Other accreditation agencies

General questions
  • Posted by Alex on 09/21/14 8:51pm

    Having read the dba DBA ranking article, which specifically mentions the top tier accreditation agencies (AACSB,EQUIS and AMBA), which correlate to a higher tuition fee cost. For those like me, who can’t afford $20k+ in fees, it would be good have an idea of what other accreditation agencies that have a good/ reasonable reputation.
    As it stands it is possible to understand which are the top 3, but being able to make an assessment on any other agencies is hard, there is also a danger of selecting DBA course that isn’t using any recognised accreditation agencies.

    I would be very grateful if someone could list a few more they consider to be at least reputable.

    The course I am considering doing is with horizonsuniversity.org (ACBSP, ECBE ), but I saw one with abmswiss, which is cheaper but only a member (not accredited) with ACBSP. But I don’t even know if ACBSP is a reputable accreditation agency. Any advice greatly welcome.

    • Posted by Thomas Graf on 09/22/14 10:51am

      Hi there,

      thank you for your message. I cannt help you with other accreditation agencies but it shouldn't be too difficult to find out more about them. As a start, just visit the accreditation agencies websites and read about their criteria. As a second advice, check out which other schools have been accredited by the respective accreditation agency.

      Let me emphasize that I am not saying an accreditation is a must. In fact, there may be many non-accredited programs that perfectly fit your preferences. All I am saying is that accreditations can be a nice signal of quality and that the three international accreditations are the most known (and maybe toughest regarding criteria).

      If your target program or the programs you have in your mind do not have an accreditation, just check for alternative signals of quality. How long does the program exist? How many DBA graduates do they have? Does the school allow you to contact some of them so that you can interview them? What overall reputation does the school have (e.g., on its MBA programs)?

      Best wishes,
      Thomas

      By Thomas Graf
      Founder DBA Compass
      Author of the DBA Survey

    • Posted by Mohamed on 11/04/14 2:44pm

      I have finished two years of very hard studying and research in DBA from Cairo university - Egypt, and now i am preparing my DBA thesis in Finance & Investment. I ask about the availability of the accrditation of my DBA certificate to be equivelant to PhD from ranked university, is it available?

    • Posted by Thomas Graf on 11/05/14 6:27pm

      Hi there,

      Could you send me a link to your DBA program, please? I cannot find a description of a DBA program from Cairo university.

      Let me ask you first of all: What exactly do you mean by "accreditation"? Accreditation refers to external agencies (e.g., AACSB, EQUIS, or AMBA) that accredit programs or schools according to regional, national or international management education standards. It has nothing to do with the (potential) equivalence between a PhD or DBA. Please have a look on my accreditation article for more information.

      Finally, a PhD and a DBA are not the same. Please have a look at my PhD-DBA-difference article for more information.

      In some countries, however, PhD and DBA can lead to the same Dr. title - provided that the institution that grants the degree (in your case the Cairo university) is officially recognized by the respective state (in your case, Egypt). In Germany, for instance, you can hold the title "Dr." if you have achieved a DBA or PhD degree from an institution that is either recognized officially in Germany (if it is located in Germany) or that is officially recognized in the respective country (if the institution is outside of Germany).

      I hope I could help you.

      Best wishes,
      Thomas

      By Thomas Graf
      Founder DBA Compass
      Author of the DBA Survey

    • Posted by Michael on 08/21/15 7:46pm

      Reposted as a new topic.
      Thanks