 MBA ACCREDITATION |
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MBA Accreditation
On this page:
Complete list of accredited MBA programmes
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Introduction to MBA Accreditation |
The Association’s MBA Accreditation service has been running since the early 1980s. We currently accredit MBA programmes at more than 140 schools in over 65 countries around the world. Schools wishing to apply for accreditation of their MBA programmes should carefully review the information on this page. Please contact Dr Robert Owen, Director of Accreditation and Academic Relations, if you require any further information about our accreditation service.
The current MBA criteria, launched in March 2005, have been revised by the senior academics that sit on the International Accreditation Advisory Board (IAAB), following extensive consultation with employers and all institutions offering accredited MBAs. The majority of changes have been made to differentiate the post-experience MBA from the increasing number of Masters in Business and Management (MBM) degrees, to provide clarity in a diverse market place.
Please download our complete MBA criteria, and additional criteria for Distance Learning MBAs.
Our Accreditation criteria focus on every aspect of MBA provision at the candidate institution. These include:
The Institution
The institution offering an MBA should have a clear strategy and mission, explicitly expressed and regularly updated. It will have a clear understanding of the market for its products. This will include a means of regular access to employer opinion. The institution should have its own identity and an adequate degree of independence from any larger institutional structure of which it may be a part, as well as secured financial viability and institutional continuity.
Faculty
The faculty should be large enough to fully resource the institution’s activities. There should be a critical mass that will be sufficient to ensure the institution is of national (and potentially) international standing. Staff should be credible in terms of their academic qualifications, their ability to teach business at postgraduate level, the quality of their research and the extent of their business contacts and consultancy activities. At least 75% of faculty should have a Masters or Doctoral degree in a discipline relevant to the subject for which they are responsible, and the majority should hold a doctorate.
Students
As the MBA is a post-experience, postgraduate degree, students admitted onto an accredited MBA must have a minimum of 3 years work experience, with the cohort averaging 5 years experience. Evidence will be required to show rigour in admissions standards, which must include academic criteria as well as work experience. The student body must be substantial and varied enough to form a critical mass and emphasis is placed on the value of peer group exposure, therefore, a minimum annual intake of 20 is sought.
Curriculum
The curriculum should be generalist in nature and must cover the core business skills: marketing, the economic and legal environment of a business, accounting and quantitative methods, finance, organisational theory, interpersonal skills, information technology, and the processes and practices of management. Each core subject should be addressed by a course of instruction, although integration of these core subjects must also be addressed.
Increasingly over recent years, some aspects of the curriculum have gained special attention. Firstly, that it should reflect the increasingly international aspect of business, secondly, that it should pay attention to ethical and social issues, and thirdly, that it should include the so-called ‘soft’ largely interpersonal skills of management in practice.
The total number of contact hours should not be fewer than 500 for a full-time MBA. The MBA should be of at least one year’s duration where taken full-time and two-years where taken part-time.
Assessment
The assessment scheme should reflect the particular aims, characteristics, and learning outcomes of the course. Individual examinations should play a significant role in any such scheme since they are seen as testing intellectual rigour under controlled conditions. While innovation in assessment methods is welcomed, particularly where new teaching and learning methods are being used, detailed evaluation by the school of such innovations will also be looked for.
Additional Factors
Accreditation is also based on factors such as the availability of language teaching, library and computer facilities and international contacts. The extent to which students’ reactions are taken into account in the continuing process of course design and improvement is also important.
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Downloads of Further Information |
Our accreditation process is extremely thorough. We aim to be as transparent as possible about our procedures with candidate schools. Please download details of our accreditation process, and a comprehensive process diagram, for your information. If you have any questions about any aspect of our accreditation process, please contact the accreditation team.
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