Henley achieves best ever global position in the Financial Times Executive MBA 2025 rankings

Climbing 19 places on last year, Henley has secured its highest-ever global ranking (33^rd in the world) in the Financial Times Executive MBA ranking 2025, making it the most improved UK business school in this year’s edition.

Regionally, Henley also continues to demonstrate strong performance:

• 4^th in the UK
• 1^st in the Nordics (retaining its leading position)
• 3^rd in Africa

Key drivers of success

One of the key contributors to this year’s success is Henley’s top UK ranking for the calibre of students entering its Executive MBA programme. This metric, based on pre-EMBA work experience including role seniority, duration at each position, organisational size and international exposure, saw Henley climb 23 places globally to reach 8^th in the world.

Additional highlights include:

• Top 3 in the UK for career progress, reflecting the seniority and scale of the organisations our graduates move into post-programme.
• 51% average salary increase from programme start to present, placing Henley firmly in the top 40 in Europe and the UK top 10 for salary growth.

Areas of distinction:

• World top 10: Student calibre (pre-programme experience).

• World top 10: International dimension of the programme.

• World top 30: Diversity credentials, with strong gender balance and international representation.

• World, Europe and UK number 1: Representation of women on the school advisory board.

• World top 30: Environmental and sustainability performance, including ESG and net zero curriculum content, supported by the University of Reading’s carbon zero credentials.

Leading in alumni satisfaction

For the second consecutive year, Henley has secured the UK top spot for overall alumni satisfaction, with an improved score of 9.34/10, based on average evaluations from graduates.

Head of Post-Experience and Apprenticeship Programmes, Professor Anne Dibley, said: “We are delighted to have climbed 19 places in the world rankings, to no.33! This is testament to our relentless focus on inspiring our students to develop personally and professionally, throughout the programme - our students tell us that the Henley MBA is a transformative experience.

“Our MBA’s global perspective, focus on responsible leadership, world class faculty and staff, bringing together an experienced and diverse group of peers, all play a part in enabling this transformation. We are proud that our MBA programme facilitates the development of outstanding business leaders, ready to take on tough challenges and shape opportunities in today’s increasingly polarised and complex world.”