The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore has once again emerged as the top-ranked Indian institution in the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2025, despite a drop in its global position from 41st last year to 50th this year. It remains the only Indian B-school in the global top 100.
IIM Bangalore scored an impressive 87.1 in the ‘career outcomes’ metric, placing it among the top 25 worldwide in this category. However, this score reflects a slight decline from last year’s 90.8. The institute also received scores of 70.4 in ‘employer reputation’ (down from 73.9), 36.8 in ‘executive profile’, and 24 in ‘diversity’.
How Indian B-Schools Fared
A total of seven Indian institutions feature in this year’s rankings, out of 233 globally:
- IIM Bangalore – Rank 50
- Indian School of Business (ISB) – Rank band 111–120
- IIM Kozhikode – Improved from 171–180 to 161–170
- IIM Indore – Maintained its 181–190 rank band
- Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad – Dropped to 181–190 from 171–180
- Woxsen School of Business, Hyderabad – Slipped to 191–200 from 181+
- Goa Institute of Management – New entrant in the 201+ band
Of these, only IIM Kozhikode recorded an improvement, while IIM Indore retained its rank. The Goa Institute of Management debuted in the rankings this year.
Trends and Takeaways
This marks a significant increase from previous years when only three Indian institutions — IIM Bangalore, ISB, and IIM Kozhikode — made the list. Four of the current seven are private institutions, reflecting the rising prominence of non-IIM business schools.
Global Highlights
At the global level, the Said Business School, University of Oxford retained its top spot, followed by:
- HEC Paris
- IESE Business School (Barcelona and New York)
- MIT Sloan School of Management
- London Business School
The United States continues to dominate with 68 schools, followed by France (13), the UK (11), and Canada and Spain (9 each). India and China are tied, each with seven institutions in the rankings.
Methodology
The QS Executive MBA Rankings assess schools using data from the QS Global Employer Survey, QS Academic Survey, and institutional submissions. Key indicators include:
- Career Outcomes
- Executive Profile
- Employer Reputation
- Diversity
According to QS, Executive MBA programs cater to professionals seeking to balance full-time work with advanced business education, making metrics like career progression and peer profile especially relevant.
