Studying for a Masters Degree in Business Administration while working can seriously increase your wealth, according to figures from EMBA2001, the Financial Times' inaugural ranking of executive MBA programmes.

Five years after starting an EMBA, alumni from two top US business schools - the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton school in Philadelphia and Columbia Business School in New York - had more than doubled their salaries, earning more than $200,000 (€222,600) on average.

Graduates of Smurfit Business School in UCD, Dublin, were ranked seventh for salary increases, doubling income within three years to €127,000 (£100,000). The school ranked seventh in Europe and 24th worldwide.