What is AMBA accreditation, and which schools have it?
AMBA accreditation explained: what it checks, how many schools hold it (305 worldwide), and the AMBA schools you can study with on Gradia.
Last reviewed July 15, 2026 · By Tobias Plewka · How we research this
AMBA is one of the three major international business-school accreditations, alongside AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. It is run by the Association of MBAs, based in London, United Kingdom, and it reviews a school's MBA and postgraduate programmes, rather than the whole school. This report explains, in plain terms, what AMBA actually checks, how many schools hold it, and which AMBA-accredited schools you can study with on Gradia's catalogue.
AMBA is a quality standard run by the Association of MBAs, in London. Unlike the other two, it accredits a school's MBA and postgraduate programmes rather than the whole school. 305 schools hold it worldwide, across 65 countries. On Gradia, 16 schools with executive programs hold AMBA.
What is AMBA accreditation, and what does it check?
AMBA stands for Association of MBAs. It is run by the Association of MBAs, based in London, United Kingdom. It is a quality standard rather than a ranking: a school's MBA and postgraduate programmes, rather than the whole 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, AMBA means the specific MBA or postgraduate programme has passed a peer review of its teaching, faculty and students. It does not mean the whole university was audited. The table below shows, in plain terms, what AMBA looks at.
| What AMBA looks at | In plain terms |
|---|---|
| The MBA portfolio | Are the MBA and postgraduate programmes well designed and taught? |
| Student experience | Do classmates bring real professional experience? |
| Faculty | Are enough of the teaching staff highly qualified? |
| What is reviewed | The programmes themselves, not the whole university. |
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Where are the AMBA schools?
The AMBA directory covers 65 countries, but it is concentrated in a handful. United Kingdom (42), China (40), France (27), India (17) lead. AMBA is British and, unlike the other two, accredits programmes rather than whole schools. The chart shows the countries with the most AMBA schools.
AMBA-accredited schools you can study on Gradia
These 16 schools hold AMBA accreditation and currently offer executive programs on Gradia. Each was checked against the AMBA directory. The list is sorted by country.
| School | Country |
|---|---|
| Cranfield School of Management | United Kingdom |
| Esade Business School | Spain |
| ESMT Berlin | Germany |
| Essec Business School | France |
| Frankfurt School of Finance & Management | Germany |
| Fundação Dom Cabral | Brazil |
| Fundação Getulio Vargas, FGV EAESP | Brazil |
| Gordon Institute of Business Science at UP | South Africa |
| HEC Paris | France |
| Indian Institute of Management Calcutta | India |
| INSEAD | France |
| International Institute for Management Development | Switzerland |
| London Business School | United Kingdom |
| Nova School of Business & Economics | Portugal |
| SDA Bocconi School of Management | Italy |
| University of St. Gallen | Switzerland |
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- AMBA: AMBA Accredited Business Schools (accessed 2026-06-23)
- AMBA: AMBA accreditation criteria (accessed 2026-07-15)