Top B-Schools in Germany, France, UK, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Denmark

With around 50 countries, comprising the continent of Europe, it houses some of the oldest and the most prestigious universities in the world. Think 9/10 of the oldest bricks, aimed towards higher education, were laid down in Europe. University of Bologna, in Italy, beat University of Oxford by 8 years with its first lectures having begun in 1088.

University of Cambridge, University of Sienna, University of Paris, Salamanca, Padua, Naples Federico, and University of Coimbra, are some of the others that were built somewhere between then and the year 1300.

But age is not the only factor taking the wise-meter off the charts, for European universities. Some 35 of the top 100 universities in the world are European. That’s recent rankings (by QS) not requiring you to dust off the library mites from the pages of history!

In this article, we dive into the study of Business Administration (And related) degrees in Europe. Why study in Europe and what are some of the best Business Schools in Europe? We also look at the various flavors of MBA programs offered by these schools, namely full-time, part-time, executive, and joint MBA.

Over 35 out of the top 100 MBA spots are coveted by European Business Schools, according to Financial Times Global MBA Rankings (2018). This has been a consistently impressive turnout the past some years, thus catching up with the world dominion of MBA rankings held by USA.

Tuition fees are generally far lower than the North American counterparts. When compared to the highly denting annual college fees amounting to north of $60,000 in USA each year, tuition in Germany for instance is mostly borne by the state or is extremely cheap, within a few thousand Euros.

This may, however, not always be a given for professional degrees like the MBA. However, tuition costs are greatly reduced when you consider the fact that most full-time MBA programs in Europe have a duration of one year.

MBA tuition fees are comparable, though with the advantage of a shorter program structure to begin reaping the ROI and repaying loans, early.

Working in Europe also affords salaries in one of the strongest currencies in the world. As far as professional degrees like MBA are concerned, average salaries in Europe lie in the range of $72,000 to $110,000, the higher range being the second highest after North America.

Europe’s history and its meticulous preservation as such makes for an education in itself. Even war-torn areas have some historical lessons to serve up. That’s for the traveler in you.

While many European countries have their own languages and the medium of instruction does tend to be in the language of the region, a majority of institutes offer either the opportunity of English medium courses/degrees or have provisions to be taught their language in a formal setting. Thus, gaining the added advantage of a foreign language education in the combined deal.

As for a truly global and international exposure is concerned, Europe offers the whole package – varied cultures, and languages, in relatively free-to-move-around borders within the European Union.

The continent is very well-connected by road, train or cheap local airlines. Traveling around to build on the already global move to study abroad can be an additional blessing for many who yearn for the experiential education. International networking is, thus, a cake-walk.

Employment edge

According to the 2017 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey Report (received from 959 employers from 628 companies and over 51 countries), 64% respondents in Europe report company expansions.

Hiring projections are also promising. In 2016, 66% of Fortune 100, 500, Global 100, Global 500, as well as publicly traded companies hired MBAs. Among the surveyed, 64% recruiters are open to hiring internationals (22% planned to hire and 42% were willing to hire, back in 2017).

Nearly all European countries have favourable student to work visa options to enable a transition from learner to being gainfully employed. Germany, France, and other European countries have the EU Blue Card work permit for non-EU nationals with jobs with a minimum required salary.

UK offers an extended student visa to provide enough time for job hunting, etc. France also offers a “Talent Passport” permit to specialized professionals who have something significant to offer to the French economy. MBA with good credentials might be a contender.

Excellent work-life conditions

Working in Europe also means that you may be able to access some of the countries with the best work life balance in the world. Countries like Germany, Norway, Denmark, and France are known for their labor friendly laws that make working over the weekends tantamount to some sort of a minor crime!

Also, maternity and paternity leaves are among the friendliest in the continent. For instance, France offers over 3 months of paid family leave, while countries like Italy and and UK offer between nearly five and nine months off with a percentage of the full pay guaranteed. Germany has been known to grant up to 14 months between both parents.

These have been obtained from well-known MBA ranking sites like Financial Times and QS MBA Rankings, and have particularly performed well over the years.

We have not included the top Business Schools in UK, in this list, as there is already another article dedicated to the same. Regardless, do keep in mind that the UK B-Schools rank among the top in Europe’s best business schools. Some of the top UK B-Schools are:

1. University of Oxford Said Business School
2. London Business School
3. University of Cambridge Judge Business School
4. Imperial College Business School
5. Alliance Manchester Business School
6. University of Strathclyde Business School
7. Warwick Business School

Here are the other top business schools in Europe, aside from UK’s.

No.	Business School	Country	Average Post MBA Base Salary (Approx. based on 2017 reports)
1	INSEAD	France/Singapore	$104,000
2	HEC Paris	France	$113,000
3	ESADE	Spain	$109,000
4	IMD	Switzerland	$113,000
5	IE Business School	Spain	$90,000
6	SDA Bocconi	Italy	$93,500
7	IESE Business School-University of Navarra	Spain	$82,000 – $105,000 based on Industry
8	Erasmus Rotterdam School of Management	Netherlands	$70,000 – $90,000
9	Copenhagen Business School	Denmark	$92,000
10	ESSEC	France/Singapore	$102,000
11	EDHEC	France	$107,000
12	University of St. Gallen	Switzerland	$111,300
13	Mannheim Business School	Germany	$118,000
14	The Lisbon MBA	Portugal	$113,500
15	ESMT Berlin	Germany	$101,000

 Executive MBA in Top B-Schools in Europe

Program	Duration	Total Tuition (Approx.)
INSEAD Global Executive MBA	14-17 month	$138,000
INSEAD-Tsinghua Executive MBA	22 months with 12 weeks on campus	$125,000
HEC Paris Executive MBA	3 different part-time tracks in Paris	$84,500
ESADE Executive MBA	16 months	$72,300
IMD Executive MBA	15 months	$108,000
IE Business School Executive MBA	15 months	$65,000
IE Business School Global Executive MBA	15 months	$90,500
IE Business School – Brown University Executive MBA	15 months	$135,000
SDA Bocconi Global Executive MBA	20 months	$92,500
SDA Bocconi Executive MBA	18 months	–
SDA Bocconi Executive MBA weekend	18 months	–
Erasmus (RSM) Executive MBA	21 months	$59,500
Erasmus (RSM) Global Executive OneMBA	21 months	$72,300
Erasmus (RSM)-University of Cologne Executive MBA	24 months	$57,300
ESSEC Executive MBA	18 months	$54,000
ESSEC-Mannheim Executive MBA: European Track	18 months	$60,200
EDHEC Executive MBA	16 months	–
The Lisbon Executive MBA	21 months	$35,000
ESMT Berlin Executive MBA	18 months	$67,00

Besides the above, there are the big names like Belgium’s Vlerick Business School, France’s Grenoble Ecole de Management and EMLyon, Germany’s WHU Otto Beisheim, European Business School, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Ireland’s UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School, and Netherland’s Amsterdam Business School.

This list is not exhaustive and many other b-schools, not mentioned here, are also recommendable.

Since programs are constantly being updated, to keep up with changes in demands, we encourage you to keep your minds open to some research into the management education opportunities in Europe. Explore the post-MBA options and hope your foray into a business education in the continent yields wonderful success.