GIBS top dog again

The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) has been named best MBA school in South Africa in 2017, according to market research published by The Financial Mail.

GIBS, which was established in 2000, is followed by the universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Henley and Witwatersrand.

Its dominance in three areas helped place GIBS first. These are:

• first choice for graduates
• most reputable MBA programme among employers
• and best overall reputation among employers.

The research was compiled by assessing responses from employers which hire MBA graduates and encourage employees to attain them, surveys of MBA graduates and questionnaires sent to the business schools.

Data was collected from over 1,200 MBA graduates and executives from 300 private and public sector companies.

Fourteen business schools, whose MBA programmes are accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), participated in the rankings and were required to provide comprehensive data about their MBAs and associated activities.

The survey questioned graduates on which school they would choose if cost and location were not an issue.

The Financial Mail’s research also broke down the cost of MBA courses, showing that Henley Business School (part of the University of Reading in the UK) is the most expensive MBA course, followed by Stellenbosch’s Business School and the Milpark Business School.