October 23, 2006…The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Executive MBA program, taught in conjunction with the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, ranks No. 3 in the world in this year’s Financial Times EMBA global rankings.

In addition to a strong showing in the overall ranking, the program is also listed among the world’s top ten in many specific categories. It is No. 2 in “international faculty” and No. 4 in “aims achieved” which indicates the extent to which alumni fulfilled their most important goals in completing an EMBA.

As in the previous three years, the program’s student diversity was ranked No. 1 in the world. It is No. 2 in “most experienced intake”. Participants in the program are high earners and they top the charts in overall salaries and salaries in consulting. The Financial Times describes their international experience as “impressive” as “54% of respondents from the Kellogg-HKUST program had worked in three or more countries prior to the EMBA.”

The partnership EMBA program has been ranked in the top 10 in the paper’s annual survey since it entered the rankings in 2003. The Financial Times describes the HKUST Business School as “one of the most respected business schools in Asia.”

Commenting on the latest rankings, HKUST President Prof Paul Chu said that the consistent high rankings of the University are an affirmation of its academic excellence and competitive parity with the world's leading universities.

"Our lofty rankings are an external confirmation of our internal excellence in mentoring top-quality students who come to study at UST from local, Mainland or worldwide sources. It is gratifying to know that our efforts in training them as future leaders have received repeated worldwide recognition." The President added.

Prof K C Chan, Dean of HKUST Business School, who is profiled in this year’s survey, said the School’s core value is in its commitment to building excellence in research. The report observes that the School’s strength lies in its founding philosophy “to build a research institution second to none and recruit only internationally-trained faculty.”

Prof. Chan says, “I am glad the ranking recognizes the quality and diversity of the faculty and the students. We will continue to improve these features to support Hong Kong as an education hub.”

Prof Steven DeKrey, Associate Dean and Director of the EMBA Program, considers the strong East-West partnership the key to the program’s success. He said: “It is gratifying that our ability to continuously progress and attract high-quality students has made such a positive impact. The tremendous support from the highest levels at both HKUST and Kellogg, the excellent faculty and students, and the professional administrative support all contribute to the sustained quality of our program.”

The program was launched in 1998 as a partnership providing the best executive education that the US and Asia could offer. It consists of 28 courses offered during two weekends a month for 16 months. Half the courses are taught by HKUST faculty and half by the Kellogg faculty.

The Kellogg School of Management of the Northwestern University is a pioneer in the offering of joint EMBA programs internationally. This year, Kellogg’s own program and two of its partnership programs are among the top 15 in the Financial Times ranking, namely, the Kellogg-HKUST partnership (No.3), Kellogg School of Management (No. 10) and the Kellogg/WHU-Otto Beisheim partnership (13).

The Financial Times ranking evaluates EMBA programs by looking at the quality of their alumni, school and program quality, and the research capabilities of faculty. Alumni quality is determined by salary and career advancement on completion of the program, work experience, seniority and feedback on how the program helped graduates fulfill their aims. School quality is measured by the diversity of faculty, students and advisors, the global nature of the program and the proportion of faculty with PhD degrees. The research ranking is determined by the scholarly output of faculty in top academic journals.

This year’s ranking includes 85 programs from around the world. The Top 10 programs are listed below.