Understanding International MBA Accreditations: AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS

IIM Calcutta and IIM Indore are the only two Triple Crown B-schools in India. They have International accreditation of AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS. 

We often come across B-schools claiming world-class quality of education in their advertisements. But do we know how true the claims are? There is one way to ascertain whether the claims are genuine - international accreditation.

There are international bodies which check, assess, rate and award world class status to a business school on parameters such as teaching, faculty, services, infrastructure, administration and students. This process of certifying an institute on quality assurance is called accreditation.

In other words, an MBA institute when accredited by an international agency joins the league of international B-schools offering quality management education thereby promising better global exposure to the students.

Why is international accreditation necessary for MBA institutes?

International accreditation is a certificate of quality. It denotes that the accredited university/institute has achieved and maintains the highest standard of imparting education. An MBA institute is typically accredited for 3-5 years and renewed afterwards.

For a student, accreditation is an assurance that the programme they are pursuing is world class and will open up job avenues on international level. For employers, it is an assurance that the candidates they are hiring have received the best business management education, at par with international standard. That such candidates will be equipped with the latest and most relevant skill-sets required for a rewarding career in the rapidly changing business environment. Consequently, internationally accredited institutes score over their peers in terms of student placements and overall reputation.

Accreditation agencies also provide platform for advice, support, research, exposure to international events and job portals to help candidates in developing a network internationally.

In the field of management, three organizations are known as the top most accrediting agencies across the globe. These are AACSB International, AMBA, and EQUIS.

What does AMBA accreditation mean?

The Association of MBAs (AMBA) certifies postgraduate programmes of management institutions internationally, and acts as a bridge between MBA aspirants and institutes and MBA graduates and employers. AMBA also accredits Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and Master of Business and Management (MBM). It certifies institutions on the basis of quality of faculty, curriculum, students, strategy, student interaction etc. In India about 11 B-schools are AMBA accredited including NMIMS and Great Lakes Institute of Management.

What does AACSB accreditation mean?

Founded in 1916, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is known worldwide as the longest standing and most recognised professional accreditation body in the field of business education at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral level. The US and Singapore-based agency provides accreditation for business and accounting programmes.

As of now, about 756 institutes across the world have AACSB accreditation, while 186 institutions also hold accreditation for accounting programme. In India, only five institutions have been accredited by AACSB, they are - IIM Calcutta, ISB-Hyderabad, IMT-Ghaziabad, T A Pai Management Institute and XLRI, Jamshedpur.

What does EQUIS accreditation mean?

The European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), run by the Brussels-based EFMD Management Development Network offers accreditation to Undergraduate, Graduate, and Doctoral business programmes. EQUIS assesses institutions on the basis of faculty, students, research, e-learning, community outreach etc. EQUIS aims for a balance between high academic quality and the professional relevance for which it lays emphasis on innovation programme design, pedagogy and other aspects. The UK has most number of institutions accredited by EQUIS (26) followed by China (18) and France (17). In India, only five B-Schools have EQUIS accreditation.

Triple Crown: Indian B-schools accredited by AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS

IIM Calcutta was the first management school in India to complete triple accreditation by being recognized by three globally reputed B-school accreditation organizations. Apart from IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore is the only Indian institute to have been awarded triple accreditation (Triple Crown). Given below are the lists of MBA colleges in India accredited by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA.

MBA colleges in India with AMBA accreditation

IIM Calcutta	IIM Lucknow
IIM Indore	IIM Kozhikode
XLRI, Jamshedpur	IMI, New Delhi
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai	Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon
NMIMS School of Business Management, Bangalore	NMIMS School of Business Management, Hyderabad
T. A. Pai Management Institute	MDI, Gurgaon
SPJIMR, Mumbai

MBA colleges in India with AACSB accreditation

IIM Calcutta	IIM Lucknow
IIM Indore	XLRI, Jamshedpur
IMT, Ghaziabad	T A Pai Management Institute
Indian School of Business, Hyderabad	NMIMS-SBM, Mumbai
Amrita School of Business

MBA colleges in India with EQUIS accreditation

IIM Ahmedabad	IIM Bangalore
IIM Calcutta	IIM Indore
Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

Read More:

• IIM Indore receives EQUIS accreditation; second B-school to get triple accreditation
• IIM Lucknow earns AACSB international accreditation
• XLRI earns AACSB accreditation for management, doctoral programmes
• IIM Indore receives international accreditation for four programmes
• Top 3 IIMs obtain EQUIS accreditation
• GLIM’s full-time and executive programmes get AMBA accreditation