What is AACSB accreditation, and which schools have it?
AACSB accreditation explained: what it checks, how many schools hold it (1084 worldwide), and the AACSB schools you can study with on Gradia.
Last reviewed July 15, 2026 · By Tobias Plewka · How we research this
AACSB is one of the three major international business-school accreditations, alongside AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. It is run by AACSB International, based in the United States, and it reviews the whole business school. This report explains, in plain terms, what AACSB actually checks, how many schools hold it, and which AACSB-accredited schools you can study with on Gradia's catalogue.
AACSB is a quality standard awarded by AACSB International. It reviews the whole business school against a fixed set of criteria. 1,084 business schools hold it worldwide, across 70 countries. AACSB is the oldest and largest of the three, and by far the most common in the United States. On Gradia, 33 schools with executive programs are AACSB-accredited.
What is AACSB accreditation, and what does it check?
AACSB stands for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. It is run by AACSB International, based in the United States. It is a quality standard rather than a ranking: the whole business school is reviewed by a peer team against a fixed set of criteria, then re-reviewed every few years to keep the accreditation. In plain terms, AACSB means a school's faculty, curriculum and student outcomes have been independently checked by peers, and the school has to keep proving it improves. The table below shows, in plain terms, what AACSB looks at.
| What AACSB looks at | In plain terms |
|---|---|
| Faculty | Are the professors well qualified and active in research or practice? |
| Curriculum | Is what is taught current and matched to the school's mission? |
| Teaching and outcomes | Is teaching strong, and do students learn what is intended? |
| Continuous improvement | Does the school keep raising its own standards over time? |
Find your next programme
Not sure where to start?
Answer three quick questions about topic, format, and location, and we’ll open a matching shortlist from our catalogue.
Where are the AACSB schools?
The AACSB directory covers 70 countries, but it is concentrated in a handful. United States (558), China (54), United Kingdom (51), India (30) lead. AACSB is the oldest and largest of the three, and by far the most common in the United States. The chart shows the countries with the most AACSB schools.
AACSB-accredited schools you can study on Gradia
These 33 schools hold AACSB accreditation and currently offer executive programs on Gradia. Each was checked against the AACSB directory. The list is sorted by country.
| School | Country |
|---|---|
| Carnegie Mellon: Tepper | United States |
| Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management | United States |
| China Europe International Business School | China |
| Columbia Business School | United States |
| Cranfield School of Management | United Kingdom |
| Esade Business School | Spain |
| ESMT Berlin | Germany |
| Essec Business School | France |
| Frankfurt School of Finance & Management | Germany |
| Fundação Getulio Vargas, FGV EAESP | Brazil |
| Gordon Institute of Business Science at UP | South Africa |
| Harvard Business School | United States |
| HEC Paris | France |
| IESE Business School | Spain |
| Indian Institute of Management Calcutta | India |
| INSEAD | France |
| International Institute for Management Development | Switzerland |
| Kellogg School of Management | United States |
| London Business School | United Kingdom |
| Melbourne Business School | Australia |
| Michigan Ross | United States |
| National University of Singapore Business School | Singapore |
| Nova School of Business & Economics | Portugal |
| Oxford Saïd Business School | United Kingdom |
| Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business | United States |
| SDA Bocconi School of Management | Italy |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | United States |
| UBC Sauder School of Business | Canada |
| UC Berkeley Haas | United States |
| UCLA Anderson | United States |
| University of St. Gallen | Switzerland |
| Wharton Executive Education | United States |
| WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Management | Germany |
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- AACSB: AACSB Accredited Business Schools (accessed 2026-06-23)
- AACSB: AACSB Accreditation standards (accessed 2026-07-15)