Why Stanford MBA career outcomes look different from other business schools, and what the employability data reveals

Why Stanford MBA career outcomes stand out, with only 63% seeking jobs and one in six graduates starting new ventures. (Getty Images)

With students increasingly using the prism of career outcomes to evaluate universities, employability rankings and statistics have become an integral part of higher education decision-making. While global rankings provide a broad perspective, detailed reports on graduate outcomes provide a better insight into how students move from the university to the workplace. Stanford University, ranked among the top universities in the world, provides an example of how employability statistics need to be interpreted.In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, Stanford is ranked 5th globally. It also holds the 2nd position in both US Employability Rank 2026 and Global Employability Rank 2026, improving from 3rd globally in 2025. To complement this, the QS World University Rankings ranks Stanford University at Rank 3 globally with an overall score of 98.9, including scores of 100 in Employer Reputation and 100 in Employment Outcomes.While these rankings indicate strong employer confidence, they do not fully explain how graduates actually use their degrees. For this, data at the program level, especially from the MBA group, provides useful information.How Employability Rankings Should Be ReadEmployability rankings are designed to measure how well institutions prepare students for work and how employers perceive graduates. The indicators may include employer surveys, alumni impact, hiring trends, and employment outcomes.For students, the fact that Stanford is performing well indicates that the university is recognized globally in various sectors such as technology, consulting, finance, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. However, employability is not always linked to a single outcome, such as job placement immediately after graduation. This is because students enrolled in institutions such as Stanford have various options after graduation.MBA Employment Outcomes: The NumbersAccording to the Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA Employment Report 2025, the graduating class consisted of 426 students. Of these, 63 per cent actively sought employment after graduation. The remaining graduates pursued other planned outcomes, including entrepreneurship, sponsored roles, or further study.Reported outcomes for the full MBA cohort:Stanford MBA Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)

This breakdown highlights that a substantial share of students do not enter the job market immediately after graduation, despite strong employability rankings.Entrepreneurship as a Planned OutcomeOne of the most notable aspects of Stanford’s MBA outcomes is the proportion of graduates pursuing entrepreneurship. Sixteen per cent of the class (70 students) reported starting a new business after graduation.For students, this means that entrepreneurship is considered a mainstream career path and not an alternative path pursued out of a lack of job opportunities. Most MBA applicants come to Stanford with either experience, access to funding, or plans to pursue a venture. This means that the traditional placement schedule may not apply to this pool of people.This is also affected by the overall environment that Stanford is situated in, which includes access to venture capital, start-up incubators, and technology companies, although entrepreneurship is not sector-specific.Sponsored Students and Continuing EducationAnother 13 per cent of graduates were company-sponsored or already employed, meaning they returned to their organisations after completing the MBA. These students are categorised as “not seeking employment” because their post-graduation roles were secured in advance, often with defined career progression.A smaller segment, 3 per cent, chose to pursue continuing education, such as doctoral programmes or specialised academic study. While this is a minority outcome, it shows that further education remains a relevant path even within a professionally oriented degree.Transparency in Reporting OutcomesThe employment report also accounts for outcomes that are often overlooked. Two per cent of graduates reported not seeking employment for other reasons, which may include personal circumstances or planned breaks. Another 2 per cent had no recent information available at the time of reporting.Notably, there were no graduates who postponed their job search, indicating that most of the post-MBA outcomes were deliberate rather than uncertain or delayed.What This Means for StudentsFor prospective students, the employability statistics of Stanford GSB indicate that rankings must be interpreted in conjunction with the distribution of outcomes. A strong reputation with employers and job outcomes indicate strong demand, but individual preferences have a large impact on employment statistics.Students seeking immediate, structured placement outcomes may interpret the data differently from those prioritising flexibility, entrepreneurship, or long-term career planning. This is because the Stanford model is a representation of a system in which employability is tied to optionality rather than to standardized outcomes.Interpreting Employability Beyond RankingsThe case of Stanford University illustrates the importance of not viewing employability as a single percentage figure. While high rankings indicate the credibility of the institution, the graduate figures indicate how students exercise this opportunity in their own way.When students are comparing universities across the globe, it is important to look at the rankings and the outcome tables to gain a more realistic perspective of what employability means and whether it is in line with their own personal goals.