Best MBA for… · figures from each school’s own report
Best MBA for a career in tech, 2026
Stanford GSB sends 35% of its class to technology companies at a reported $185,000, the strongest mix in our tech ranking today.
Best fit for technology, on your salary
Stanford GSB
35% of the class (about 152 graduates) · $185,000 · payback 4.0 years
Fit score: share of the class (40%), salary (30%) and ten-year NPV for you (30%), each as a percentile among the schools shown. Schools under 5% of the class are not ranked. Method.
| # | School | Share | About | Salary | Payback | 10-year NPV | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford GSBStanford · 21 months | 35% | 152 | $185,000 | 4.0 years | $296,469 | 97 |
| 2 | Berkeley HaasBerkeley · 21 months | 38.6% | 105 | $159,000 | 5.0 years | $136,818 | 89 |
| 3 | HarvardBoston · 21 months | 22% | 207 | $178,000 | 4.3 years | $249,569 | 84 |
| 4 | CMU TepperPittsburgh · 21 months | 25.1% | 36 | $160,000* | 4.9 years | $150,025 | 82 |
| 5 | MIT SloanCambridge · 21 months | 23.3% | 101 | $165,000 | 4.7 years | $173,517 | 82 |
| 6 | Washington FosterSeattle · 21 months | 40.5% | 41 | $142,800 | 5.7 years | $58,062 | 78 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech SchellerAtlanta · 21 months | 30.8% | 22 | $142,400 | 4.7 years | $128,692 | 76 |
| 8 | UCLA AndersonLos Angeles · 21 months | 28.3% | 81 | $147,000 | 5.9 years | $43,046 | 74 |
| 9 | KelloggEvanston · 21 months | 18.9% | 101 | $151,500 | 5.6 years | $71,477 | 70 |
| 10 | WhartonPhiladelphia · 21 months | 15.3% | 136 | $163,500 | 4.9 years | $157,104 | 68 |
| 11 | ColumbiaNew York · 20 months | 10.2% | 100 | $175,000* | 4.5 years | $223,915 | 63 |
| 12 | Texas McCombsAustin · 21 months | 22% | 52 | $140,000 | 5.5 years | $67,742 | 60 |
| 13 | Chicago BoothChicago · 21 months | 14.1% | 90 | $151,000 | 5.4 years | $87,274 | 59 |
| 14 | Notre Dame MendozaNotre Dame (South Bend), Indiana · 21 months | 18.8% | n/a | $142,800 | 5.9 years | $46,460 | 59 |
| 15 | IMDLausanne · 12 months | 16% | 14 | $139,163average | 4.6 years | $184,059 | 59 |
Share: % of the graduating class (or of those who accepted a job) the school reports for this goal. About: that share applied to the class size. * no salary published for this goal: school-wide figure. Salaries in US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update; “average” marks a mean where the school publishes no median.
Placing graduates here but not ranked: AGSM UNSW 20% (no salary published) · Alliance MBS 22% (no salary published) · CEIBS 31.9% (no living budget published) · EDHEC 10% (no salary published) · Fudan 19.6% (no salary published) · HKU 18% (no salary published) · IE 21.79% (no salary published) · IESE 9% (no salary published) · IIM Ahmedabad PGPX 41% (no living budget published) · IIM Bangalore EPGP 29% (no living budget published) · IIM Lucknow IPMX 47% (no living budget published) · Rice Jones 16.1% (no living budget published) · SJTU Antai 14% (no salary published) · SMU 19% (no salary published) · WashU Olin 30.8% (no living budget published).
Built by Radif Partners · figures checked · Method · Editorial policy
For a move into technology, our ranking reads the share of each class that joined a technology company and the base salary the school reports for those hires. Stanford GSB leads today with 35% of its graduates in tech and a salary of $185,000, followed by Berkeley Haas (38.6%, $159,000) and Harvard (22%, $178,000). Washington Foster has the largest share of its class in the industry, 40.5%. The middle tech base among ranked schools is $142,400, against $175,000 for consulting, because tech employers pay a large part in stock that reports leave out. The ten-year value is computed for a reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA. Enter your current salary in the finder above to rank the 40 schools again on your own figures.
The employer's industry, not the job title
A school counts a graduate in technology when the employer is a technology company: software, internet platforms, hardware, semiconductors and, at some schools, telecoms or fintech. The job can be product management, strategy, finance or marketing. That is a broader net than the phrase "tech MBA" suggests, and it explains why schools with a reputation for finance or consulting still report a sizable tech line. The table ranks the 40 schools that publish the line with a salary and a cost.
| # | School | Share of class | Graduates, about | Salary | Payback | 10-year NPV | Fit score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford GSB | 35% | 152 | $185,000 | 4.0 years | $296,469 | 97 |
| 2 | Berkeley Haas | 38.6% | 105 | $159,000 | 5.0 years | $136,818 | 89 |
| 3 | Harvard | 22% | 207 | $178,000 | 4.3 years | $249,569 | 84 |
| 4 | CMU Tepper | 25.1% | 36 | $160,000* | 4.9 years | $150,025 | 82 |
| 5 | MIT Sloan | 23.3% | 101 | $165,000 | 4.7 years | $173,517 | 82 |
| 6 | Washington Foster | 40.5% | 41 | $142,800 | 5.7 years | $58,062 | 78 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech Scheller | 30.8% | 22 | $142,400 | 4.7 years | $128,692 | 76 |
| 8 | UCLA Anderson | 28.3% | 81 | $147,000 | 5.9 years | $43,046 | 74 |
| 9 | Kellogg | 18.9% | 101 | $151,500 | 5.6 years | $71,477 | 70 |
| 10 | Wharton | 15.3% | 136 | $163,500 | 4.9 years | $157,104 | 68 |
7 ranked schools give no salary for technology hires; their school-wide figure stands in and is marked with an asterisk, which flatters a school whose overall pay comes from consulting and banking. Washington Foster has the largest proportion of its class in the industry, 40.5%.
Base salary, stock and the gap in the reports
Technology is where the reported figure understates pay the most. Large tech employers grant restricted stock units that vest over three or four years, and many add an annual bonus; schools report the base. Among ranked schools, the middle tech base is $142,400, while the middle consulting base is $175,000. For a graduate who joins a large listed company, the stock grant can close that gap. For a graduate who joins a start-up, the base is often lower still and the equity may be worth nothing. The ten-year value counts the base and the signing bonus, so it ranks tech schools on the most conservative reading of pay.
Proximity to the employers
Stanford GSB, Berkeley Haas, Washington Foster and UCLA Anderson are the ranked schools on the American West Coast, and 4 of them sit among the first ten. A school near the large platforms makes it easy to work part time for a start-up during term, to meet alumni in person and to recruit for small companies that never travel. Schools elsewhere compensate with structured treks and alumni networks inside the large firms, which hire on many campuses. If your target is a large employer, distance matters less than the share; if it is a young company, distance matters more than the table can show. The headcount column helps here too: a school with a modest share of a large class can still put more graduates inside one platform than a small school with a high share.
Stanford GSB or Berkeley Haas: the faster payback for you
Higher 10-year value
Stanford GSB
| Stanford GSB payback | 4.0 years |
| Berkeley Haas payback | 4.5 years |
| Stanford GSB 10-year NPV | $296,469 |
| Berkeley Haas 10-year NPV | $196,335 |
Tech-heavy schools without a score
Some of the highest tech shares belong to schools that publish no student living budget: IIM Lucknow IPMX (47%), IIM Calcutta MBAEx (45.5%), IIM Ahmedabad PGPX (41%) and CEIBS (31.9%). Their graduates join technology firms in large numbers, often in their home market, but the cost of the degree cannot be completed without a living figure. Alliance MBS (22%), IE (21.8%), AGSM UNSW (20%) and Fudan (19.6%) publish a tech share and no salary we can use. Both groups are listed in the finder with their share, so a candidate targeting the technology industry in India, China and the United States can still see where the pipeline runs.
What the numbers cannot predict
Technology hiring is the least regular of the large MBA paths. Firms hire close to the start date, adjust intake to their growth plans and can freeze hiring in a quarter, so a tech share moves more from one report to the next than a consulting share does. Work visas weigh heavily for international graduates in the United States, where large firms sponsor and small ones often cannot. And a share does not say which jobs: the same percentage can be mostly product managers at one school and mostly finance roles at another. The tech career page and the product manager page explain the roles, and the employer list on each school page shows the firms.