Dublin, Monday, 20th June 2016: UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School’s full-time MSc Finance programme has been ranked 34th in the world and 29th in Europe, according to the prestigious 2016 Financial Times Top 50 Global Master in Finance Ranking, published today. UCD Smurfit School is the only Irish business school listed, maintaining its status as Ireland’s leading centre of excellence in business education.

Rankings with strict objective criteria such as the Financial Times and the Economist are the only truly independent and internationally respected classifications by which the world’s top schools are ranked.

The FT Masters in Finance Ranking is based on an assessment of the world’s top pre-experience degrees in finance, using data provided by business schools and their Finance alumni. The ranking analyses courses based on a number of weighted criteria including: current salary, careers post-graduation, international faculty & international students as well as international mobility of graduates.

Commenting on the ranking, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean, UCD Business said: “Our success in the Financial Times Master in Finance ranking 2016 - we are once again in the Top50 programmes in the world - is a significant endorsement of the UCD Smurfit MSc Finance and UCD Smurfit School. Graduates of the UCD Smurfit School MSc Finance compete in a globalised market for employment and investment opportunities and are consistently supported by the quality of our research and teaching as evidenced by these prestigious rankings. Financial services are a key differentiator for Dublin and for us and we continue to work with the leading international financial services firms to further strengthen our international reputation and reach for our students and graduates. Rankings such as these help us to attract the very best faculty and students and, as a consequence, help create the excellent learning environment which our students demand and deserve”.

Today’s acknowledgement by the authoritative FT Rankings is the latest in a series of highly respected independent validations of UCD Smurfit School’s status as Ireland’s top graduate business school and Executive Education provider.

In May Smurfit Executive Development was ranked 69th in the world and 34th in Europe, according to the prestigious 2016 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings. In January, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School’s Full-time MBA programme was ranked 79th in the world and 24th in Europe, by the prestigious 2016 Financial Times Top 100 Global Full-time MBA Rankings.

For further information on the Financial Times rankings published today log onto www.ft.com/businesseducation