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The 25 best MBA programs in the world for a career in finance

Madison Hoff   

The 25 best MBA programs in the world for a career in finance
REUTERS
  • QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education analyst, released the best MBAs to enroll in if you are aspiring for a career in finance.
  • This ranking is one of seven specializations lists that were published on Wednesday.
  • The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ranked at the top MBA for a career in this industry, same as last year's ranking.

MBA programs can help you prepare for work in a specific industry by developing the skills you need, and it may help increase your post-graduate salary. If you are looking to land a career in finance, one of these top MBA specializations for a finance career may be a good fit.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education analyst, published on Wednesday seven specialization rankings highlighting the best MBA programs for a career in specific industries. This includes the best MBAs for students interested in working in finance upon graduation.

To do this, QS used data from its Global Employer Survey, its Business School Survey, and publishing company Elsevier's Scopus database. Each program's overall score is based on three metrics: career placement in the finance industry, research strength related to finance, and employer reputation in the industry. You can read more about data collection and methodology here.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which ranked number one in last year's ranking, is the best program for a career in finance. Harvard slipped to third and Stanford Graduate School of Business moved up to second.

Here are the 25 best MBA programs for a career in finance, according to QS. We also included the specialization ranking score and the share of the recent class that is going into the industry. The full list and other specialization rankings can be found on QS' website.

25. Georgetown (McDonough)

25. Georgetown (McDonough)
James Lawler Duggan/Reuters

Location: Washington, DC

Overall score: 74.1

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 27.0%

Read more about McDonough School of Business here.

24. HKUST

24. HKUST
Jimmy Chan/Shutterstock

Location: Hong Kong SAR

Overall score: 75.0

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 23.0%

Read more about HKUST here.

23. UCLA (Anderson)

23. UCLA (Anderson)
Pamela Brick/Shutterstock

Location: Los Angeles, California

Overall score: 75.6

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 16.0%

Read more about UCLA Anderson School of Management here.

21 (tie). UC Berkeley (Haas)

21 (tie). UC Berkeley (Haas)
DNY59/Getty Images

Location: Berkeley, California

Overall score: 75.8

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 15.0%

Read more about Haas School of Business here.

21 (tie). Dartmouth (Tuck)

21 (tie). Dartmouth (Tuck)
James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images

Location: Hanover, New Hampshire

Overall score: 75.8

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 24.0%

Read more about Tuck School of Business here.

20. IE Business School

20. IE Business School
JoeLogan/Shutterstock

Location: Madrid, Spain

Overall score: 75.9

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 21.0%

Read more about IE Business School here.

19. IESE Business School

19. IESE Business School
Albert Gea/Reuters

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Overall score: 76.2

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 17.0%

Read more about IESE Business School here.

18. HEC Paris

18. HEC Paris
HEC Paris

Location: Jouy en Josas, France

Overall score: 76.4

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 19.0%

Read more about HEC Paris here.

17. York (Schulich)

17. York (Schulich)
Ron Bull/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Location: Toronto, Canada

Overall score: 76.6

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 22.0%

Read more about Schulich School of Business, York University here.

16. Virginia (Darden)

16. Virginia (Darden)
QizhangJia/Getty Images

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Overall score: 77.2

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 24.4%

Read more about The University of Virginia Darden School of Business here.

15. Northwestern (Kellogg)

15. Northwestern (Kellogg)
TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP via Getty Images

Location: Evanston, Illinois

Overall score: 79.2

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 17.0%

Read more about Kellogg School of Management here.

14. Michigan (Ross)

14. Michigan (Ross)
ca_wonder/Shutterstock

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Overall score: 79.6

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 15.0%

Read more about Michigan Ross School of Business here.

13. Duke (Fuqua)

13. Duke (Fuqua)
Bryan Pollard/Shutterstock

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Overall score: 82.0

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 20.0%

Read more about The Fuqua School of Business here.

12. Yale School of Management

12. Yale School of Management
Yale School of Management.      Enzo Figueres/Contributor/Getty Images

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Overall score: 83.5

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 24.0%

Read more about Yale School of Management here.

11. Toronto (Rotman)

11. Toronto (Rotman)
Roy Harris/Shutterstock

Location: Toronto, Canada

Overall score: 85.3

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 38.0%

Read more about Rotman School of Management here.

10. MIT (Sloan)

10. MIT (Sloan)
MIT Sloan

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Overall score: 85.4

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 19.2%

Read more about MIT Sloan School of Management here.

9. Cornell (Johnson)

9. Cornell (Johnson)
Barnes Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.      Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Location: Ithaca, New York

Overall score: 87.6

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 37.0%

Read more about Cornell SC Johnson College of Business here.

8. London Business School

8. London Business School
London Business School.      Spiroview Inc / Shutterstock.com

Location: London, United Kingdom

Overall score: 89.3

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 26.0%

Read more about London Business School here.

7. Oxford (Saïd)

7. Oxford (Saïd)
John Wreford/Getty Images

Location: Oxford, United Kingdom

Overall score: 91.1

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 30.8%

Read more about Saïd Business School here.

6. NYU (Stern)

6. NYU (Stern)
Noam Galai/Getty Images

Location: New York, New York

Overall score: 91.8

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 29.0%

Read more about NYU Stern School of Business here.

5. Chicago (Booth)

5. Chicago (Booth)
EQRoy/Shutterstock

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Overall score: 92.2

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 31.3%

Read more about The University of Chicago Booth School of Business here.

4. Columbia Business School

4. Columbia Business School
Rob Kim/Getty Images

Location: New York, New York

Overall score: 95.0

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 34.3%

Read more about Columbia Business School here.

3. Harvard Business School

3. Harvard Business School
Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Overall score: 95.4

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 29.0%

Read more about Harvard Business School here.

2. Stanford Graduate School of Business

2. Stanford Graduate School of Business
Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Location: Stanford, California

Overall score: 95.7

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 33.0%

Read more about Stanford Graduate School of Business here.

1. Penn (Wharton)

1. Penn (Wharton)
Jia He/Getty Images

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Overall score: 97.0

Share of graduates going into the finance industry: 35.8%

Read more about Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania here.

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