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Best finance schools in the world

Knowing the best finance schools in the world can ensure that you make more money and so that you can have great networking opportunities. Some people spend their lives working towards a better future. Others spend it doing the same things they always have, waiting for something to change.

Financial services accounted for 20.6% of all hires, third highest of any industry, among MBA graduates in their first jobs after business school at the 119 schools around the world that participated in the 2021-22 Best B-Schools ranking of full-time MBA programs.

Finance is one of those fields where you can make money and grow your skills at the same time. But how do you choose which school to attend when so many different options exist? We’ve got your back. Here are our top 10 picks for the best finance schools in the world.

1. University of Pennsylvania | Best finance schools in the world

The University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools for finance in the world for MBA. The University of Pennsylvania is a top school in business management and financial administration.

The school admits 10183 students and more than 54% receive financial aid.

The school offers the following courses

Business Finance
Security Markets
Futures and Options Markets
Investment Valuations

If you’re looking for a school with a reputation for a rigorous curriculum, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania is your best bet.

The school’s strengths include its large and diverse student body, strong alumni network, research focus, and international focus.

While the Wharton MBA program might be known for its emphasis on finance classes, students can pursue other concentrations, including marketing or operations management.

2. Stanford | Best finance schools in the world

Stanford MBA graduates earned a median salary of $175,000 in financial services, highest of all schools that participated in the business school ranking. Graduates at 18 schools earned a median salary of $150,000, second highest, including University of Chicago’s Booth school, Columbia, Cornell’s Johnson school, Dartmouth’s Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Emory Goizueta, Harvard, MIT Sloan, Michigan Ross, UNC Kenan-Flagler, NYU Stern, Northwestern Kellogg, Pennsylvania Wharton, Rice’s Jones school, University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs, UC at Berkeley Haas, USC Marshall, and Virginia Darden. Wharton sent 226 graduates into financial services, the most of any school. Second was Columbia, at 190. Baruch College’s Zicklin school sent the highest percentage of any school into financial services, 53.8%. At 53%, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics was second highest.

Stanford Graduate School of Business: The world’s top business school has an excellent reputation for innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. It has produced many high-profile CEOs, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Graduates are among the most sought after by employers in the United States and abroad.

3. University of Chicago (Booth School of Business)

The University of Chicago is a great place to learn about the latest financial topics. Chicago is the home of the Chicago Board of Trade (5 CBOT)5 & the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (6 CME), making it a hotspot for derivatives and futures trading. Many large brokerage and banks have offices in America’s “second City.”

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the alma mater of many notable businesspeople, including former Dean and CEO of Marriott International Bill Marriott, former Citibank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John S. Reed, current The Blackstone Group Chairman & CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

The school’s MBA program has a 97% graduate employment rate after graduation, with an average starting salary of $110,000 the highest in the US, according to Forbes magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges” list.

It’s also ranked #1 for finance majors by U.S News & World Report; #1 for marketing majors by Princeton Review; #1 for entrepreneurship programs by Entrepreneur Magazine; and recently ranked as the world’s #3 undergraduate finance program by QS Top 50 Undergraduate Business Schools in 2018 (up from 36th place last year).

4. Harvard University

Although Wharton’s network is stronger in consulting and finance than Harvard’s, the gap in finance has shrunk significantly over the past two decades. The strength of both networks could merge within a decade, but Harvard holds the edge.

Harvard University Finance & Financial Management. The Finance & Financial Management major forms part of the Harvard University business, management & Marketing program.

Harvard Business School is the top business school in the world. It boasts a worldwide alumni network of more than 300,000 graduates, including CEOs and presidents of companies like Facebook and General Motors.

The Harvard MBA program is considered the most prestigious MBA degree in the world because it’s taught at Harvard University, one of the oldest universities in America.

5) New York University (Stern)

New York University ranks #2 for best undergraduate finance schools according to US News finance rankings. For their business school, NYU ranks lower for finance.

6) University of Oxford

The University of Oxford has a high acceptance rate, at approximately 17%. International students are accepted to the school at a lower rate of around 9%. Despite this, almost half of students at Oxford University come from outside the UK.

7) Columbia University

Columbia University’s Columbia Business School is a top-ranked business school in York City. It is a private Ivy League university founded in 1754 as King’s College by the royal charter of George II of Great Britain.

The school has produced many notable alumni, including several U.S. Presidents and foreign heads of state, especially those from Eastern Europe and South America.

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited Columbia Business School in 1924 and has maintained accreditation since then.

The AACSB accredits more than 575 universities worldwide, with fewer than 25% failing reaccreditation after their third year; this shows that the school has high standards for its students and faculty members.

8) MIT | Best finance schools in the world

The 15-3 major is in finance will prepare you for a career as a financial professional, including managerial finance and corporate finance.

MFin has a legendary reputation and a world-renowned faculty. It also offers innovative, hands-on learning experiences in an early-stage, top-ranked finance degree.

10) London Business School | Best finance schools in the world

London Business School, founded in 1964 and located in London, UK, is one of the top business schools in the world. It is a private research university located in London, UK.

It was founded as a school for management and commerce. It was named after its first president: Alexander Hamilton Goodson, an American businessman who moved to Britain to teach at Harvard University.

11) UMichigan | Best finance schools in the world

UMich ranks #3 for best undergraduate finance schools. UMich ranks lower for their higher education business school finance rankings, however.

12) UC Berkeley | Best finance schools in the world

UC Berkeley ranks #6 in best undergraduate finance schools. Both finance professionals and researchers around the globe have long held Berkeley Haas’ finance program in high regard. Finance at UC Berely was ranked #7 by U.S. News in 2021.

Conclusion

Suppose you’ve made it this far. Congratulations. You’re passionate about business and want to pursue a career in it.

We hope that this list of schools has given you some insight into what makes them so great and helped you choose which one is right for you.

Other resources:

You can check out my post on high school business internships.

You can check out my post on which Ivy league college is best for economics.