SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business Is Placed 22nd Globally in Financial Times’ EMBA Ranking 2018

• Rising two spots from 24^th in 2017, SMU is one of four business schools in Singapore ranked in the top 25
• SMU LKCSB is ranked 5^th globally for alumni salary, with graduates amongst the highest paid

 Singapore, 15 October 2018 (Monday) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) has been ranked 22^nd globally in the Financial Times (FT) Executive MBA Ranking 2018, moving up two notches from the 24^th spot last year.

SMU LKCSB is one of the four business schools in Singapore that successfully secured spots in the global ranking’s top 25. Within a short span of seven years, its EMBA programme has steadily risen up the ranks, offering a unique value proposition to current and prospective students.

Commanding a salary of approximately US$363,014, graduates of SMU’s EMBA programme earn the 5^th highest salary[1] in the world, a significant 43% increase in salary*. The School scored strongly in other categories such as work experience[2] (14^th in the world) and international course experience[3] (28^th in the world).

Professor Gerard George, Dean of SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said, “We are delighted to be among the four business schools in Singapore which have been placed within the top 25. This recognition from FT attests to the value that our programme brings. Delivering an immersive learning experience that takes place in Singapore, China, India and the USA, our programme offers opportunities for students to engage with exceptional executives. We will continue to work closely with leaders from the business sector to deliver an impactful education that equips our graduates with the practical skills and global perspective to thrive in a constantly evolving environment.”

About the programme

The SMU EMBA, which was first introduced in 2011, is an innovative programme designed to provide the modern leader with both Asian and global business perspectives. The 12-month modular programme offers overseas study segments held in renowned partner universities, namely the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in China, the Indian School of Business in India, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in the US. This offers participants the unique opportunity to learn from four world-class institutions.

In a relatively short span of seven years, the programme has been successful in attracting senior leaders and entrepreneurs from a wide variety of industries across Asia, Europe, USA and the Middle East. They have an average of 20 years of working experience.

Notably, its curriculum has been designed in consultation with more than 100 corporate leaders from Asia, resulting in first-of-its-kind or customised courses such as “Agile and Disruptive Strategy”, “Network and Alliance Building” etc. Professors with vast international research and consultancy experiences teach in small-size classes comprising a very senior profile of students who are industry leaders from diverse backgrounds, to offer participants an enriching experience. The programme, which received its eighth cohort in April 2018, has graduated about 210 graduates from 30 countries in the past seven years.

This is FT’s 18^th annual ranking of EMBA degrees. EMBA programmes must meet strict criteria in order to be considered for the ranking – schools must be accredited by either the American AACSB or the European EQUIS accreditation bodies, and the programmes must have run for at least four consecutive years.

For full results and details, please refer to the following:

• FT EMBA Rankings 2018: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/executive-mba-ranking-2018
• FT EMBA Rankings 2018 Methodology: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/

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[1] Salary figures refer to the average alumnus salary three years after graduation, in US$ and PPP equivalent (purchasing power parity, allowing comparison between countries).

*Salary increase: average difference in alumnus salary between before the EMBA and now. Half of this figure is calculated according to the absolute salary increase, and half according to the percentage increase relative to the pre-EMBA salary – the figure published in the table.

[2] Work experience is a measure of the pre-EMBA experience of alumni according to the seniority of positions held, number of years in each position, company size and overseas work experience.

[3] International course experience refers to a percentage of classroom teaching hours that are conducted outside the country in which the business school is situated.