NUS Business School grads third most preferred in AsiaPac: MBA recruiters

They're beaten by INSEAD and IIM Ahmedabad grads.

But looking at it worldwide, the London Business School, INSEAD and Harvard are the most preferred choice of international recruiters, according to the new 2012/13 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report. This major research into MBA graduate employability is based on the largest survey of global employer opinion in existence.

MBA employers were asked to identify the business schools of which they prefer to recruit from. The 3305 respondents also identified schools they deem to produce excellent hires in ten areas of elective specialization: finance; strategy; marketing; entrepreneurship; CSR; information management; innovation; leadership, operations management, and international management.

Here's a summary of the results per region.

Asia-Pacific

1. INSEAD
2. IIM Ahmedabad
3. NUS Business Schoo

North America

1. Harvard
2. Stanford
3. Kellogg

Latin America

1. Tecnologico de Monterrey
2. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
3. 3 Business School Sao Paulo

Europe

1. INSEAD
2. London Business School
3. IMD

Middle East and Africa

1. University of Cape Town
2. American University in Cairo
3. University of Witwatersrand

The report said the latest results point to a leading cluster of 39 'elite global' business schools spread across North America (22), Europe (14) and Asia-Pacific (3). While the US total of 15 'elite global' schools is unsurpassed, only Harvard boasts a comparable employer reputation to London Business School and INSEAD.

Graduates from top European schools are shown to earn higher average salaries* than their North American counterparts. Graduate salaries at Europe's 'elite global' schools averaged US$109,300, compared to US$101,100 in North America.

However, while Europe's schools performed well for employability and graduate salaries, when it comes to specializations the US schools dominate. Harvard places number one in four of the 10 subjects covered, ahead of MIT-Sloan (2), INSEAD (1), Kellogg, Northwestern (1), Stanford (1) and Wharton (1).

Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of QS says, "This year's report finds record numbers of companies turning towards hiring MBAs, underlining the value of the qualification in today's globalized economy."

Quacquarelli continues: "The report reveals that graduates of Europe's top business schools are increasingly in demand for their ability to lead and innovate and for transferring best practice management skills to fast-growing emerging economies around the world."

MBAs from Indian schools emerge as the world's most academically qualified. Average GMAT scores at IIM Bangalore and IIM Ahmedabad are the highest in the world, comfortably ahead of any of the top schools from Europe or the US.