February 2005
News

Bradford MBA Meets Brown's Gold Standard

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has placed Bradford University School of Management in the top 50 business schools in the world for the quality and talent of the managers it produces.

The ranking means that Bradford MBAs will enjoy "fast-track" status if they apply to work in Britain under the Government's highly-skilled migrant programme up to 12 months after graduating.

Bradford and Manchester are the only business schools in England north of Warwick to enjoy this accolade.

The Government ranking is based on the percentage of a business school's MBAs employed three months after graduation, and the salaries they earn.

A Treasury spokesman said: "A particular weakness in the UK economy is the quality of management. The MBA remains the most recognised and respected management qualification, and graduates from the top 50 universities in the world can expect to earn high salaries reflecting these skills."

Graduates from the eligible MBA programmes will automatically be awarded the minimum number of points needed to qualify under the highly-skilled migrant programme, but they will still have to meet other requirements.

"They need to show that they can continue their career in the UK, and to meet the requirements of the immigration rules, including that they intend to base themselves in the UK and can support themselves and any dependants without recourse to public funds," said the spokesman.

Dean of the School Professor Arthur Francis said: "Just over half of our full-time MBA students come from outside the European Union. Those of them who want to work in the UK after graduation will find it much easier to do so because of this Treasury decision.

"It is gratifying to know that the contribution we make to solving crucial skill shortages in the UK economy is recognised at the highest levels."

Meanwhile, the School has outstripped prestigious US business schools such as Wharton, Columbia and Chicago when it comes to giving students what they want - and that's official.

The most recent Financial Times table of the top 75 executive MBA (EMBA) programmes in the world rates the school 12th for the extent to which students believe their aims have been achieved by the course, and 25th for the career progress made by its EMBA students.

Wharton, Columbia and Chicago are, respectively, 32nd, 71st and 16th in the "aims achieved" category.

Bradford's overall position was 52nd - the same as last year. And Bradford continues to have the only FT-ranked part-time MBA programme in Britain north of Warwick. Bradford is seventh in the UK and 15th in Europe.

14 February 2005

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