The Wharton School placed third in the 2026 Financial Times ranking of global MBA programs, falling from its position at the top last year.
The Feb. 15 global MBA ranking evaluated 128 full-time business schools across the world before creating a list of the top 100 programs. Financial Times placed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management first and France’s INSEAD business school second, dropping Wharton from the top spot it had occupied for two consecutive years
Financial Times’ ranking methodology derives program scores from 21 criteria — including alumni salary three years after graduation, their salary growth upon receiving an MBA, and the school’s research publications.
Wharton topped the research category, which accounts for 10% of the total score, “based on the volume of articles by faculty in 50 selected journals.” The two salary categories each make up 16% of the total score, but “salary today” is not factored into the calculation.
The placements showed that Wharton alumni reported a weighted salary — adjusted for variations between sectors — of $246,813, while Harvard University’s business school reported the highest weighted salary at $259,874 — despite it placing 10th overall.
School-reported data contributes 34% of Financial Times’ final score while alumni survey responses inform eight of the ranking’s criteria, accounting for 56% of the total calculation. Alumni responses are collected three years after the completion of their MBA and the results are combined with the past two years of data. 2026 responses account for 50% of the this year’s total weight while data from 2024 and 2025 make up 25% each.
In Financial Times’ 2025 ranking, Wharton placed first globally, ahead of Columbia University’s business school and IESE Business School in Spain. Wharton also claimed the top spot on the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Business Schools ranking.
In September 2025, Wharton was placed fourth in LinkedIn’s annual MBA program ranking, which orders the top 100 business schools around the world based on how they prepare graduates for long-term career success. Wharton was also ranked fourth by LinkedIn in 2024.
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In the 2025 business schools ranking, Wharton placed first, maintaining the position it shared with Stanford University in 2024.
