For the first time, Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada, conquers the top spot of the 2009-2010 Beyond Grey Pinstripes rankings.
The rankings, a biennial survey and popular alternative ranking of full-time MBA programmes, was released by The Aspen Institute and published on TopMBA.com. York University (Schulich) received high marks for the extraordinary number of courses available to students that contain environmental, social and ethical content as well as for the number of relevant scholarly articles being published by the School’s faculty members.
While many MBA rankings exist, only one looks beyond reputation and test scores to measure something much more important: how well schools are preparing their students for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business. This year, 149 business schools from 24 countries participated in Beyond Grey Pinstripes’ 18-month effort to map the landscape of teaching and research on issues pertaining to business and society.
This is the first year TopMBA.com and the Aspen Institute have partnered to release the rankings. TopMBA.com is a leading specialist MBA website with over 100,000 MBA aspirants visiting the site each month for news and advice on business school.
“Beyond Grey Pinstripes provides invaluable insight into those business schools making a conscious effort to meet the demands of both MBA applicants and MBA employers to deliver a sustainable-focused curriculum,” said Nunzio Quacquarelli, editor of TopMBA.com and director of the QS World MBA Tour. “This is a key area of growth in business and society and we expect more top business schools around the world to shape their courses accordingly.”
Top 10 business schools offering sustainable MBAs
2009-10
Rank 2007-08
Rank Institute Country
1 3 York University (Schulich)
Canada
2 2 University of Michigan (Ross)
USA
3 9 Yale School of Management
USA
4 1 Stanford Graduate School of Business
USA
5 5 Notre Dame (Mendoza)
USA
6 4 UC Berkeley (Haas)
USA
7 15 RSM Erasmus
Netherlands
8 11 NYU (Stern)
USA
9 10 IE Business School
Spain
10 6 Columbia Business School
USA
“The best MBA students move quickly into the front ranks of business and the attitudes and values they bring to the table are deeply influenced by their time in business education,” said Judith Samuelson, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program. “Will they accept the status quo or act on their passion about the positive role business can play at the intersection of corporate profit and social impact? The schools that are competitive in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking are the real trailblazers – they assure that students have the right skills as well as the will to make things happen.”
Rich Leimsider, Director of the Aspen Institute’s Center for Business Education explained in these challenging economic times, the general public, not just scholars, are questioning whether the established models of business are broken. “Beyond Grey Pinstripes schools are thoughtfully pursuing new approaches. They are preparing students who take a more holistic view of business success, one that measures financial results as well as social and environmental impacts.”
Other highlights of Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2009-10 rankings:
• RSM Erasmus from the Netherlands is the biggest mover in the top 10, jumping eight places to position number 7;
• IE Business School in Spain ranked number one in the world for student exposure;
• Nottingham University (23) is 5th in the world for faculty research;
• Finance, management and accounting are the three disciplines which have shown the greatest increase in social, environmental or ethical content since 2007;
• The percentage of schools that require students to take a course dedicated to business and society issues has doubled from 34% in 2001 to 69% in 2009.
