MBA
My MBA Career: Assessing the Debut MBA Ranking
Last Updated on November 18, 2023 by Robert C. Hoopes
LinkedIn has recently unveiled its first-ever Top MBA Programs 2023, highlighting the top 50 American business schools renowned for career growth. This ranking is in line with other prominent business school rankings such as U.S. News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.
While the LinkedIn ranking has generated significant interest, the methodology used remains somewhat obscure. Regrettably, LinkedIn did not disclose any weights for the various measures or provide any underlying data.
The ranking is primarily based on five key aspects: hiring and demand, ability to advance, network strength, leadership potential, and gender diversity. In order to be considered for inclusion in the ranking, a business institution must have a minimum of 2,000 alumni, with no fewer than 500 alumni graduating between 2018 and 2022.
At the top of the LinkedIn ranking, there are minimal variances compared to other popular rankings. Harvard Business School and Stanford GSB continue to dominate the field. However, some schools experience slight shifts in positioning when compared to other rankings.
LinkedIn’s ranking places a significant emphasis on outputs, such as job placement rates, alumni promotions, and executive experience, all measured over a five-year period. Unlike Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking, the LinkedIn ranking does not feature index scores indicating numerical differences between institutions. Additionally, it fails to provide information on how different programs fare against each other in specific areas.
Critics have raised concerns over LinkedIn’s treatment of schools equally in terms of company size and prestige. Furthermore, questions loom regarding how the methodology addresses gaps in data.
Overall, the release of LinkedIn’s inaugural Top MBA Programs 2023 has sparked conversation within the business school community. While it aligns with existing rankings, the lack of transparency around the methodology and absence of specific data comparisons raise important considerations in evaluating these rankings.
