Best MBA Schools in India:
As discussed in our post on the most popular MBA rankings, we at August Academy, don’t really believe that Business school rankings are sacrosanct. However, we need something to go by to identify which schools offer the best opportunities. We know that the IIMs are considered to be the best MBA schools in India – especially IIM Ahmedabad (IIM A), IIM Bangalore (IIM B) and IIM Kolkata (IIM C). And yet, when you look at the ranking of ISB Hyderabad, you will find that the Indian School of Business consistently ranks in the top 30 in the world or in the top 5 in India, depending on which ranking system you look at.
In addition to the fact that IIMs select students based on results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) and ISB selects its students based on GMAT scores, there are fundamental differences to the way these institutes approach management education – no one clearly superior to another.
The IIMs cater to the more traditional form of business education offered in India, and place a lot of importance on doing well on the CAT. This approach is based on the belief that academic aptitude is a good indicator of workplace success. ISB, on the other hand, values student with work experience. This approach is based on the belief that, while aptitude is important, workplace success might be a result of certain behavioral aspects as well, which can only be measured by the student’s performance at the workplace. This is one of the fundamental differences between the IIMs and ISB.
Financial Times Rankings:
Financial Times ranks ISB as the 27th best school in the world – an honor that it shares with one of America’s most prestigious business schools – the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. At number 27, ISB also turns out to be the highest ranked business school from India, two spots ahead of IIM Ahmedabad which ranks 29th in the world, and second in India.
The best business schools in India, as per the FT global rankings 2017 are as follows:
India Rank – Global Rank – Name of the School:
1 – 27 – ISB Hyderabad
2 – 29 – IIM Ahmedabad
3 – 49 – IIM Bangalore
4 – 95 – IIM Kolkata
More reading:
August Academy’s school profile on ISB can be found here.