SINGAPORE - Executive MBA (EMBA) programmes offered by Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) and National University of Singapore's (NUS) business schools have moved up in The Financial Times' annual list of the world's top 100 such courses, released on Monday morning.

NUS Business School's double-degree Executive MBA programme with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) moved up one place to rank fourth overall. But its Asia-Pacific Executive MBA programme slipped one spot to 18th.

NTU's Nanyang Business School's EMBA jumped to eighth place, five spots up from its debut at 13th place last year. It also ranked second in the world for programmes offered by a single university, instead of jointly offered by several institutions. It was beaten only by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

In an Oct 13 report, The Economist ranked NTU's full-time MBA programme top in Singapore and fourth in Asia.

In a statement on Monday, NTU said strong salary increases, global experience and an internationally diverse class lay behind the Nanyang EMBA's good showing.

The average annual salary of Nanyang EMBA alumni three years after graduation was the equivalent of US$221,672. This is after adjusting for purchasing power parity, which accounts for the relative value of a currency in its home country. Graduates' salaries rose an average of 71 per cent after taking the course.

Graduates of NUS's two EMBA degrees earned even more. Alumni of the NUS-UCLA double-degree had an average annual salary of US$279,284 three years after graduation and an average pay rise of 78 per cent.

For NUS's Asia-Pacific Executive MBA, the average annual salary was US$244,911.