French school tops global MBA ranking

A BUSINESS school on the outskirts of Paris has overtaken Harvard to be named the best place in the world to study an MBA, in a prestigious annual ranking by the Financial Times.

Insead, based in Fontainebleau and with campuses in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, has topped the FT's Global MBA rankings for the first time since they were introduced in 1999.

Insead enrolled students in its first MBA in 1959, becoming the first school in the world to offer a one-year programme instead of two years for the highly sought-after business qualification.

The Financial Times says in its latest ranking that the one-year option is proving increasingly popular, as the cost of studying for an MBA keeps rising and students are keen to avoid too much debt.

Insead has occupied the top 10 on the FT list since the annual league table began. Another French school makes this year's top 20 - HEC in Paris in 15th place.

Harvard, which was top-ranked for six consecutive years, comes second this year, followed in third by the London Business School.