Schulich ranked number one in responsible business

The MBA program at York University’s Schulich School of Business was ranked number one in Canada according to the results of a national survey conducted by Corporate Knights magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine with an explicit focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The magazine is published quarterly and distributed nationally through The Globe and Mail.

The Corporate Knights survey assessed how well Canadian business schools are integrating sustainability issues, including environmental and social management headshot of Dezo Horvathconcerns, into the curriculum. The results are published in the magazine’s current education issue.

cSchulich ranked first overall with a score of 86.25 per cent, and was one of only five MBA programs in Canada to score higher than 50 per cent. Among schools offering MBA programs, Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business ranked second with a score of 63 per cent, followed by the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta, with a score of 60 per cent; the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, with a score of 58 per cent; and the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, with a score of 52 per cent. A total of 34 programs across the country were ranked by Corporate Knights.

In the magazine’s editorial – “A higher degree of sustainability” – Managing Editor Jeremy Runnalls wrote: “The Schulich School of Business at York University earned the top mark of 86 per cent, receiving a high grade in all three evaluated categories that continues a nine-year reign on top of our rankings.” 

The 2012 ranking marks the ninth consecutive time since the start of the survey that Schulich’s MBA program has been rated number one in Canada. The national ranking measured three main areas of business school activity: Faculty Support, Student Involvement and Coursework. Schulich placed number one in all three categories of measurement, scoring 92 per cent in the category of Faculty Support; 100 per cent in the category of Student Involvement; and 76 per cent in the category of Coursework.

Last year, Schulich was ranked number two in the world in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking, conducted every two years by the Aspen Institute. The survey rates the top 100 MBA programs that are preparing future leaders for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business (Schulich was ranked number one in the world in the previous Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey). In the 2011-2012 ranking, Schulich finished just behind Stanford University, and ahead of Michigan, Yale, Northwestern, Cornell and UC Berkeley.

Schulich ranked either first or second in the world in three of the four categories measured by the Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey. Schulich was ranked number one in the world in the category of Faculty Research; number one in the world in the category of Relevant Coursework, and number two in the world in the category of Business Impact, which measures the total number of courses offered that focus on the role that for-profit business can play as a force for positive social and environmental change.

“We’re pleased that we have once again been rated #1 in Canada and are ranked among the world’s leading schools in this area of management education,” said Dezsö J. Horváth, dean of the Schulich School of Business. “There is a growing awareness that economic issues are rarely isolated from social, political and environmental considerations. The Beyond Grey Pinstripes and Corporate Knights rankings measure how well MBA programs are preparing students for this new reality.”

For further information about the Schulich School of Business, visit the Schulich School of Business website.