ISM University of Management and Economics Bachelor’s degree studies in business and management have been rated the best in Lithuania. Likewise, ISM’s Master’s degree studies in management and marketing are recognized as the best. Moreover, ISM’s Bachelor’s degree studies in finance occupy a high place in the ranking table. These are the data published in the magazine’s “Reitingai” (“Ratings”) 2024-2025 edition. ISM is also named the best private university in Lithuania every year.
According to the “Ratingai” data, compared to other Lithuanian universities, ISM Bachelor’s degree graduates in the aforementioned study fields have the best employment rate after graduation and, one year after graduation, receive the highest income, amounting to 2471 EUR, including taxes. Remarkably, the ISM Business, Management, and Finance Bachelor’s degree programmes were awarded the highest score by the Center for Education Quality Assessment (SKVC). High school graduates with the highest exam scores from all over the country enter the ISM Bachelor’s degree studies; some of them receive state grants for their studies, while others do not. 50% of BA and MA students receive scholarships.
This year, ISM records another impressive indicator: over the past 5 years, from 2019 to 2024, the university has had the highest number of hundred-percentile high school graduates in Lithuania. Impressively, a fifth (20.15 percent) of all ISM students admitted in 2019-2024 have scored at least one 100 percent mark in their final high school exams.
Over the past five years, the number of applicants to ISM has grown rapidly, by as much as 40 percent, and currently, 2,300 students in total are studying at the university.
This year, ISM University celebrates an important 25th anniversary. The quality of the university’s studies, its professors’ work, and its students’ achievements receive particularly high ratings from the international higher education community. This spring, ISM will host a long-awaited visit: experts from AACSB, one of the most prestigious international accreditation institutions, are coming for a visit. Since 2017, ISM has been participating in the assessment process to obtain AACSB accreditation.
Salaries for ISM Alumni Are the Most Competitive
In the summer of 2024, ISM conducted an analysis based on the data of SODRA, provided by the National Education Agency, on the average monthly gross income of the graduates working under an employment contract. The analysis showed that ISM master’s graduates earn up to 47 percent higher salaries compared to graduates of other Lithuanian universities (2021-2024 data). The same analysis revealed that, after graduation, the average gross salary of ISM master’s graduates amounts to 3982 EUR (2023-2024 data). This analysis compared the study fields of economics, management, marketing, finance, accounting, human resource management, and business.
From the bachelor’s graduates’ salaries statistics, according to the data provided in the Education Management Information System, one can conclude that BA students’ salaries almost double within three years after graduation. Therefore, ISM studies are a long-term investment, and the return on this investment increases over the years.
The number of state student loans provided further confirms that ISM students see their studies as an investment. One-fifth of ISM bachelor’s students apply for a state student loan, which they can repay on preferential terms after graduation.
What Motivates Students to Choose ISM Studies?
ISM University students gain significant added value in several ways. ISM lecturers apply efficient and innovative educational methodologies, such as the wargaming method, which illustrates how playing board games can develop critical and strategic thinking and can be used to teach various subjects, from politics to economics. Besides, in addition to studying, students in the first year of undergraduate studies receive professional mentoring while planning their initial career steps. ISM Partnership and Career Center is currently running an innovative career programme. Its goal is to encourage students who are planning a fulfilling career to take a new approach. The programme includes a career planning course in the first year of studies and a professional internship in the second and fourth years.
ISM University cooperates with the country’s most successful companies, thus opening up exciting career prospects for its students. Moreover, a special community and employer communication platform has been implemented, as well as a career mentoring programme that has received many positive reviews. Those wishing to receive more information can contact the ISM Partnership and Career Center by e-mail at karjeroscentras@ism.lt
An Exciting Multicultural Environment
As soon as they join the ISM community, students can experience the advantages of the university’s international environment, and not only because in most classes the language of teaching is English. Most ISM academic staff have international experience and have come here to teach from extremely high-level European, US, and Japanese business schools and universities. In addition, foreign and Lithuanian students study together, exchanging intercultural experiences and knowledge.
ISM students can choose to spend up to half of their study time abroad. By selecting a double diploma programme, they acquire a diploma from ISM University, as well as one from another world-renowned business school. Thanks to the programme, students can obtain an education at ISM and one of the top 3 percent of the world’s best business schools with “Triple Crown” accreditations (three prestigious business school accreditations, AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS). ISM students also participate in the Erasmus+ programme, which offers the opportunity to study in Europe; alternatively, they can choose a Bilateral Exchange Programme and study outside the EU.
