• Top 30 in the world for Open and Customised Programmes
  • 24 place climb since 2024 (Open programmes)
  • 3rd in the UK (Open programmes)
  • 4th in the UK (Customised programmes)

Cranfield University’s School of Management has been recognised amongst the best in the world in the 2026 Financial Times Executive Education rankings.

Cranfield’s Open Programmes, designed for individual participants and supporting leaders and managers at every stage of their careers, saw a significant rise this year, climbing 20 places to 29th globally and strengthening its position among the world’s top 30. Cranfield was also ranked 3rd in the UK.

Cranfield continues to perform strongly across a number of key measures, particularly achieving a score of 9.6/10 for overall satisfaction, which reflects the quality of both the learning environment and the programme.

These results highlight the strength of Cranfield’s executive education offering, with high-quality teaching, well-designed programmes and outcomes that meet participant expectations.

Cranfield’s Customised Executive Education Programmes, developed in partnership with organisations to address leadership and specific business challenges also included in the rankings. These programmes were ranked 21st globally (climbing 6 places) and 4th in the UK. Recent clients include organisations such as HSBC, Siemens, Kier Group and Centrica.

These programmes were also recognised for follow-up, faculty, preparation and programme design, all placing top 20 globally, further emphasising the client-centred design, strong faculty engagement, practical learning transfer and post-programme support.

Professor Lynette Ryals OBE, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Business and Management at Cranfield University and Dean of the School of Management, said: “The latest rankings reinforce our commitment to delivering executive education that transforms individuals and organisations. Moving up into the global top 30 reflects the hard work of our teams and the impact of what we do.”

“We’re especially proud of the feedback from our partners, which shows we’re helping people and organisations grow with confidence.”

The annual Financial Times ranking is a worldwide league table of executive education programmes which are tailored to organisations requirements. A highly-regarded indicator of quality executive education, it is based on feedback from participants and clients, rating programmes across several key categories.