Sungkyunkwan University took 51st place in global business school rankings released on Monday by the Financial Times.

The U.K. business daily has announced an annual list of the top 100 MBA courses around the globe since 1999, based on factors like alumni career progression, their international exposure, diversity of students and staff, and the quality of faculty and research.

Of the three other Korean schools that applied for this year's list, only Korea University made the list at 89th, but Seoul National University and KAIST failed to make the grade.

Sunkyungwan and KAIST applied for the rankings last year as well, but only the former found a place at No. 66.

Experts attribute Sungkyunkwan's rise to students' diverse working experience, a higher proportion of foreign students, a higher staff-to-student ratio, and good management of graduates.

A university staffer said, "The foreign students who enroll in MBA courses in Korea are mostly Korean Americans, but at Sungkyunkwan, non-Korean Americans account for a much higher proportion of foreign students."

Sungkyunkwan also ranked high in diversity due to students' varied careers, from chefs to curators. Foreigners make up 43 percent of faculty and 30 percent of students, and all classes are taught in English.

Harvard Business School ranked top in the latest rankings, followed by Stanford and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Other Asian universities in the list include Hong Kong UST in eighth place and China's Ceibs in 15th.