UCD Smurfit Executive Development ranked in global top 50 by Financial Times
4 June 2025
Professor Joe Peppard, Academic Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Development; Professor Federica Pazzaglia, Director of UCD Smurfit School; and Tim Wray, Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Development
(opens in a new window)UCD Smurfit Executive Development remains one of the top education destinations for executives, according to the latest Financial Times rankings.
Ranked 47th globally in Open Enrolment, and first in Ireland, the programme at the (opens in a new window)UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School has for eight consecutive years been ranked among the most recognised business institutions in the world.
“This prestigious ranking reaffirms UCD Smurfit Executive Development’s unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation in executive education,” said Tim Wray, Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Development.
“Consistently delivering world-class programmes, the School is recognised alongside the most elite and internationally recognised business institutions as listed in the top 10 in both Open Enrolment and Custom Executive Education across the UK and Ireland.
“This reflects our dedication to designing relevant programmes that can have an immediate impact in the workplace and champion new ways of thinking.”
The School placed 36th globally in the New Skills and Learning category, as well as ranking 56th in the world in the Custom Executive Education Rankings and 3rd globally in the Growth category, which reflects year-on-year revenue growth and repeat business.
Its overall Participant Satisfaction score for the 2025 rankings increased to 9.4 out of 10.
“Our ranking of third in the world in the Growth category for Custom Programmes shows consistent progress on our ambition to deepen our engagement with client organisations,” added Professor Joe Peppard, Academic Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Development.
“The improved ranking shows momentum and is a testament to our strategy and the transformative impact it delivers to business leaders and organisations.”
UCD Smurfit Executive Development is a member of UNICON, an invitation-only alliance of the world’s leading university-based executive education providers.
In addition, the UCD Smurfit School is one of an elite group of schools worldwide to hold the ‘triple crown’ of accreditation from three centres of business and academic excellence – EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA.
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
