FT’s Masters in Finance ranking 2025: France leads the world’s Top 5

To establish its ranking listing 70 institutions (65 in 2024), the Financial Times used various criteria in relation with graduates: employment after graduating, salary three years after completion, career progress, career service rank, and others. More, broader, criteria complement the methodology: percentage of women on the school advisory board, percentage of full-time faculty with doctoral degrees, language of the programs, but also the number of international students and professors in the business school. These data are provided both by graduates and business schools.

A Top 3 led by France

And for another year, France can be proud to lead the ranking. Four schools are in the Top 5:

• ESCP Business School, which kept its first position;
• SKEMA Business School, which moved up and reached the 2nd position worldwide;
• ESSEC, still 4th;
• HEC, which lost three ranks but is still in the Top 5.

Although European business schools led the overall ranking, it’s worth noting that the lead Top 3 is complemented with a Chinese school in 3rd position, which represents the “growing competition”, according to the FT.

France, 2nd country in the world for Masters in finance excellence

Beyond a great Top 5, France boasts 11 institutions out of 70 ranked in the best Masters in finance ranked by the Financial Times.

This is the case for seven additional institutions:

• emlyon Business School, up two positions (13th);
• IESEG School of Management, up 11 positions (15th);
• Grenoble Ecole de Management (22th);
• NEOMA (25th);
• Rennes School of Business (39th);
• Audencia, which entered the ranking (40th);
• Toulouse School of Management (45th).

With 11 institutions ranked, France is the 2nd country in the world for the excellence of its masters in finance. Like in 2024, the country is close to the UK (14 institutions), but is ahead of the United States (6 institutions).