UCT GSB's Executive MBA ranked among top 20 in the world for student satisfaction

The UCT GSB’s Executive MBA (EMBA) has ranked 19th globally for overall satisfaction in the 2022 Financial Times (FT) Rankings, placing it in a tie with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The ranking was based on the FT’s independent survey of alumni in which graduates were asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the programme on a 10-point scale. The UCT GSB’s score of 9.55, which is the average of all of its alumni responses, puts it among the best on the prestigious global list.

The programme also ranked 22nd globally in work experience, which measures the seniority of students joining the programme. This puts the UCT GSB student cohort among the top 25 in the world in terms of the positions its students have held, the number of years spent in each position, the size of their organisations and their overseas work experience.

The 2022 FT ranking, which was published on 16 October, sees the UCT GSB retain its position as the number one business school in Africa and the only EMBA programme on the continent to make the list, with an overall rank of 74th. This ranking follows the UCT GSB’s strong showing on the 2022 FT ranking for executive education, where it ranked 44th in the world for Customised Executive Education and 65th for Open Executive Education. The UCT GSB also remains the only MBA in Africa ever to make the FT’s prestigious Global MBA ranking.

“This international recognition confirms what our students and alumni tell us: the UCT GSB EMBA is a truly transformative experience,” notes Dr Catherine Duggan, director of the UCT GSB. “It helps executives become more effective leaders while providing them with the tools and networks to navigate the increasingly complex business environments in South Africa, on the continent and beyond.”

“The UCT GSB Executive MBA is a unique pedagogical experience,” explains its programme director, Associate Professor Kosheek Sewchurran. “We offer an integrative programme focused on transformational leadership, both at a personal and organisational level. This is a conscious design choice aimed at the pursuit of purpose and impact for our students, their organisations and the wider community.” The programme is unique, globally, in its integration of the more traditional elements of an EMBA with a focus on character development and opportunities for senior leaders to find new ways of leading.


The most widely recognised global ranking, the FT assesses programmes across 15 categories including the overall quality of the school and programme, the experience and diversity of its students and faculty and the programme’s engagement with issues such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and international activities.

Founded in 1964, the UCT GSB has more than five decades of research excellence and practice-informed teaching and an alumni network of more than 20,000 leaders, founders and executives across six continents. The UCT GSB’s EMBA, which was launched in 1999, offers executives a unique part-time programme focused on enhancing their personal development, impact and ability to lead successful organisations.

“The EMBA is the perfect way for established executives to gain new perspective on themselves and their organisations, to transform the way they see themselves as leaders and to learn side-by-side with some truly remarkable people,” says Duggan. “As the global environment becomes ever more challenging, I cannot think of a better way for senior leaders to prepare themselves for what comes next.”