Financial Times 2021 ranking: French business schools still dominate their European counterparts

Again this year, French business schools are performing a really good performance, in the latest ranking of European business schools by the Financial Times, with 22 schools placed out of 95.

If HEC continues to monopolize first place and Insead maintains its third place, Essec loses two places and finds itself in eighth place. Edhec moved up four places to enter the Top 10. It was followed by ESCP, which lost six places to 14th.

Expected performance since the 18th edition of the rankings, published on December 5 by the British daily, is based on several Financial Times 2021 rankings, in which French schools already dominated.

However, this maintenance of French establishments is not a sign of immobility. We note thus two school trips of business : Essca (70th place in 2020) and Paris School of Business (88th in 2020), but also two admissions in 2021with Schema in 48th place and ICN BS in 80th place.

Also note that the majority of French schools show a decrease – important for some -, such as IMT-BS which rose from 73rd to 84th place, EM Strasbourg (from 81st to 92nd), Rennes School of Business (which fell from 68th to 88th) or IAE Aix Marseille (from 58th place to 79th).

Alone three companies registered an increase including Edhec, but also emlyon, who won a place and rose to 19th place. This is Audencia, which goes the most with 14 places gained, is in 31st place.

For the British newspaper, “French business schools have maintained their dominance over their counterparts in other countries” as they offer “the strongest range of trading training”.

More generally, the daily reminds that “this ranking comes at a time when business schools are under severe pressure in the wake of the pandemic (…). Schools have been forced to adapt to online and blended learning. They have had to face increasing competition from other forms of training as well as increased pressure to reduce tuition fees”.

“We have never been at such a strategic crossroads”, sums up Frank Bournoismanaging director of ESCP BS, to the Financial Times.

The rating is a “rating of ratings” by the FT stems from the performance of European schools in the ranking of global institutions offering MBAs, Executive MBAs, Masters in Management as well as training for non-graduate managers, the daily reminds.

Most data is based on 2021 rankingsexcept for management training, which originates from 2020.

The assessment favors schools that perform well across education, but an adjustment is made so that schools can achieve results good overall results, although they do not offer the full range of training.

Among the data used are integrated “graduate results, including salary and career progression, as well as research quality and international diversity and gender of students, teachers and school management”.