What is EQUIS accreditation, and which schools have it?
EQUIS accreditation explained: what it checks, how many schools hold it (240 worldwide), and the EQUIS schools you can study with on Gradia.
Last reviewed July 15, 2026 · By Tobias Plewka · How we research this
EQUIS is one of the three major international business-school accreditations, alongside AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. It is run by EFMD, the European Foundation for Management Development, based in Brussels, Belgium, and it reviews the whole business school. This report explains, in plain terms, what EQUIS actually checks, how many schools hold it, and which EQUIS-accredited schools you can study with on Gradia's catalogue.
EQUIS is a quality standard run by EFMD, the European Foundation for Management Development. It reviews the whole business school, with weight on international reach and business ties. 240 schools hold it worldwide across 45 countries, and few are in the United States. On Gradia, 26 schools with executive programs hold EQUIS.
What is EQUIS accreditation, and what does it check?
EQUIS stands for EFMD Quality Improvement System. It is run by EFMD, the European Foundation for Management Development, based in Brussels, Belgium. 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, EQUIS means an independent panel confirmed the school works at a high international standard and stays connected to real business, not just classroom theory. The table below shows, in plain terms, what EQUIS looks at.
| What EQUIS looks at | In plain terms |
|---|---|
| Strategy and governance | Is the school well run against a clear strategy? |
| Internationalisation | Are the faculty, students, partners and research genuinely international? |
| Corporate connections | Does the school work closely with real businesses? |
| Ethics and responsibility | Are ethics, responsibility and sustainability built into the school? |
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Where are the EQUIS schools?
The EQUIS directory covers 45 countries, but it is concentrated in a handful. United Kingdom (33), China (32), France (25), Australia (14) lead. EQUIS is European in origin, puts real weight on international reach, and is rare among United States schools. The chart shows the countries with the most EQUIS schools.
EQUIS-accredited schools you can study on Gradia
These 26 schools hold EQUIS accreditation and currently offer executive programs on Gradia. Each was checked against the EQUIS directory. The list is sorted by country.
| School | Country |
|---|---|
| Cambridge Judge Business School | United Kingdom |
| China Europe International Business School | China |
| 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 |
| IESE Business School | Spain |
| Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad | India |
| Indian Institute Of Management Bangalore | India |
| Indian Institute of Management Calcutta | India |
| INSEAD | France |
| International Institute for Management Development | Switzerland |
| London Business School | United Kingdom |
| Melbourne Business School | Australia |
| National University of Singapore Business School | Singapore |
| Nova School of Business & Economics | Portugal |
| Oxford Saïd Business School | United Kingdom |
| SDA Bocconi School of Management | Italy |
| Stockholm School of Economics | Sweden |
| University of St. Gallen | Switzerland |
| WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Management | Germany |
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- EFMD: EQUIS Accredited Schools (accessed 2026-06-23)
- EFMD: EQUIS accreditation criteria (accessed 2026-07-15)