Triple accreditation refers to the simultaneous accreditation of a business school by three international accreditors: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in the United States, the Association of MBAs in the United Kingdom, and EFMD Quality Improvement System in Belgium. [1]
A total of 129 business schools in the world are triple-accredited as of 2 April 2024 [update] . [2] Most business schools in the United States chose to only pursue AACSB accreditation.
Each of the three institutions assesses a business school according to different criteria and scope: AMBA accreditation examines the Master in Business Administration MBA programme portfolio and is intended to show that this "demonstrat[es] the highest standards in teaching, learning and curriculum design, career development and employability, student, alumni and employer interaction". [3] AACSB accreditation looks at the whole business school and is intended to "signif[y] a business school’s commitment to strategic management, learner success, thought leadership, and societal impact", with a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion since the 2020 revision. [4] EQUIS accreditation also looks at the whole business school, and is intended to "signal[] the school’s overall quality, viability and self-improvement commitment". [5]
While all three accreditating bodies operate globally, most business schools in the United States chose to only pursue AACSB accreditation. Factors influencing this include the perception in the United States that AACSB accreditation is sufficient, and that the structure of United States business schools means that they often do not meet the accreditation standards for AMBA or EQUIS, for example, that the admission policies for United States MBA programmes do not align with the requirement of AMBA that students should have a minimum of three years' work experience. [6]
In May 2020 there were 100 triple-accredited business schools in 36 countries or regions: [7] [8] [9] . The number of triple accredited schools had grown to over 110 by November 2021 and to 125 as of August 2023. [2]
Eleven business schools have previously held triple accreditation but are not triple-accredited as of 2024:
The Aalto University School of Business, is the largest business school in Finland. Founded in 1911, it is the second oldest business school in Finland and one of the oldest business schools in the Nordic countries. The school became part of Aalto University on 1 January 2010. It has been previously known as the Helsinki School of Economics, the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration, and during 2010–2012 the Aalto University School of Economics.
Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) is a French graduate business school or Grande Ecole, founded in 1984 in Grenoble, in the Auvergne-Rhone Alpes region by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Grenoble.
The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is a business school accreditation organization based in Brussels, Belgium. It provides accreditation for higher education institutions of management and business administration and is run by the European Foundation for Management Development. It is considered as one of the triple accreditation.
Warwick Business School (WBS) is the business school of the University of Warwick and an academic department within the Faculty of Social Sciences. It was established in 1967 as the School of Industrial and Business Studies. The business school offers undergraduate, and postgraduate degree programs, and non-degree executive education for individuals and companies.
IAE Business School is the Management and Business School of the Argentine Austral University. It is located in the suburb of Pilar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
SDA Bocconi School of Management was founded in 1971 and is the graduate business school of Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. SDA Bocconi is triple accredited by the AACSB, EQUIS, and the AMBA. SDA Bocconi offers various MBA programs, specialized master’s degrees, as well as executive education, professional development, and professional certification programs. The business school also regularly engages in commissioned research projects. SDA Bocconi School of Management, in addition to its main campus in Milan, Italy maintains a presence in Mumbai, India called the SDA Bocconi Asia Center.
Audencia Business School is a French grande école and business school located in Nantes, France. It is one of the only 0.5% of business schools in the world accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Audencia is also BSIS labelled. The school enrolls 6,100 students from almost 90 countries on bachelors, international masters, specialised masters, MBAs, doctorates and executive education courses.
INCAE Business School is an international business school located at the Walter Kissling Gam campus in Costa Rica. The school was founded with the assistance of professors from Harvard Business School in 1964. Although INCAE is independent, it adheres to the Harvard's case study method.
Henley Business School is a business school which is affiliated with the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College with the existing business school of the University of Reading. As a result of the merger it now occupies two sites: Greenlands Campus, near the town of Henley-on-Thames, the original site of the Henley Management College, and Whiteknights Campus in Reading.
The Graduate School of Management is the business school of Saint Petersburg State University. GSOM offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs taught in English and Russian. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in Europe. GSOM's Master in Management degree is the only MiM program in Russia ranked by the Financial Times and The Economist.
Kozminski University is a private, nonprofit business school in Warsaw, Poland; according to the Financial Times, it is considered to be "Poland’s highest rated private university". It was established in 1993 and named after Leon Koźmiński, a Polish professor of economics and entrepreneurship, and also the father of Andrzej Koźmiński, the founder and the first rector of the school. It is one of the top business schools in the world, contains the Central Eastern campus of ESCP as of 2015, and the only institution of higher education in Poland, holding the "triple accreditation ". Less than 1% of business education providers worldwide hold these three major international quality accreditations. The Financial Times named the university as the best business school in Poland and Central Europe.
The Executive MBA Council is an educational accreditation council formed in 1981 to accredit schools of business offering EMBA degrees worldwide. The council was formed with the assistance of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
BEM - Bordeaux Management School was a French grande école founded in 1874, which merged with Euromed to form KEDGE Business School in 2013. It was managed and financed by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce. The Master of Science in Management programme was also known as "École Supérieure de Commerce de Bordeaux" or "ESC Bordeaux".
Excelia is a French private university-level institution of higher education. Created in 1988 as Groupe Sup de Co La Rochelle, it is a non-profit organisation linked to the La Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and a member of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles. Excelia Group's Business School belongs to the approximately 100 business schools worldwide holding a triple accreditation.
The University of Queensland Business School is the business school of the University of Queensland, located in Brisbane, Australia. There are seven areas of research expertise across UQ Business School: Accounting, Business Information Systems, Finance, Management, Marketing, Strategy and Tourism.
Luiss Business School is a leading Italian business school, specialized in business and management studies.
The TUM School of Management is the business school of the Technical University of Munich, located on its Munich campus.