UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, located in Dublin, Ireland, has garnered significant recognition in global business education rankings. In the Financial Times European Business School Rankings 2024, it achieved the 21st position, marking an improvement from 24th the previous year. Furthermore, the school’s Full-Time MBA program ascended 18 places to 73rd globally in the Financial Times MBA Rankings 2025.
The QS Business Masters Rankings also highlight the school’s excellence, with five programs ranked among the world’s top 50, including the MSc in Supply Chain Management at 14th and the MSc in Marketing at 31st. These accolades underscore UCD Smurfit School’s commitment to delivering high-quality business education on an international scale.
About UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is a research institution and foremost leading business school of Ireland’s No. 1 university, University College Dublin. Popularly called UCD Smurfit, the school has more to its name than Irish fame. Indeed, it is rated 21st in the Financial Times ranking of the best business schools in the world, alongside London Business School, Cambridge, and Oxford.
In addition to that, UCD Smurfit is remarkably one of only 90 business schools worldwide that has triple accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA. These accreditations represent quality assurance from the world’s most eminent centers of business and academic excellence. Moreover, beyond ratings and rankings, UCD Smurfit remains fiercely committed to offering Masters’ and executive development programs of premium quality.
UCD Smurfit, like most business schools, is both a good equivalent and an alternative to traditional universities. Whereas a university is more theory-focused in its approach, a business school tends to be more career-focused. In this sense alone, UCD Smurfit is a very successful business school, as most alumni receive tangible career benefits after graduation.
List of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Courses
UCD Smurfit school offers a wide range of courses for both business and non-business graduates across a diverse range of multidisciplinary subject areas. The school has published a complete list of the courses and programs they offer on their publicly available 2017/2018 brochure of graduate courses. The exact list of courses as itemized in the brochure are listed below:
- MSc in Aviation Finance
- MSc in Business Analytics
- Master of Accounting
- MSc in Digital Innovation (formerly iBusiness)
- MSc in Digital Marketing
- Energy and Environmental Finance(MSc)
- MSc in Finance MSc in Food Business Strategy
- MSc in Human Resource Management
- International Business (MSc)
- MSc in Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Design
- CEMS Masters in International Management
- MSc in Management
- MSc in Management Consultancy
- Marketing(MSc)
- Marketing Practice(MSc)
- MSc in Project Management
- MSc in Quantitative Finance
- Strategic Management Accounting(MSc)
- MSc in Strategic Management and Planning
- MSc in Supply Chain Management Master of Business Administration (MBA )
- Biotherapeutics and Business(MSc)
- MSc Courses run in conjunction with UCD Belfield.
- Biotechnology and Business(MSc)
- MSc in International Law and Business
However, in addition to the above-listed full curricula courses, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School also offers other Business courses. These courses are mostly specializations that could be completed in one year for full-time students or two years for part-time students.
Non-business graduates can also enroll in many of these courses which are designed to fast-track students’ career progression by developing them in skills relevant to their chosen areas of Business. Taking any one of these specializations promises to enhance students’ understanding of business processes and procedures.
The Msc Business specializations are listed below:
- Aviation Finance
- Business Analytics
- Digital Innovation
- Digital Marketing
- Energy and Environmental Finance
- Finance
- Food Business Strategy
- Human Resource Management
- Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Design
- International Business
- CEMS International Management
- Management
- Management Consultancy
- Marketing
- Project Management
- Quantitative Finance
- Strategic Management Accounting
- Strategic Management and Planning
- Supply Chain Management
Not sure of exactly what you should study? Kindly download the course brochure of UCD Michael Smurfit for a more detailed look at each of the courses with specific information on their requirements and contents.
Why Attend UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School
It is globally accredited
Usually, accreditation is a statement of quality. But students of UCD Smurfit have an even better guarantee of receiving quality educational services from their school. The reason is not far-fetched: they are one out of a very elite few to have not just one but a triple-crown accreditation from EQUIS, AACB, and AMBA.
It provides useful network
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is a member of global alliances of leading business schools such as the Global Network for Advanced Management.
In addition to receiving quality educational services, students will also be exposed to the school’s alliance with global bodies and associations. This will open up them up to important professional networks while positioning them in the minds of global business leaders in the business world.
Academic Leadership
UCD Smurfit also has an outstanding faculty with diverse and impressive portfolios. This faculty is made up of 1,836 solid leading academics extracted from different backgrounds across the world.
Also, their unique blend and breadth of corporate experience coupled with their academic depth afford their students the rarest opportunities to really partake in engaging and stimulating research of international relevance.
High Career Prospects
According to a survey of the 2015 class, at least 89% of respondents were in gainful employment within 3 months of graduation. The Economist also published the following data about UCD rankings across several career prospect parameters:
- UCD ranks: 39 out of 100 for the breadth of its alumni network
- 55 out of 100 for student quality
- 70 out of 100 for getting a job offer within three months of graduation
- 83 out of 100 for an increase in graduate salaries
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Acceptance Rate
The application portal to UCD Michael Smurfit opens twice a year during the fall and spring seasons. 29% (8,400) of her students are from 140+ different countries across the globe. The school remains one of the top destination institutions from around the world and admission is based strictly on merit albeit highly competitive with an acceptance rate of just 20%.
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Tuition
There are two things to note about UCD’s Michael Smurfit Business School’s tuition. Firstly, it is subject to change every year depending on the course of study. It is therefore advisable that you check again as a prospective student in order to make sure you have updated information on the tuition. However, the list below can still give a fairly close estimate of how much money one should prepare to have.
In addition to the tuition being subject to change, it is interesting to note that students can pay tuition in installments. The school usually allows for a three-part installment as follows:
- First Installment: payable in September,
- Second Installment: payable in January
- Third Installment: this final doze is payable in May.
Though the tuition varies per course, there are four separate amounts payable for most of the courses depending on whether you are enrolled in a full-time or a part-time program and if you are an EU or Non-EU student. Generally, however, the tuition is usually higher for part-time and Non-EU students.
For the 2022/2023 list of tuition rates, on the low end is 9,500 Euros for the part-time study of courses such as a Masters in Finance. At the other end of the spectrum is the flat rate of 20,500 Euros for Non-EU students taking such courses as Marketing.
The mode of payment is either through deposits or UCD’s online payment facility. The latter method is preferable due to the ease, convenience, and efficiency of the process. You can make payments to their online portal at the UCD payment portal.
What is the UCD World Ranking? | Latest
It is important to talk about UCD ranking because it is funny how the situation changes. Think back to many centuries ago and you will find that basic literacy skills were the intellectual asset of only a few elites. But the situation has greatly today. The world is now more educated than it used to be and there is an increase in the number of educational institutions. This increase in options raises the question of which institution to choose.
Well, World University QS rankings often come to our rescue here. This ranking helps prospective students compare and know where a university ranks compared to other global universities. Independent reviews have also shown that the QS results are 99% accurate.
According to the 2022 UCD ranking by QS, the school sits at the 173rd position globally
UCD Ranking in Ireland
According to the 2021 QS World University Ranking, UCD is rated as the 177th-best university in Europe. This makes UCD the second-ranked institution in Ireland, just after Trinity College Dublin, which ranks 101 according to the QS ranking 2021.
The rankings, on the other hand, ranked UCD in the 251st position. Regardless of who conducted the ranking, however, UCD currently sits in the second position among the best institutions in Ireland
UCD Ranking in Europe
UCD ranks 133rd in Europe according to UniRank’s latest ranking. If you are reading this late, check again because UCD’s rating just might have increased again just as in other times.
The ratings are not static. After all, it was barely over a year ago (2020) that the school was in the 182 position, which means that the school has managed to climb up five steps in terms of the ratings. Indeed, over the years, the school has continually kept climbing, which is a good thing and a testament.
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Who are the UCD Notable Alumni?
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School has an impressive portfolio of notable alumni spanning a wide gamut of fields, ranging from literature to science. Depending on your interests, at least a few of the following names must ring a bell to you:
- Literature: Maeve Bianchi, James Joyce, Brian O’Driscoll, Neil Jordan, V.V. Giri, Dennis O’Brien, Jonathan Sexton, Gabriel Byrne, Marina Carr, Austin Clarke, Brian Cleeve, Brain Coffey, Eamon Delaney, Denis Devlin, Emma Donoghue, Desmond Hogan, John Jordan, John Montague, Mary Lavin, etc.
- Journalism: Vincent Browne. Ruth Dudley Edwards, Hugh Mcfadden. Kevin Myers, Kevin O’Sullivan, Fintan O’Toole, etc.
- Business: Niall Fitzgerald, former CEO of Unilever; Aidan Heavey, CEO of Tullow Oil; Denis O’Brien, owner of Communicorp and Digicel; David J O’Reilly, Chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation; Dalton Phillips, CEO of Morrisons and etc.
FAQs on UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School
Is Smurfit MBA good?
According to a GMAT club review, Smurfit is a better school than most US second-tier business schools. Their membership with the Global Network of Advanced Management Group also affords the students the opportunity to pick from some of the brightest minds in the business world in addition to their already incredible faculty.
How good is the UCD MBA?
Her MBA program ranked No. 67 according to The Economist Full-time MBA ranking. The school has also remained the only Irish school to consistently feature in global school rankings over the years.
Is UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Accredited?
Yes, in fact, it is one of the very few elite groups of schools with triple accreditation from the reputable EQUIS, AACB, AMBA.
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