In 2020, the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) for the first time made it to the top ten in the Financial Times (FT) Master in Management rankings, coming in at number 7. This year the program did even better, scoring a fourth place out of 100 business schools from all over the world. SSE places above a number of legendary schools such as London Business School, while the other Nordic schools on the list placed much lower.

“We are so very happy to see SSE climb in the rankings. The result shows that persistence pays off,” says Lars Strannegård, President of SSE. “We are constantly working to improve the quality of the program in terms of content, student composition, international experience, and placement. The ranking is proof that even as a small business school, we are truly a world-class institution that our students, alumni, faculty, staff and partners can be proud of.”

Impressive career progression

One reason behind the improvement in the ranking is the improved international work mobility score among the alumni. The cohort surveyed graduated in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the clear challenges this posed, the alumni have done exceedingly well, says Assistant Professor and Program Director Ciara Sutton.

She ascribes the success in part to the structure of the program, SSE’s close connections with the industry and the career services team. During their time at SSE, the students were able to build their networks which served them well even when the pandemic made physical networking and travelling more complicated.

“We’re really proud of the impressive career progression that our alumni have had,” says Ciara Sutton. “Many of them started their careers in Sweden, and over the past three years they have moved into positions across the world, working in very diverse industries.”

Another important factor is SSE’s emphasis on not only fostering a fact and science-based mindset, but also inspiring reflection, empathy and an entrepreneurial spirit among its students.

“We hope to provide our students with the tools to be free, curious and at ease in an uncertain world. I think this really shows the resilience and confidence of our alumni,” says Ciara Sutton.