QS Stars

QS Stars is a globally recognised rating system that allows higher education institutions to showcase their strengths separately or alongside their QS World University Ranking. It provides a detailed analysis of performance across areas such as Teaching, Employability, Research, Internationalisation, Facilities, and Inclusiveness.

QS Stars for Business Schools is a specialised version of this framework, designed exclusively for business schools. It recognises the unique challenges, strengths, and opportunities of business education by assessing areas such as Entrepreneurship, Specialist Programmes, and Employability – all critical to the success of business graduates.

Unlike rankings, both systems offer a comprehensive evaluation and rating (from 1 to 5+ Stars) that highlights where an institution excels and where it can improve.

Both systems use a structured framework of performance categories to evaluate institutions and produce an overall Star rating.

• QS Stars assesses institutions using up to fifteen categories across five themes: Learning Experience, Employability & Outcomes, Sustainability, Research & Innovation, and Global Engagement. Institutions are assessed across nine standard categories, with flexibility to include additional ones.
• QS Stars for Business Schools adapts this approach into ten categories tailored to business education. By refining weightings and removing less relevant areas, it delivers a more accurate, meaningful, and sector-specific assessment - allowing schools of all sizes to demonstrate excellence across metrics that truly matter.

QS regularly reviews and updates both methodologies to ensure alignment with current standards and global higher education trends.

Although both share the same foundation, they have been developed into two distinct frameworks:

• Tailored methodology: QS Stars for Business Schools is designed specifically for business schools, adapting QS Stars’ proven framework to align better with business education priorities.
• Focused categories: Business schools are evaluated in ten areas (instead of up to fifteen), spotlighting relevant dimensions like Entrepreneurship, Specialist Programmes, and Employability.
• Sector relevance: It removes emphasis on academic research and other categories such as Arts, Innovation, and Knowledge Transfer found in the standard QS Stars.
• Custom output: Schools receive exclusive QS Stars for Business Schools badges, enabling like-for-like comparison with peers globally.

Together, these refinements ensure a fairer, more relevant measure of business school performance.

The audit is a structured, evidence-based review of an institution’s performance.

Over several months, institutions gather and submit data, supported by a dedicated QS Stars analyst who ensures accuracy and consistency.

Upon completion, institutions receive:

• An overall rating from 1 to 5+ Stars and detailed category scores
• A comprehensive report and category breakdown
• Official QS Stars or QS Stars for Business Schools badges for marketing and communications
• A formal certificate validating the results

These three systems serve distinct but complementary purposes:

• Rankings compare institutions against each other.
• Ratings (like QS Stars) evaluate institutions on their own merits using international benchmarks - multiple institutions can achieve 5+ Stars.
• Accreditations (such as AACSB, AMBA, or EQUIS) confirm that a business school meets defined quality standards for governance, faculty, and curriculum.

A QS Stars for Business Schools rating complements accreditation by measuring real-world performance outcomes - such as employability, entrepreneurship, and teaching quality - providing a complete picture of excellence and impact.

Independent evaluations provide credibility and transparency that build trust with students, employers, and academic partners. They show that an institution’s strengths are validated by an external, data-driven review rather than internal claims.

A QS Stars or QS Stars for Business Schools rating helps institutions stand out by verifying excellence in areas like teaching, employability, and internationalisation.

It’s also a powerful tool for continuous improvement, helping leadership teams identify opportunities and measure progress over time.

International students look for trusted indicators of quality when choosing where to study.

A verified performance rating - such as QS Stars for Business Schools - provides exactly that. It gives prospective students a clear, easy-to-understand benchmark of a school’s academic quality, employability outcomes, and global engagement.

Schools that display their rating and category strengths (for example, 5 Stars in Teaching or Employability) are more likely to attract high-calibre, globally minded applicants.

In short, it’s a credible signal that a business school delivers on its promises.

A performance rating adds substance and credibility to institutional storytelling.

Instead of broad claims, institutions can use verified results to support marketing messages - for example, ‘Rated 5 Stars for Employability by QS’.

This recognition builds confidence among students, partners, and corporate audiences. In addition to badges and certificates, the detailed QS Stars report highlights what makes each institution distinctive, offering data-backed insights that can shape campaigns, web content, and recruitment strategies.

QS Stars gives institutions practical tools to build their reputation, attract students, and stand out internationally:

• Boost branding and global recognition: QS Stars badges act as a trusted symbol of excellence, supporting recruitment and promotional campaigns.
• Increase visibility: Publishing results on TopUniversities.com connects institutions with students, parents, and academic peers worldwide.
• Gain actionable insights: The detailed report provides breakdowns of results for strategic planning and improvement.
• Benchmark performance: QS Stars delivers an internationally recognised framework to measure strengths, identify opportunities, and track progress.

Alongside the overall institutional and business school frameworks, QS Stars offers specialised evaluations focusing on specific strengths, including:

• Online Learning
• Programme Strength
• Specialist Criteria

QS Stars offers Standard, Premium, and Max packages. Each provides increasing levels of visibility, analytics, and marketing support - and every option can be tailored to fit your institution’s goals.