The University of Queensland Business School's Master of Business Administration has been ranked 14th in the world in The Economist's 2013 MBA rankings.
The program has leapt from 27th last year and 46th in 2011, and has been recognised as the top MBA provider outside Europe and North America for the second year running.
Queensland Minister for Science and Innovation Ian Walker praised the University for a remarkable achievement.
“The university's MBA now shares company with such prestigious business programs as the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and the Harvard Business School,” Mr Walker said.
“It also means a big benefit for the State.
“We are producing high-calibre business graduates with a strong culture of business innovation who will bring high-value Queensland products and services to the global market.”
UQ Business School Dean Professor Andrew Griffiths said The Economist ranking of full-time MBA programs was regarded as one of the most influential and authoritative in the world.
The UQ Business School is the only entity in the Asia-Pacific in the global top 15, rubbing shoulders with Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, London Business School, and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
These annual rankings gauge the feedback of students who graduated within the past three years, taking into consideration such measures as graduate outcomes and perceptions of their experience throughout the MBA program.
The MBA outcome follows a string of improved results for UQ in four major global university rankings, which uniformly place the University in the world's top 100 for overall performance.
Professor Griffiths said The Economist's ranking consolidated UQ Business School's position as the leading business education provider, having also been ranked number one in Australia in the 2013 Australian Financial Review BOSS MBA survey.
“The MBA's outstanding performance in this year's rankings reflects the School's solid commitment to teaching excellence, the great level of engagement with alumni, our ability to attract high calibre students across multiple industries, and the strong partnerships with our industry stakeholders,” he said.
“This success is due to the hard work of so many people, and places UQ Business School on the international stage alongside some of the world's elite,” Professor Griffiths said.
UQ President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Høj congratulated the Business School on the result.
“It is a strong global endorsement not only of the Business School and its alumni, but also of the partners who invest in its teaching and research,” Professor Høj said.
“Importantly, The Economist's rating also reaffirms the acumen of students who choose the UQ MBA as their platform for career and personal advancement.
MBA Director Dr Sarah Kelly said the result reflected the School's focus on continuous improvement and delivery of a quality, innovative program that produced outstanding business leaders with integrity.
“What sets our MBA apart is that the program is designed to build upon classroom learning through unique field experiences, including industry consulting, work with the non-profit sector and international immersions,” she said.
To find out more about the UQ Business School MBA program, visit www.business.uq.edu.au/mba
The full results of The Economist MBA ranking are available at www.economist.com/whichmba
