Business and management education, a longstanding focus for the Financial Times, is assessed through seven annual rankings, covering MBA, EMBA, Master in Finance, Master in Management and Online MBA programmes, as well as non-degree executive education. At year’s end, the newspaper publishes its overall European Business Schools Ranking, a composite table largely based on data gathered from five of its other league tables. This general ranking, the FT notes, serves as a benchmark assessing “the quality and breadth of programmes offered by institutions”.
Six French schools in the Top 10
In this 22nd edition, the Financial Times places France at the top of the European table, with six business and management schools securing Top 10 positions, one more than in 2024.
France therefore opens the ranking with an unchanged podium:
- INSEAD retains its position as Europe’s leading business school for the second consecutive year;
- HEC Paris once again ranks second.
They are followed by:
- ESCP Business School in fourth place, up one position;
- ESSEC Business School in seventh place, also climbing one spot;
- EDHEC Business School in ninth; and
- emlyon business school in tenth, likewise gaining one place.
Une première place européenne pour la France
Of the 100 schools ranked across Europe, 26 are based in France, compared with 18 in the United Kingdom, 10 in Germany, eight in Spain and six in Portugal. Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland each count five institutions.
Beyond the prestigious Top 10, several other French schools also improved their performance compared with last year.
Within the Top 50, six additional French institutions are recognised:
- Skema Business School, ranked 16th, up ten places;
- Grenoble Ecole de Management in 24th position, up seven places;
- followed by Audencia (26th, +4), NEOMA Business School (28th, +4), KEDGE Business School (32nd, +2) and IESEG School of Management (47th).
Between 50th and 100th place, 14 further French schools appear:
- Excelia Business School (56th), Montpellier Business School (57th, +12), Rennes School of Business (61st);
- three institutions posting particularly strong gains: ICN Business School (64th, +25 — the strongest French progression), ESSCA School of Management (66th, +20) and Paris School of Business (69th, +24);
- other French schools completing the 2025 ranking include EM Strasbourg Business School, Burgundy School of Business, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, IAE Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management, EM Normandie Business School (entering the ranking at 93rd), TBS Education, ESDES Business School and Clermont School of Business.
A composite methodology
To compile its overall European ranking, the Financial Times aggregates data from its specialist league tables, which assess criteria such as alumni salaries and career progression, as well as gender balance among students and faculty. The international profile of each school, including the proportion of international professors, doctoral candidates and students, is also taken into account.
On gender balance, the FT notes that “European schools are closer to gender parity among faculty and students than those in other regions of the world”. Regarding internationalisation, “the newspaper reports that, on average, international faculty recruited from outside a school’s home base account for 61% of total teaching staff”.