Melbourne’s ranking, which saw it elevate 14 places on last year, also placed it at the top of business schools in the Asia Pacific region.

Melbourne estimates its post-MBA salaries to be $109,466, an 85 per cent boost to pre-MBA earnings.

But Paul Dainty, acting dean of MBS, said while exiting salaries are important, the rich learning environment was the critical factor in the school’s overall performance.

Heading the global list was small Ivy League Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded in 1900, it was the first business school to be established in the US.

MELBOURNE University has blitzed the local field by topping yet another university ranking table, this time for masters of business administration, or MBAs.

Chicago University’s Booth School of Business came second, International Institute of Management Development in Switzerland third, University of Virginia fourth and Harvard Business School fifth.

The ranking also consolidates Melbourne’s pre-eminence in performance in university rankings. Last week it topped the Times Higher Education’s World University Ranking and today also topped the THE’s list for engineering and technology. Melbourne came in at 25.

Other high ranking Australian institutions in the list include Sydney (35) and UQ (45).

However, the non-appearance of high-profile business schools in the Economist’s list, such as the University of NSW’s Australian School of Business, is explained by its non-participation in the Economist’s ranking, rather than a matter of quality, a spokeswoman said.
Once again, US institutions dominated the rankings with 47 institutions in the top 100.

However, the non-appearance of high-profile business schools such as the University of NSW’s Australian School of Business is explained by its non-participation in the Economist’s ranking, rather than an assessment of quality.

The Economist’s rankings are based on four factors: opening of new career opportunities (35 per cent); personal development and educational experience (35 per cent); increased salary (20 per cent); and professional networks (10 per cent).