European Masters Rankings - 2024 update
NOT INCLUDING UK SCHOOLS - only EU unis, covering IB/PE/MBB etc. placements Priority for ranking is London recruiting (considered T1 city for placements), T2 = Zurich/Paris/Frankfurt, T3 = Milan/Stockholm/Madrid /Amsterdam etc. Rankings independent of language skillset
Tier 1 HEC Paris: both MiM & MiF
(very small gap) Tier 2 Bocconi: Msc Finance SSE: Msc Finance HSG: MBF (MiM is T3)
(decent gap) Tier 3 RSM: Msc Finance ESSEC: MiM/Msc Finance ESCP: MiM/Msc Finance
Tier 4 WHU: Msc Finance ESADE: Msc Finance EDHEC: MiM/Msc Finance Other regionals (ie. CBS/Nova/FS etc)
(massive gap) Tier 5 Everything else
Thoughts?
Agreed. Well made ranking!
good list, a few things -
rsm should be like 2.5, tier 4 useless outside of whu
gap between tier 1 and 2 is indeed small, would put hec's mif in it's own tier and put hec's mim in tier 2 if prioritizing london placments, mif had alot of the mf pe seats in london this past year vs mim etc
Good additions :)
bump
Never heard of SSE ever being considered a target/semi-target
Edit: Did some research, apparently it places quite well in London, but I've never seen it in other lists
interned at a london eb this summer and sse is most definitely a target, no different to me than bocconi or st gallen. would probably say it places on par with imperial
That's pretty surprising to hear. Are most of these SSE MFin kids Scandinavians staffed in Nordic coverage desks, though?
Where would you rank the UK schools on this list?
Oxford MFE, LSE Msc Finance/Finance & PE, LBS MFA are Tier 1. Could argue if you're an international that they're in their own tier above (Tier 0) as they provide similar placement as HEC Paris but are domestic so preferred by some and you get a graduate visa.
LBS MiM/GMiM, LSE Msc Accounting & Finance, Imperial Msc Finance would slide in at Tier 2, could argue Tier 1.5 for the same reasons as the Tier 0 schools (UK grad visa + domestic preference). If work visa is not an issue there is similar placement to Bocconi, HSG, SSE etc. LSE's MiM is much more firmly in Tier 2 rather than this 1.5 tier.
Also Msc Finance adjacent programs at LSE (Finance & Economics, Finance & Risk) sit at Tier 2.5, maybe 2 for the former (F+ E) program. Have also seen success out of their Msc Economics and other Econ programs but there's considerable self-selection away from industry roles vs. academia etc that it's hard to say. Imperial's Msc Accounting & Finance is probably Tier 2.5, as Msc Finance is its flagship. However have seen potentially more grads from A +F break into IB roles specifically as more Msc F students target markets/quant/trading etc roles, so it could be argued Tier 2 as well. Msc Investment & Wealth Management Tier 3. No idea for MiM.
Cambridge MPhil Finance is hard to rank as its a small cohort and not professionally focused, but would probably slide in at Tier 2 if the applicant was motivated for industry roles. Other oxbridge programs that place okay based on name alone for certain students include Oxford's Msc Law + Finance, Oxbridge Msc Econ, Cambridge MPhil RE Finance etc. Would toss into either Tier 2/2.5.
EDIT: forgot to discuss Warwick, UCL, Bayes (Cass). Would probably rank in that order - UCL's placements have improved relative to Cass in the past 2 years, and is on trajectory to reach where Warwick sits within the next 5y as more alumni circulate. UCL brand obviously quite strong internationally, particularly in Asia, which attracts high quality intl talent into the program. Really expensive program though and they don't give scholarships like Warwick does.
Would throw Warwick in Tier 3, UCL Tier 3.5 and Cass Tier 3.5/4
EDIT 2: There are some ppl who break into primarily MM/boutique IB and/or some LMM/MM PE shops out of Msc Finance programs at Durham, Msc Econ at Edinburgh, Msc Finance/Business/etc at KCL, but I wouldn't say these are specifically targeted programs. More or less a product of having a degree from a good enough name to pass a resume screen at times at smaller shops. Probably top of Tier 5 but could argue is equal to the bottom of Tier 4, being regional schools like Nova.
I'm applying to Imperials F&A and accounting as my first choice rather than their MSc Finance, as I want to break into IB rather than S&T/Quant. Is that a stupid choice? I feel like I would struggle with the quant heavy nature of their MSc Finance
Dang. Warwick at tier 3. As an international that's sad. I was hoping they would improve over 2.5 atleast. The MSc finance cohort is 70, they are placed well but only two or three over at big banks.
Bump -
Big up SSE
Would you say SSE is that good? Seems quite strong from what i’ve been hearing
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It’s very good if you’re from the Nordics because of the placements, but still not the best in terms of academia / actual experience. Also, even if placements are good, the brand value is lower than for example Bocconi and even Warwick. I did my undergrad there and later studied elsewhere to get a more well-recognized brand internationally on my CV
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Would put ESSEC in tier 2.5 because clearly higher than escp. I’ll have ESCP RSM WHU on tier 3? Is WHU on ESCP level ? I heard it was better
Real opinion on whu pleasee
I think that RSM is way too high, ESSEC and ESCP (I think slightly more given the London campus) are the second best and the others top tier. As an italian Bocconi places well with its finance program but the others are on the same level of ESCP, maybe ESSEC mfin, and honestly I think that there isn’t a decent gap between them with SSE or HSG if we’re talking about internationals.
NOT INCLUDING UK SCHOOLS - only EU unis, covering IB/PE/MBB etc. placements
Priority for ranking is London recruiting (considered T1 city for placements), T2 = Zurich/Paris/Frankfurt, T3 = Milan/Stockholm/Madrid /Amsterdam etc.
Rankings independent of language skillset
MY RANKING
Tier 1
HEC Paris: both MiM & MiF
Tier 1.5
Bocconi: Msc Finance
TIER 2
SSE: Msc Finance
HSG: MBF (MiM is T3)
ESCP: MiM/Msc Finance
(very small gap)
Tier 2.5
ESSEC: MiM(hell nah)/Msc Finance (this is a strong program)
TIER 3
RSM msc finance (even though I’m not convinced since they didn’t have good placements in London for Internationals lately)
Edhec: mFin
Tier 4
WHU: Msc Finance
ESADE: Msc Finance
EDHEC: MiM
Other regionals (ie. CBS/Nova/FS etc)
(massive gap)
Tier 5
Everything else
Thoughts?
wow is ESCP that good for london placements for non french speakers?
Bullshit ESCP is not that high lol (neither is ESSEC) but especially ESCP
What do you think i should do?
Background info: 24 M, Europe-based, more specifically Netherlands. Currently doing an internship for a fashion brand in the capacity of strategic accounts intern.
Situation: Currently in the last phase of my bsc in International Business, i’m looking to do a master’s in Finance and my top school was Rotterdam School of Management (T30 on FT). Applications for the master’s at Rotterdam opened last week and closed within the same day because they received 470 applications while 300 is the capacity for 2025-2026 cohort. Basically, i missed it.
Options:
A. Apply to other finance master’s programs at Amsterdam/Tillburg (ranking T50 and T70 on Financial times)
B. Delay doing a master’s by a year to do a master’s at Rotterdam and work fulltime in this gap year if i find a job (however, i’ll be 27 when i graduate with a master’s which i feel will be too old). T30
Goal: To break into IB roles -> i need guidance from this amazing community, what do you guys think i should do and why?
From what I've heard the difference from UVa and RSM is 0 in Netherlands, so if your goal is to stay there don't worry about the rankings. You should specify the region
RSM is way stronger internationally to take into account... In the Netherlands, unis are less important which I believe to be absolutely great (and other countries should take note: aka France)
Thank you very much for your reply. I never knew that. However, due to hiring criteria’s in Netherlands and the fact that i’m a non-Dutch but can speak dutch (b1), i’m looking to get into London Offices as first option and if for some reason that doesn’t happen, try to get into Dutch offices.
IB roles in Netherlands are very competitive and they prefer Dutch over non-Dutch counterparts.
so if my goal is to go into london office, i have a better chance of getting in if go to RSM?
Get rid of the age thing, I’ve seen 33 year old analysts.
Thank you very much. I was very skeptical about the age thing. What do you think i should do in relation to choosing the master’s?
RSM, UvA or Tillburg? Goal is to break into IB London/Amsterdam office and then laterally move into another region.
NOT INCLUDING UK SCHOOLS - only EU unis, covering IB/PE/MBB etc. placements
Priority for ranking is London recruiting (considered T1 city for placements), T2 = Zurich/Paris/Frankfurt, T3 = Milan/Stockholm/Madrid /Amsterdam etc.
Rankings independent of language skillset
MY RANKING
Tier 1
HEC Paris: both MiM & MiF
TIER 2
HSG: MBF (MiM is T3)
Tier 2.5
Bocconi: Msc Finance
WHU: Msc Finance
SSE: Msc Finance
TIER 3
ESSEC: MiM/Msc Finance (this is a strong program)
ESCP: MiM/Msc Finance
Tier 3.5
RSM msc finance
Tier 4
ESADE: Msc Finance
EDHEC: MiM/Mfin
EM LYON: MiM ? (I’m currently there lol)
Other regionals (ie. CBS/Nova/FS etc)
(massive gap)
Tier 5
Everything else
Thoughts? I’m just asking if you guys think it’s correct. I might be joining whu soon and have been told that it’s good (number 1 in Germany) hsg is swiss
Whu and sse way overrated.. For DACH Whu is better than the French schools but placements outside that region are limited. Haven't seen anyone that worked in London after whu but plenty come from essec escp edhec.
Also RSM in the same Tier as Essec and ESCP is just pure madness. The opportunities you get with the last 2 are wayyyy more.
You would put it in tier 3?
Damn wouldn't think Bocconi's that high. I'm currently Y1 in the MSC Finance course and in my class 2-3 people out of 100 have gotten offers for a summer position in London. Hope it's gonna be better next year.
Agreed Bocconi is not of the level of HSG... Slightly better than SSE though
Oh okay edited the ranking then. People all across the forum have been supporting bocconi
Yeah Im not saying it-s definitely not true, maybe it was a hard year for all school-s placements
After brexit placements have been limited for bocconi. Milan isn't that big of a financial centre so its hard to see bocconi maintain its prestige in the future. Most of the people that got placed well did so with bachelors from bocconi plus masters from HEC/LBS etc.
The Bocconi PR is better than LSE in here, 10 out of 300 people get an offer in London and they will put it at the same level of HEC
Total bullshit comment
Talking about Bocconi, what should be the rank of the Master in Corporate Finance held at the SDA? Is it competitive?
If your aiming corporate finance it’s a good choice in Europe 👍
But not for IB/PE?
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