The Best Business Schools in the World

Regardless of your career, some business sense is always welcome. In the case of physicians, who got into their profession to help people, the business side of medicine often gets overlooked (much to the endless frustration of Take as Needed columnist Jeff Brown, MD).

Whether you are running a practice, dealing with big research grants, holding a large amount of student loans or just hoping to invest practically physicians need business sense to go with their medical knowledge. And as Brown always points out, he sees plenty of doctors who are woefully unprepared because medical programs don’t train them in this area.

There are schools out there that offer dual MD/MBA degrees that medical students would do well to take advantage of. In the U.S. there are more than 60 programs available, which is up significantly from the late 1990s when the country only had five of six.

The best business schools typically end up in the top 10 in varying orders, because there’s no denying the best. And good news for those in the medical field: all but two of the American schools on this list offer joint MD/MBA degrees.

Business Insider

Of the 50 listed by , 11 were international schools: three in Canada; three in Spain; two in England; one in Singapore; one in France; and one in Switzerland. However, only two made it into the top 10.

Here are the top 10 business schools in the world, according to Business Insider.

10. INSEAD

Main campus: Fontainebleau, France; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Singapore

The Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires’ motto is The Business School for the World. That is pretty apt since the school has campuses in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Plus, the school also has a number of alliances and joint programs with four American schools (all on this list).

9. Dartmouth College

Main campus: Hanover, N.H.

The Tuck School of Business has less than 500 students and only grants one degree: Master of Business Administration. In addition to consistently making lists for the best business schools, it is one of the oldest in the world.

8. Northwestern University

Main campus: Evanston, Ill.

The Kellogg School of Management has a student exchange program with number 10 INSEAD, plus partnerships with schools in China, India, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, Canada and Thailand.

7. Columbia University

Main campus: New York City, N.Y.

Given its location in Manhattan, the Columbia Business School has close ties to Wall Street. It’s also in a city that is a hotbed for startups with a number of venture capital firms nearby. The school’s alumni list is a who’s who of CEOs, including Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway; Vikram Pandit of Citigroup; and James P. Gorman of Morgan Stanley.

6. University of Chicago

Main campus: Chicago, Ill.

In addition to the Booth School of Business being a top graduate business school, the Pritzker School of Medicine ranked 10 for best research medical schools.

5. London Business School

Main campus: London, England

BI

Last year, it hadn’t even made the top 10 on ’s list. Established in 1964, the school has close ties with the University College London and has operations in Dubai.

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Main campus: Cambridge, Mass.

There’s no joint MD/MBA degree, but for people interested in business or becoming an entrepreneur, MIT’s Sloan School of Management is situated well considering the large number of venture capitalists in the area.

3. University of Pennsylvania

Main campus: Philadelphia, Pa.

The Wharton School has an alliance with number 10 INSEAD. One of the world’s first collegiate business schools, it has 2,306 undergraduates and 1,671 postgraduates. The university’s Perelman School of Medicine ranked second for top medical research schools.

2. Harvard University

Main campus: Boston, Mass.

Given that Harvard was named the number one medical research school, med students here would be getting the best of the best if they enrolled in Harvard’s MD/MBA program. In fact they couldn’t do better considering there is no program in the number one school. It’s also one of the most popular schools with a high rate of students enrolling in Harvard’s medical school after they were accepted.

Harvard also is part of an alliance with number 10 INSEAD.

1. Stanford University

Main campus: Stanford, Calif.

Best business school in the world, maybe, but Stanford doesn’t offer a joint MD/MBA degree. However, it is in Silicon Valley, giving alumni a great step up. As such, its alumni list is full of tech geniuses involved in such companies as eBay, Google, Microsoft and Match.com.

Stanford Business School snagged the top spot from Harvard, which held it for two years in a row. Stanford also is part of an alliance with number 10 INSEAD.

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