AGSM Full-Time MBA ranks among the world’s best programs in 2023 global rankings

AGSM @ UNSW Business School ranked 31st in the 2023 QS Global MBA Rankings, up by four spots from last year. The result puts the AGSM Full-Time MBA in the top 10% of the world’s best schools of management. The rankings assessed 300 programs across 47 countries.  

AGSM has moved up four spots since placing 35th last year, and a total of 10 spots since the 2021 rankings, two years ago.

AGSM’s MBA ranked above the global average across all indicators: Return on Investment (ROI), Alumni Outcomes, and Employability. The school performed extremely well in the areas of Thought Leadership (with a global indicator of 89.3 - 37.4 points ahead of the global average), and for Diversity (with an indicator of 82.9 – 22.1 ahead of the global average).

Thought Leadership was ranked against factors such as school’s research impact and academic reputation, while diversity was ranked against factors such as the percentage of female faculty and students, international faculty, and how many nationalities were represented in the AGSM MBA program. 

Return on Investment was also a strong point, with AGSM scoring 81.7 – 18.2 points ahead of the average.

See also: AGSM @ UNSW Business School’s full-list of rankings

Professor Nick Wailes, Senior Deputy Dean and Director AGSM, says the continuing upwards movement of the management school through the rankings can be attributed to AGSM evolving its programs to stay relevant in a changing world.

“AGSM seeks to get ahead of the trends, and today’s results show that this has been an approach that has really paid off.” 

“One of our greatest strengths has been our high scores in the area of thought leadership, which really puts the spotlight on the high calibre of academics and students AGSM attracts. Without their hard work, future-focused mindset, and ability to be nimble and adapt, none of these results would be possible,” he says.

AGSM has been deepening its commitment to responsible management principles of sustainability, ethics, and inclusion in our portfolio of MBA Programs, and has recently embedded them into the entire MBA curriculum. 

It is also in the process of doing so for its executive (MBAE), online MBA program (MBAX) and for PhD students to prepare students to be more sustainable, ethical and inclusive leaders.

For Associate Professor Michele Roberts, AGSM Academic Director, the school’s successive achievements in the QS Global MBA Rankings speak to the Business School’s ability to adapt with the times and meet demand from industry for leaders who can reimagine their organisations – and the world – through responsible management practices.

“ESG issues are becoming more of a component not just at AGSM, but in MBA’s and wider executive education, both here and globally,” Dr Roberts says. “We need leaders who can balance profits with the needs of both planet and people.”

“For a while now, we’ve had students come to us wanting and education with a stronger focus on ESG as well as the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These results attest that through constantly reshaping and responding to these demands from students and from industry, AGSM offers a globally competitive MBA offering.” 

The QS 2023 Global MBA Rankings can be found here.

You can see the full suite of AGSM programs here or the Full-Time MBA here.