The excellence of our programmes continues to be globally recognised

We review the latest accreditations and rankings since last issue, beginning with a five year re-accreditation from EQUIS.

The School has been awarded a fiveyear extension to its accreditation from EQUIS, the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.

The School also successfully achieved a five-year re-accreditation in 2017. There are fewer than 21 UK schools with the so-called ‘gold standard’ of five years’ accreditation status and under 55 in the rest of Europe.

The recent announcement follows a

• The provision of student support and counselling services.

• The quality and internationalisation of faculty members.

• The impact of research, with international research leadership also clearly evident.

The Peer Review Team also commended the School’s staff and students for their engagement with the wider community through a wide variety of outreach activities and public service initiatives.

Professor

Karen

O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor

and Warden, commented, “This is a wonderful achievement and a credit to all our colleagues

There are fewer than 21 UK schools with the so-called ‘gold standard’ of five years’ accreditation status.

Masters in Management ranked by Poets & Quants

We’re happy to announce that we've been included in Poets & Quants’ ranking of the world's best Masters in Management programmes.

Poets & Quants is a leading news website dedicated to the coverage of business education, highlighting the ranking of the best graduate business schools across the United States and further afield.

As one of only two UK business schools to receive this distinction, we’re proud to be recognised as one of the best.

With over 80% of our cohort coming from 25 countries, our Masters in Management offers a truly unique international study experience in Durham, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

American MSc Management student, Ayodeji Temitayo Lawal, comments on his experience of studying at Durham, “Having completed my undergraduate degree at Florida State University in the United States, I decided on a change of scenery for studying my masters. I found that Durham University Business School was on a smaller scale than what I was used to in the United States, creating a sense of community I’d not experienced before.

There is a warmth here that emanates not only from those that you will be academically connected to but also those you meet in your day-to-day life. The courses are intellectually stimulating as they challenge you to pursue your academic limits.”

ERS credentials see the Durham MBA sustain Corporate Knights Global Top 25 Ranking

Of the 160 schools assessed in Corporate Knights Better World 2022 ranking of the most sustainable MBA programmes, we’re pleased to say that the Durham MBA (Fulltime) has been placed in the global top 25.

This ranking, released in November 2022, specifically focuses on and evaluates the extent to which programmes integrate sustainability knowledge and skills into business education. Information used to rank business schools across the globe includes the modules taught as well as the diversity of faculty, research and research centres.

The School has a long association with both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability (ERS), ensuring that both are integrated into all levels of the School’s teaching as well as being the focus for excellent and impactful research.

Professor Cathy Cassell, Executive Dean, said, “Many business schools around the world responded to the financial crash and its aftermath with a pledge to widen the scope of their MBA programmes to embrace the issues of sustainability and responsible management.

Here at Durham University Business School, ethics and sustainability are embedded in our ethos and form an important part of everything we do. That ranges from the development of programmes and curricula to the research efforts of our world-class faculty. We want to create the globally-focused, ethically-minded and forward-thinking business leaders of the future, and this is clearly reflected in this ranking, which puts the Durham MBA in the top 25 best globally for our sustainability focus.”

Top 25

25

Durham MBA (Full-time) placed in global 80% of Masters in Management cohort from countries

1st

in the UK for Value for Money

The Durham MBA ranks first in UK for value for money

The Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2023 has ranked the Durham MBA (Fulltime) 1st in the UK, 5th in Europe and 12th in the world for value for money.

This reveals the exceptional return on investment our full-time MBA graduates are realising, as they have seen, on average, an increase of 92% on their salaries three years after graduating with their MBA.

Commenting on the success, Professor Cassell said, “This excellent result demonstrates the School’s dedication and commitment to providing an outstanding, inclusive business education for all.

We are conscious of the investment made by students who decide to embark on an MBA and we seek to add value with differentiating activities, so that our graduates stand out in their job markets and impress prospective employers.”

This prestigious ranking also showed the Durham MBA (Full-time) climbed 17 places to rank 78th in the world, with the programme positioned 8th in the UK and 23rd in Europe.

Top 10

Durham MBA (Online) leads the way for ESG

The report, published in March, names the Durham MBA (Online) within the top five best programmes within the UK and Europe, and amongst the Global Top 10, alongside other prestigious institutions such as Warwick Business School, IE Business School and Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business.

In keeping with the current needs and demands of today’s business school applicants, the programme has also ranked 1st in the UK and 2nd globally for its efforts toward Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and net zero teaching.

Professor Cassell believes it’s these factors that the Business School must focus on further in the future.

“It is a fantastic accomplishment for our Online MBA programme to be once again recognised amongst the best on the market. As an institution we have always strived to provide high levels of quality, variety and access for applicants to our business education programmes, and our Online MBA programme has always been a key part of that mission.

Another core part of our ethos is sustainability and social responsibility. Increasingly, business schools must strive to ensure their programmes, activities and values continue to meet the needs and priorities of applicants and can make a positive impact on the world around them.”

This ranking maintains the School’s steady reputation as being amongst the top institutions globally from which students can pursue an Online MBA. We’ve remained within The Financial Times’ top 10 since first entering into the ranking in 2014.

Guardian University Guide 2023 undergraduate subject rankings highlight the School’s strengths in career prospects

The Guardian University Guide published its annual subject level tables in October 2022 and three of the School’s undergraduate subject areas achieved a top ten placing. The ranking also highlighted the School’s strengths for graduate prospects.

Durham University received an overall ranking of 6th from a total field of 121 institutions, and three of the School’s undergraduate subject areas achieved top ten positions. Economics climbed three places to 7th, Accounting & Finance climbed six places to break into the top ten at 8th and Marketing & Public Relations also debuted in the top ten.

Our highly rated Accounting & Finance undergraduate subject area climbed nine places to 8th in the UK with an overall score of 88.6 out of 100. Durham scored 90 for The Guardian’s career prospects measure which is based upon the proportion of our 2018/19 and 2019/20 cohorts who were in ‘graduate level’ employment or continuing in higher education 15 months after graduating.

16th

The subject area of Business and Management ranked overall out of 118

For Economics, Durham rose three places to 7th overall supported by top ten positions for four of the nine individual measures considered by The Guardian: ‘Entry tariffs’, ‘Continuation rates’, ‘Career prospects’ and ‘Expenditure per student’. For ‘Career prospects’ Durham scored 94 points. The subject area of Business & Management ranked 16th overall out of 118 included in The Guardian University Guide table. ‘Career prospects’ was again a strength of the subject area provision and scored 86 points out of 100. Adjustments to The Guardian’s rankings this year created a new subject area category of Marketing & Public Relations and resulted in a 10th place ranking in this debut year. A score for ‘Career prospects’ isn’t possible due to the subject area being created in the last year and data required not being available for 15 months.

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