'For Indian institutions this year, global peers are outpacing in key areas such as RoI, entrepreneurship, and alumni outcomes.'
The number of Indian business schools featuring in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2027 has more than trebled since 2020, but the country's three leading Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) slipped in the 2027 edition as global peers gained ground on measures including return on investment (RoI), entrepreneurship, and alumni outcomes.
Key Points
- IIM Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Calcutta remained in the top 100 but all slipped in overall rankings.
- All three IIMs recorded sharp declines in return on investment rankings.
- Experts linked weaker RoI to higher fees, softer placements and AI's impact on entry-level jobs.
- MIT Sloan became the world's top MBA school, while IIM Bangalore remained India's highest-ranked provider.
India's MBA Presence Expands
The QS Global MBA Rankings 2027 featured 19 Indian Master of Business Administration (MBA) providers, compared with five in 2020 and seven in 2022.
Five Indian institutions entered the ranking for the first time this year, while six retained their positions from the previous edition.
IIMs Slip in Global Rankings
IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Calcutta remained the only Indian institutions in the global top 100, but all three fell in the overall ranking.
IIM Calcutta dropped to 95th from 64th, IIM Bangalore to 64th from 52nd, and IIM Ahmedabad to 70th from 58th.
RoI Scores See Sharp Fall
An analysis of the detailed ranking data showed a sharp deterioration in the three institutes' positions for RoI.
IIM Calcutta fell to the 201-250 band from 84th, and IIM Bangalore to the 181-190 band from 53rd, while IIM Ahmedabad moved to the 171-180 band from 61-70.
The three institutes also lost ground on entrepreneurship and alumni outcomes.
IIM Calcutta moved to the 181-190 band from 158-160, IIM Bangalore to the 161-170 band from 135-140, and IIM Ahmedabad to the 84th from 75th.
QS President Nunzio Quacquarelli credited the movement to intensifying competition in the global MBA market.
"For Indian institutions this year, global peers are outpacing in key areas such as RoI, entrepreneurship, and alumni outcomes.
"While 10 entries from India improve in the thought leadership lens in 2027, it is key that providers continue to serve MBA students and help them to achieve their career ambitions," Quacquarelli said.
IIM Bangalore remained India's highest-ranked MBA provider for the fourth consecutive year, with its employability ranking unchanged at 29th globally and its thought leadership ranking improving to 51st.
AI Hits Placement Outcomes
Syed Sultan Ahmed, chairperson of the Association of International Schools of India, said the increase in fees at reputed institutions, coupled with weaker campus placements over the past two to three years, had affected the value students could expect from their degrees.
"The fees in most reputed institutions, even IIMs, have become very exorbitant.
"Even for a bachelor's degree, families of students end up having to pay at least Rs 5-10 lakh a year.
"I'm not surprised this RoI factor is being reflected in IIMs too," Ahmed added.
Ahmed also pointed to the impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level hiring, saying the erosion of such jobs had affected placement outcomes across institutions.
"AI is also definitely having an impact.
"We have seen a massive erosion of entry-level jobs which has affected placements across institutions.
"The fall in placement outcomes at IIMs and reduced rankings also reflect that," he said.
Entrepreneurship Gap Widens
On entrepreneurship, Ahmed said the orientation of IIM students and the structure of their courses were more geared towards securing corporate jobs than starting businesses.
"Students who go to IIMs are happier getting a job than creating a job.
"IIMs are actually deterring people from being entrepreneurs and pushing them more to be executives in major multinational corporations.
"They design the institutes and course structure for that purpose," Ahmed said.
MIT Sloan Tops QS List
The global ranking remained dominated by US and European schools.
MIT Sloan School of Management ranked first worldwide for the first time, moving up from third in 2026, while Harvard Business School remained second.
Stanford rose to third from fourth, while UPenn Wharton fell to fourth from first.
Cambridge Judge Business School rose to fifth from seventh, while Oxford Said Business School entered the top 10 at seventh from 12th.
The US continued to dominate the top of the table, occupying the first four positions and accounting for 133 of the 424 MBA programmes ranked globally.
The expansion in India was not limited to the established IIMs.
OP Jindal Global University was the highest-ranked new Indian entrant, placed in the 171-180 band.
Jaipuria Institute of Management, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, and Vikrant University Gwalior entered the 301+ range.
India's presence also expanded across specialised business master's programmes, with 41 entries compared with 37 last year.
IIM Bangalore's management programme ranked 31st globally and its business analytics programme 60th, while all seven Indian finance entries remained outside the top 200.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
