The Graduate School of Business (GSB) of the University of Cape Town is listed among the top 100 MBA programmes worldwide.
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This is according to the most recent QS Quacquarelli Symonds global rankings.
The Wits Business School, which is ranked between 141 and 150 overall on the entire list, is the other South African university that made the ranking in 2025. This makes the university one of just two.
The world’s best study locations for prospective business leaders were identified by QS in its most recent ranking, which was released.
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The QS Global MBA and Business Master’s Rankings 2025, which cover 58 nations and territories, analyse the 340 top global MBA programmes as well as a number of highly specialised and in-demand Business Master’s Rankings, such as those in supply chain management, finance, marketing, management, and analytics.
US business schools hold all three of the top slots in the MBA table, demonstrating the country’s continued dominance at the top echelon.
The MBA programme at Stanford GSB is ranked as the best in the world for the fifth year running. The Wharton School is ranked second, and Harvard Business School comes in third.
Full-time MBAs – Top 15 and South Africa
| # (/340) | School | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford Graduate School of Business | United States |
| 2 | Penn (Wharton) | United States |
| 3 | Harvard Business School | United States |
| 4 | MIT (Sloan) | United States |
| 5 | London Business School | United Kingdom |
| 6 | HEC Paris | France |
| 7 | Cambridge (Judge) | United Kingdom |
| 8 | Columbia Business School | United States |
| 9 | IE Business School | Spain |
| 10 | IESE Business School | Spain |
| 11= | INSEAD | France |
| 11= | Northwestern (Kellogg) | United States |
| 13 | UC Berkeley (Haas) | United States |
| 14 | UCLA (Anderson) | United States |
| 15 | Chicago (Booth) | United States |
| 97 | UCT Graduate School of Business | South Africa |
| 141-150 | Wits Business School | South Africa |
‘Stanford GSB’s superiority is underpinned by the world’s best Alumni Outcomes alongside exceptional Graduate Employability,’ QS said.
While the Wits Business School missed out on the top 100 in the full-time global MBA ranking, it did feature in the ranking of best specialised business master’s degrees.
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QS ranked the best specialised master’s degrees for five different fields, including Management, Marketing, Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management and Finance.
South Africa only features in the ranking for Master’s in Management, with Wits Business School coming in at 77th overall.
Master’s in Management – Top 10 and South Africa
| # (/200) | School | Country |
| 1 | HEC Paris | France |
| 2 | Stanford Graduate School of Business | United States |
| 3 | ESSEC Business School | France |
| 4 | London Business School | United Kingdom |
| 5 | MIT (Sloan) | United States |
| 6 | INSEAD | France |
| 7 | Yale School of Managment | United States |
| 8 | ESCP Business School | France |
| 9 | IE Business School | Yale School of Management |
| 10 | CEMS | France |
| 77 | Wits Business School | South Africa |
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