Fortune has released its 2024 rankings of executive MBA programs, which are designed for full-time working professionals who want to advance into senior leadership.
Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management's executive MBA program claimed the top spot in Fortune's ranking, which factored in tuition cost, student backgrounds, and representation among leaders at America's 1,000 largest companies. The ranking is limited to nonprofit, accredited schools.
Fortune notes that EMBA programs are becoming increasingly popular. According to the Executive MBA Council's annual survey, applications to these programs have increased nearly 32% since 2015. The survey includes data from more than 200 colleges and universities across 30 countries.
A traditional MBA program is geared for professionals at any point in their career, while the executive MBA option is designed for professionals aiming to advance to C-suite or senior leadership roles. The average executive MBA student is 38 years old and often already has experience in managerial positions, Fortune notes.
Below are the top 15 programs from Fortune's ranking, which can be found in its entirety here:
- Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill., and Miami)
- Columbia University (New York City)
- University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and San Francisco)
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich., and Los Angeles)
- University of Chicago (Chicago and Hong Kong)
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- University of California, Los Angeles
- New York University (New York City and Washington, D.C.)
- Texas A&M University – College Station (Houston)
- University of South Florida (Tampa)
- Duke University (Durham, N.C.)
- University of Georgia (Atlanta)
- Boise State University (Idaho)
- University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
- Arizona State University (Tempe)