Singapore, 12 September 2022 (Monday) – Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) has been ranked 69th place in the Financial Times’ (FT) 2022 global ranking of Masters in Management (MiM) programmes, advancing 14 spots from 83rd place in the 2021 ranking. SMU also holds the eighth spot among Asian universities in the closely watched annual global ranking.

The FT rankings provide insights that help potential students to understand the relative quality of postgraduate programmes offered by business schools around the world. This is achieved via the FT’s measure of indicators such as career progress, post MiM salary increases, career services and international mobility, amongst others.

“We are delighted to see SMU placed among FT’s top ranked Masters in Management programmes. This recognition attests to the commitment of our faculty and staff in engaging students with a unique curriculum, as well as preparing them for the rigours of the real working world, through avenues such as internships and networking opportunities,” said Professor Bert De Reyck, Dean of SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business. “As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to deliver an enriching programme, with an overarching theme of nurturing agile leaders with the knowledge, skills and resilience to thrive in a changing world.”

SMU’s MiM programme performed well in several areas. In terms of career progress which measured seniority and company size, the SMU MiM programme was ranked 11th, leaping 11 spots from the previous year. The programme excelled in terms of employment rate, with 74% of graduates finding employment within three months of completing the course. Graduates commanded average annual salaries of approximately US$64,800 and saw an average of 49% increment three years after graduation from the programme.

SMU’s strong performance in these areas reflects the University’s efforts to value add to its students’ career trajectories, through a combination of dedicated Career Advisors, curated training workshops and a laser focus on achieving a 100% internship placement rate. Spearheaded by the Postgraduate Career Services (PGCS) unit, a team of dedicated SMU staff engage MiM students from the very start of their learning journey. Career Advisors work with students to define their career strategies, hold mock interview sessions and deliver workshops on drafting a good cover letter, interview techniques, how best to brand themselves, and more. Such collective efforts equip MiM students to perform well in securing internships based on their own merit and to maximise their internship experiences for career success.

In tandem with the lifting of global travel restrictions, SMU has worked concertedly with its overseas partners to resume student exchange opportunities. SMU has also established partnerships with overseas universities which allow for their students to enrol in its MiM programme and to complete the course in an accelerated manner, enhancing the diversity and cosmopolitan nature of its student cohort. Students benefit from overseas exposure, opportunities to work in multi-cultural teams and gain an appreciation of the interconnectedness of world communities. Such efforts bore fruit in the recently released FT ranking, with the SMU MiM programme jumping 5 spots to rank 20th in the surveyed field of ‘global mobility^[1]’ this year.

The SMU MiM is an 18-month programme specially designed for individuals who would like to pursue a postgraduate management degree with a Global-Asian focused curriculum. It provides a platform for individuals with no prior business experience to transit successfully to the world of business with a comprehensive curriculum that covers the latest trends in business management. Students also have the option of blended elective courses to choose from during short terms, which is delivered primarily online with a mixture of on-demand and live sessions, supplemented by face-to-face, on-campus segments. This creates more flexibility for the students when they plan their studies.

SMU LKCSB was one of the youngest business schools in the world and the only Singaporean business school, in 2018, to achieve ‘Triple Crown’ accreditation. This distinction of being triple accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), AMBA and European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), is held by a very select group of business schools around the world.

[1] International work mobility is calculated according to changes in the country of employment of alumni between completion and today.