfilled their most important goals or reasons for doing an EMBA. Following closely on this is the higher ranking of the School's "Career Progress" at 25th place from the previous 53rd place. "Career Progress" is calculated according to the change in the level of seniority and organisation size after completing their EMBA compared to before their admission. Indeed, two of the alumni could attest to that. Said Mr Adrian Ruzsicska who is in regional marketing and business development, "Having worked in an MNC for many years, I believe an EMBA would help realise my career objectives. NUS's Asia-Pacific EMBA was the right choice for me as it delivered on its promise on quality curricula, professional delivery and international participation. The talent and diversity (in terms of industry and nationality) of my cohort provided a unique and powerful learning environment. Within days of completing the first module, the work benefits were tangible and by the end of the programme, I could see my career prospects improving significantly. Being an APEX and NUS Business School alumnus is something that continues to grow in value and is something I'm proud of." Another alumnus, Franchise Director Mr How Ti Hwei, added, "With its emphasis of understanding global business issues from an Asian perspective, I believe this uniquely structured programme will become increasingly relevant as Asia continues its ascent. I attribute a large part of my career advancement in the past few years to learning from a dedicated faculty and passionate exchanges with friends from around the world. I am as proud as ever to be associated with it."

Said Professor Susanna Leong, Vice-Dean of Graduate Studies, NUS Business School, "We are pleased that the quality of our Asia Pacific EMBA programme has been recognised by our students, employers and the Financial Times. Ours is a rigorous programme that provides students with a deep understanding of the challenges facing senior managers in general, and in doing business in Asia in particular. We focus on students' achievement of their personal and career goals."

This ranking exercise surveyed the School's Asia-Pacific Executive MBA (English) and Asia-Pacific Executive MBA (Chinese) graduating class of 2006.

More details of the FT ranking can be found at http://rankings.ft.com/emba-rankings/emba-rankings

ABOUT NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL'S ASIA-PACIFIC EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMME

The Asia-Pacific Executive MBA is one of the region's most established Executive MBAs, designed with an unique strategic focus on Asia-Pacific business within the global economy. Conducted over 6 intensive two-week residential segments in different Asian countries, it provides the busy senior executive with a rigorous management learning platform with minimal career disruptions. The NUS EMBA is tailor-made for business leaders from all over the world; providing a modular programme designed to meet the managerial challenges in the global economy.

The wide diversity of the students - both professionally and culturally - also provide valuable peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunities that complement the quality international curriculum.

ABOUT NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL

Established in 1965, NUS Business School is known for its focus in providing management thought leadership from an Asian perspective, enabling our students and corporate partners to leverage on the best global knowledge and deep Asian insights to drive business education and growth in Asia and around the world. This combination of global knowledge and Asian insights is reflected in all aspects of its research, teaching and industry outreach. As Asia's Global Business School, NUS Business School is a leading authority on business in Asia.

The School has consistently received top rankings in the Asia-Pacific region by independent publications and agencies, such as Financial Times, Economist Intelligence Unit, and QS Top MBA, in recognition of the quality of its programmes, faculty's research and graduates. In its 2008 rankings, The Financial Times ranked the NUS Business School's Asia Pacific Executive MBA programme 20th in the world, the highest ranking ever achieved by any business school in Singapore till then. The Financial Times ranked the NUS MBA 35th in the world. In 2009, QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers' Choice Survey rated NUS Business School graduates third in the Asia Pacific. The School's research is ranked 47th in the world by the University of Texas, Dallas. The School is accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), an endorsement that the School has met the highest standards for business education.

The School has more than 110 top research faculty, over 2,500 BBA, MBA, Executive MBA, and PhD students; more than 2,000 annual participants in Executive Education programmes; and over 45,000 alumni in diverse organisations and positions of leadership throughout the world.