Executive MBA salaries in USA, Canada, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia

The Executive MBA has risen as a popular and a visibly lucrative cousin of MBA. It has become a sure-shot, albeit expensive, tool towards career advancement. With a few years of managerial experience under your belt, an EMBA provides a perfect opportunity to grow functionally, without the expense of leaving your current job and position (Read Executive MBA vs MBA for Executives – The big Indian confusion). In fact, a lot of EMBA candidates are sponsored by their current companies, with the expectation of expertise and functional returns to the organizations upon their graduation.

In this article, we will take a sneak peek at the salary outcome of gaining an EMBA degree. How they average at the various top schools across the various continents, and what kind of student satisfaction levels, does this degree render.
 

How do Executive MBA graduates rate their experience?

1,100 business programs, across the globe, surveyed among nearly 15,000 alumni shared their experience in the GMAC Alumni Perspective Report of 2017.

According to the report, the value proposition of an EMBA degree was rated an “outstanding” merit by 38% alumni. 45%, and 13%, alumni rated it at “excellent” and “good”, respectively. The rest 4% gave it a less than enthusiastic “fair” or “poor” rating.

A comparison with a full-time MBA degree is shown below. The inset shares the alumni perspectives on how rewarding the degree was to them. Among the surveyed, most alumni considered an EMBA to be personally rewarding (96%) while an equally impressive credit was given to the extent of professional and financial rewards. Read Is an Executive MBA(EMBA) worth it?
 

Source: GMAC Alumni Perspective Report & Weekend EMBA impact report at Duke’s Fuqua
 

What is the salary outcome of EMBA graduates?

According to the 2017 EMBA Council Student Exit Benchmarking Survey, among over 2,300 students from 77 EMBA Programs, graduates claimed a 14.1% increase in compensation, including pay and bonuses.

Since a large number of students, in EMBA programs, are sponsored by their corporations (~55% among the surveyed), a measure of success also comes from the career advancement upon graduation, within the organization. 41% reported a promotion while 52% reported increased responsibilities.

The image, below, shows a survey of Weekend EMBA alumni who graduated between 1985-2016, from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. It represents the typical career progression from a position of Analysts, or Managers, before entering the program (two-thirds or 65%) to an advanced position, today, as a Director, Vice President or C-Suite Executive (two thirds or 64%).
 

Source: GMAC Alumni Perspective Report 2017
 
The prospective salary increases and promotions combined with the edge gained by both businesses and students, in staying ahead in the business landscape, render EMBAs a competitive advantage.
 

What are the average salaries of EMBA graduates in the world?

We have compiled a list of a few representative top EMBA programs. Most have been featured on the Economist and Financial Times’ Executive MBA Rankings, in recent years. We have noted the tuition fees, given the usual high cost of education, and compared the pre and post EMBA (obtained from the above sources) salaries against the price tag.

A rough estimate of the payback period (based on an approximate 10% cut from the annual salary) reflects the time it would take to achieve a full ROI on the degree.

Here are the numbers and the respective geographical breakdowns.
 

EMBA Salaries in USA

Business School	Tuition (Approx.)	Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.)	Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.)	Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration
Yale SOM	$180,000	$192,000	$266,000	38.5% / 6.8 years
UC Berkeley Haas	$190,000	$163,200	$236,000	44.6% / 8 years
MIT Sloan	$169,000	$207,000	$308,300	49% / 5.5 years
University of Chicago Booth	$189,000	$170,000	$233,000	37% / 8 years
Northwestern Kellogg	$201,100	$172,300	$223,000	29.4% / 9 years
Arizona State W. P. Carey School of Business	$86,200	$133,430	$170,000	27.4% / 5 years
University of Michigan Ross School of Business	$168,000	$193,430	$211,420	9.3% / 8 years
University of Maryland-Robert H. Smith School of Business	$125,000	$137,000	$152,300	11.2% / 8 years
University of Pennsylvania – Wharton	$205,200	$150,300	$239,000	59% / 8.6 years
UCLA Anderson	$163,000	$137,200	$197,600	44% / 8.2 years
Duke University – Fuqua School of Business	$148,000	$171,000	$239,200	40% / 6.2 years
NYU – Stern	$195,000	$165,000	$249,000	51% / 8 years
Columbia Business School	$202,000	$174,400	$208,000	19.2% / 9.7 years
Cornell University – Johnson	$182,700	$149,500	$200,500	34% / 9 years

 

EMBA Salaries in Canada

Business School	Tuition (Approx.)	Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.)	Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.)	Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration
Northwestern Kellogg/York Schulich	$95,700	$114,000	$140,000	22.5% / 6.8 years
Western University Ivey	$84,200	$114,000	$162,000	42% / 5.2 years
University of Toronto Rotman	$87,100	$109,000	$138,300	27% / 6.3 years
Queen’s University Smith	$101,000	$100,400	$142,500	42% / 7 years
Cornell University/Queen’s University	$137,800	$120,800	$182,400	51% / 7.6 years

 

EMBA Salaries in Asia & Australia

Business School	Country	Tuition (Approx.)	Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.)	Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.)	Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration
UCLA/NUS Business	US/Singapore	$118,000	$166,000	$215,000	29.5% / 5.5 years
Kellogg/HKUST Business School	US/Hong Kong/China	$175,500	$295,300	$478,400	62% / 3.7 years
EMBA Global Asia Columbia/HKU/LBS	US/China/UK	$182,160	$180,000	$319,000	78% / 5.7 years
INSEAD	Singapore	$135,000	$190,500	$282,000	48% / 4.8 years
ISB Executive MBA (PGPMAX and PGPpro)	India	PGPMAX $54,500 PGPpro $44,500	Not available	Not available	17% / 8-9 years
Melbourne Business School	Australia	$77,000	$110,000	$162,000	49% / 5 years
Shanghai Jiao Tong University – Antai	China	$86,000	$176,100	$364,600	107% / 3 years
CUHK Business School	China	$74,000	$167,500	$253,000	51% / 3 years
National University of Singapore Business School	Singapore	$73,400	$165,200	$262,600	59% / 3 years
Nanyang Business School	Singapore	$74,100	$189,800	$256,200	35% / 3 years
CEIBS	China	$96,000	$215,000	$331,000	54% / 3 years
Fudan School of Management/ Washington Olin	China/US	$97,000	$228,000	$360,250	58% / 3 years

 

EMBA Salaries in Europe

Business School	Country	Tuition (Approx.)	Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.)	Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.)	Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration
IMD	Switzerland	$105,700	$120,000	$272,500	127% / 4 years
Kellogg/WHU Beisheim	US/Germany	$99,000	$111,000	$158,800	43% / 6.2 years
University of Oxford Said Business School	UK	$93,400	$134,000	$201,500	50% / 4.6 years
University of Navarra IESE	Spain	$82,700	$172,500	$241,200	40% / 3.4 years
ESMT Berlin	Germany	$58,000	$101,600	$137,550	35% / 4.2 years
ESSEC/Mannheim	France/ Germany	$60,340	$84,500	$115,000	36% / 5.2 years
IE University – IE Business School	Spain	$65,200	$142,800	$172,300	25% / 3.8 years
EDHEC Business School	France	$47,600	$88,000	$122,400	39% / 4 years
Imperial College Business School	UK	$66,200	$91,400	$144,400	58% / 4.6 years
University of Warwick	UK	$50,500	$83,100	$159,500	92% / 3 years
HEC Paris/LSE/NYU Stern	France/UK/US	$178,000	$216,000	$328,300	52% / 5.4 years
University of Cambridge Judge	UK	$85,000	$122,000	$217,100	78% / 4 years
London Business School	UK	$109,000	$143,500	$222,500	55% / 5 years
University of St. Gallen	Switzerland	$76,500	$124,000	$182,200	47% / 4.2 years
Rotterdam School of Management	Netherlands	$60,000	$83,600	$134,540	61% / 4.5 years
Antwerp Management School	Belgium/Russia	$44,100	$118,800	$160,300	35% / 3 years

 

EMBA Salaries in Africa

Business School	Country	Tuition (Approx.)	Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.)	Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.)	Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration
Gordon Institute of Business Science at UP	South Africa	Not available	$140,000	$207,000	48%
Lagos Business School – Pan Atlantic University	Nigeria	$3,000	$40,000	$70,700	65% / Less than a year

 
The lists, above, are not a reflection of rankings. Rather they represent some of the well-known Executive MBA programs in the region specified.

The salaries, obtained from the Economist and Financial Times, are also representative averages taken over a period of three years. The range of occupations, industries, and pursuits, are clearly not visible in here since EMBA programs usually cater to experienced professionals who are already employed.

For more information, we would like to redirect you to the following articles for a deeper clarity on the subject.

• Best Executive MBA Programs in the world
• Why regular full-time MBA and not Executive MBA?
• EMBA – How Preeti got into Columbia
• EMBA in UK at LBS – Tanvi’s experience
• Why this applicant chose Michigan Ross EMBA after MS in the US
• Chicago Booth EMBA admit for Indian architect
• ISB PGPMAX Review
• ISB PGPpro Review
• ISB Executive MBA – Fees, eligibility, admission, placements, salaries, and more
• PGPMAX vs PGPpro vs ILPSIE – Which is better?

 
Sources:1,2,3,4,5,6,7