Agreed these recognition are a mandatory pre-requisite to a good MBA degree. B Schools having all , are ofcourse ,of a diffrent league all together...but my problem is...of the offers that I have, the colleges have one accreditation missing.

Uni of Glasgow - AACSB, AMBA, Member of EFMD
Uni of Birmingham - AMBA, EQUIS n no AACSB

Now...I have been advised by a guy studying in US to complusively go for an AACSB accredited uni. Which, therefore, of these accreditation can be done without?

I tend to agree with this, AACSB(Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) is probably the most important accreditation - as far es i know, it was also the first one(1916!!).

but then again, i wouldn't judge a school for not having it, if it holds two other important ones. just remember to check the ranking of the schools - if they are highly ranked, and have two good accreditation, then they are probably good schools.

in this case Birmingham is even better ranked by the economist(at 67 against 78), although it doesn't hold an AACSB accreditation.

I tend to agree with this, AACSB(Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) is probably the most important accreditation - as far es i know, it was also the first one(1916!!).

i didn't say it means anything about the quality of the school, i just said it is the most important one to have(as it is the most known, and yes, as it ensures a min standard).

Actually, I just read that only 10 percent of US business schools hold the AACSB accreditation. If you see that a school is AACSB accredited it means that it fulfils certain quality standards. It may not be a top school, but not a crappy one either.

There seem to be several highly-ranked European schools that do not have AACSB accrediation (but have AMBA instead).

However, there are several non-ranked American schools that are AACSB accredited... so it seems maybe AACSB holds schools outside of the US to a higher standard? Or maybe their accredidation just isn't as sought after outside of the US... does anyone know?

In the US, the AACSB is your standard accrediation. If the biz program is halfway decent, it will get accredited in the US. Since US business education is seen as the best by many, the overseas benefit of AACSB then becomes clear. In that, if overseas schools can show they have the AACSB accrediation, they can argue they're at least on par with the US minimum standard when recuriting students.

However, I would offer cauion in using AACSB accrediation as the sole means of evaulation. Many of the best schools I applied to were lacking in AACSB accrediation but were well ranked by the finacial times and economist. Also based on what I read, EQUIS accrediation seems to be a higher standard than AACSB accrediation.

In the end, I don't think any american will know of any of the European business schools outside of Oxbridge, and maybe the London biz school or London school of economics. Here, is where the AACSB comes into effect. Nevertheless, I think most Americans feel that British schools are pretty elite and will not notice the lack of AACSB.

Interesting, I did a little more reading and determined that an EQUIS or AMBA accredation is probably about as good as an AACSB one.

All seem to be pretty respected accrediting organizations. The difference is...
AMBA is based in London
EQUIS (EFMD) is based in Brussels*
AACSB is based in the US (Tampa, FL to be exact).

I am not clear on whether EQUIS or AMBA is more highly regarded in Europe. But, that doesn't seem to be an issue as in my experience it seems most schools that have one accrediation also have the other.

My only guess as to why some European schools don't seem to bother getting the AACSB accrediation, is that maybe they have already tailored their programs to get the European accreditations and changing to meet the American standard is maybe not worth their time/effort..?

* I corrected this

Also, zeromile, EQUIS and EFMD are the same thing, aren't they?

EFMD is the name of the organization, and EQUIS is the name of the certification. Therefore, I think Glasgow has all three accredidations you are looking for..

Hey Sally,

The Uni states its a 'member' of EFMD. I am not sure if being a member is same as being accredited. i guess its not.
A few colleges stating they are a member of AACSB are not listed at the AACSB website under their list of accredited colleges.
Glasgow in this case would otherwise display the EQUIS logo on its b-school homepage but it doesnt.

Also, zeromile, EQUIS and EFMD are the same thing, aren't they?

EFMD is the name of the organization, and EQUIS is the name of the certification. Therefore, I think Glasgow has all three accredidations you are looking for..

> Only 34 business schools in the world are triple accredited.

Yes, but NONE of them are US business schools.

hmm well, glasgow is not on the list of 34 triple accredited listed on that wiki page.. so (since wikipedia is always right!) i guess they don't have the equis accrediation. I have no idea what "emfd member" means...

and, as i'm sure you all noticed, their web site is down so there's no way to find out anything more right now!

Basically.. I say, if you're American and thinking of working in the US after graduation, lean toward the AACSB accredited one. If you're European, maybe go toward the Equis accredited one. However, I think two accreditations is plenty, and you'll get a solid education at either one.. so I'd make your decision on other more important factors, like whose program you think is the best fit for you :P

i got my undergraduate degree at a university that was well known but unaccredited in my field and I was successful at getting a great job before i even graduated, even though my area is really competitive. It's all about networking... accreditation really doesn't matter in the long run...

>accreditation really doesn't matter in the long run... <

But it sure matters in the short run...recruiters wont be impressed if i present a degree from a non-accredited B School.

Given the current economic condition i think its best to take refuge in a well accredited business school...

A triple accreditation will be just like 'an icing on the cake' but a min of any two accreditations are necessary for any UK business school..just like Glasgow B School.

Any European B school holding AACSB means its quite good but the general perception is that EQUIS accreditation is more demanding than AACSB...(but again there is no strong proof)...A European B School not having EQUIS is quite an exception..and is viewed negatively.

The bottom line is that the the confusion regarding accreditation is never ending..!!!!

--Nes

well.. non accredication didn't matter much in my case in the short run, or the long run.. although, i didn't have to deal with many recruiters. i got hired by a company i interned for. (It was an internship my university did NOT help me get, by the way.) i think it depends on what you want to do.. plenty of successful people have come out of unaccredited business schools.. they just had to work harder.

at any rate, this is kind of irrelevant as no one is recommending zeromile go to an unaccredited school.. i was just using an extreme example of how your school experience is what you make of it... it takes personal drive no matter what school you go to...

# it takes personal drive no matter what school you go to...

"A European B School not having EQUIS is quite an exception..and is viewed negatively."

I dont like the sound of It. Glasgow doesnt have the EQUIS accreditation. Does this mean being in UK and not having EQUIS is a downside? This then is Glasgow U's disadvantageous aspect.

Zeromile; you haven't said whether you plan to work in the US or in Europe after graduation. If you're going to be in the US, AASCB accrediation is all you need. Nobody here in the US even knows what Equis or AMBA is. If you're going to be in Europe.. Equis would be good.

But don't get too hung up on this.. just research both schools best you can and pick the one you think has the best program. If ability to get placed in a company is really important to you, I'd check out what each school offers in terms of career services. See what kind of relationships the schools have with recruiters. Ask the admissions/career services office what sort of success their graduates have had in the job market, and what the university did to help them get there.

also, zeromile, the EMFD/EQUIS web site is back up. I was able to now find out that there is, in fact, a difference between being an EMFD member and having an EQUIS accreditation.

There are more than 700 EMFD "member organisations from academia, business, public service and consultancy" but only 116 EQUIS accredited schools, for what that's worth.

Here is the explanation of what being an EMFD member means:

What is the European Foundation for Management Development?
EFMD is a global organisation devoted to the continuous improvement of management development.

What does EFMD do?
It brings together leading academics and senior executives from business schools and companies and provides them with unparalleled benchmarking and networking opportunities. The members who communicate through the array of network activities learn from each other and use this knowledge to manage more effectively and to increase their competitive edge.

*Who are EFMD members?*
More than 20,000 management development professionals are actively involved in the network. EFMD has over 700 member organisations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in more than 80 countries. Many of the world?s leading business schools and companies currently use the EFMD network to their advantage.

Here is the link to this information:

http://www.efmd.org/index.php/component/efmd/?cmsid=060816wupz

If you want to work in the US, AACSB accreditation would be your best choice. In UK, AMBA and other part of Europe, EQUIS. But if you go to a business school that has triple accreditation, that will greatly value-add to your career search. AMBA is also very well recognized throughout Europe but not in US though. In the US, employers don't even know about other accreditations other than AACSB.

I am not sure if University of Glasgow is AACSB accredited but the school is very well reputed world wide so this would be your best choice. If it is AACSB accredited.