Financial Times: NHH amongst the best in Europe

NHH comes out well in an new ranking of European Masters in Management programmes. The CEMS MIM programme, offered by NHH together with some of the leading schools in Europe, is ranked number 3 in Europe

14.09.2005 - James Hosea

The Financial Times has published a list ranking the top 25 Masters programmes in Europe. The survey emphasises the level of international orientation, career opportunities, research and diversity.

The newspaper ranks the CEMS Master in Management (MIM) programme as number three in Europe, while NHH's own Master of Science programme comes in at 19th place.
According to the Financial Times alumni survey, NHH is the best in Europe for Economics and in 4th place for Finance.

"We have two masters programmes amongst the 20 best programmes in Europe, and that is very respectable for a country on the edge of Europe. We are especially happy with the ranking of the CEMS Masters programme", says Deputy Rector Gunnar Christensen, who is responsible for international activities at NHH.

Benchmarked with the best
"We have taken part in the ranking because we wish to benchmark ourselves with the best educational offerings in our fields in Europe. From this perspective are we very pleased with the result", continues Christensen.

This is the first time that NHH has been involved in the Financial Times rankings, and NHH is the only Norwegian school that takes part. As could be expected, the list is topped by French and British school, with NHH's CEMS partner HEC Paris in the number one position.

"NHH's position is as expected as a result of both the nature of the survey and the fact that our Master of Science programme caters mainly to Norwegian students. French and British schools represent larger countries and institutions that have a longer tradition for attracting the best students from around the world", says Christensen.

Best in Europe for Economics
According to the Financial Times alumni survey NHH comes out best in Europe for Economics, ahead of the London School of Economics. Finance at NHH also comes out very well, with the alumni survey rating NHH number 4 in Europe. The best European school in Finance is HEC Paris.

NHH also scores well in areas such as career opportunities and starting salaries.

"This is reasonable from a Norwegian context", says Christensen. "Our graduates quickly find jobs, many with the help of the student run Business Committee at NHH. Graduate starting salaries are amongst the best in Europe."

With 89 percent of faculty members holding a doctor degree, NHH lies right up in the top layer of European schools. Only five other schools in the Financial Times ranking have a higher proportion of academic staff with a doctor degree.

"This is confirmation that we have a good, solid faculty here at NHH. Something that is important to ensure teaching and research of the highest level," comments Christensen.

High ambitions
The Financial Times evaluates the international mobility of the CEMS MIM programme graduates very high, something that strengthens NHH's international position. NHH's Norwegian master students, however, score less well in this dimension.

"This is natural as the Financial Times measures the proportion of international students that complete the whole two-year Master of Science programme. The majority of our international students are only at NHH for one or two semesters as part of an exchange from their parent institution. The survey does not bring up the fact that more than half of our Norwegian students take an international exchange for a semester, or that as many international students come to NHH on exchange as Norwegians students go out," points out Christensen.

Inspiring
"The result of the Financial Times survey is a grad inspiration for us. The CEMS MIM programme has been confirmed as amongst the leading study programmes in Europe, and at the same time we have been spurred on to strengthen the international orientation of our own Master of Science programme", finishes Christensen.

The Financial Times Masters in Management ranking is based on the results of two extensive surveys, where both alumni and the schools themselves have taken part. 16 criteria form the basis of the ranking, of which salary, career progression (jobs rank), international course experience and international career mobility carry the most weight.

Download the Financial Times Masters in Management 2005 ranking.

Read the whole feature in Financial Times.