IMD business school for management and leadership courses
Accreditations & Rankings
Swiss accreditation
In early 2023, we celebrated our accreditation as a University Institute by the Swiss Accreditation Council.
Dean of Innovation and Programs David Bach described the accreditation as an “important milestone” in the institute’s development, while Dean of Research Anand Narasimhan remarked that it affirmed the school’s “identity as a world-class academic institution.”
Since the accreditation, faculty and staff have been involved in developing new programs that will offer open program Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) credentials validated by the certification.
EFMD EQUIS reaccreditation
In October 2023, the prestigious European Foundation for Management Development renewed our EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System) accreditation for a maximum of five years.
President Jean-François Manzoni celebrated the reaccreditation by saying, “We are delighted to have retained our EQUIS accreditation with distinction. This seal of excellence recognizes our outstanding participants and alumni as well as the committed work of our Faculty and staff in developing leaders who transform organizations and contribute to society.”
The October reaccreditation followed a late spring review visit during which two business school experts visited IMD’s Lausanne campus and interviewed 32 senior leadership, faculty, and staff members. The reviewers concluded that IMD exceeded the standards and was an exemplar of best practices in internationalization, research impact, and connections with practice.
Accreditations
IMD is accredited as a university institute by the Swiss Accreditation Council under Switzerland’s Federal Higher Education Act. The accreditation confirms the institute’s ability to ensure the high quality of its teaching, research, and services.
IMD maintains accreditations from the world’s three leading business education associations: AACSB International, EFMD EQUIS, and AMBA.
- AACSB International: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
- EFMD EQUIS: European Foundation for Management Development Quality Improvement System
- AMBA: Association of MBAs
IMD holds a gold medal from sustainability rating leader EcoVadis, which assesses 100,000+ companies globally across the four dimensions of the environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. The institute rates in the top 5% of all educational sector enterprises assessed by EcoVadis.
The institute’s information security and data protection policies and practices are certified as meeting ISO 27001 Information Security Management and ISO 27701 Privacy Management standards.
IMD was recognized as one of the inaugural VAUD+ ambassadors. The VAUD+ marque is a prestigious label of recognition in the Swiss ecosystem.
The Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) is a United Nations-supported initiative founded to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world. IMD is an advanced signatory to the PRME principles, and in 2023, the institute was selected as a PRME Champion.
The Business School Impact System label from the European Foundation for Management Development distinguishes business schools that are leading the way in measuring their impacts.
The institute’s information security and data protection policies and practices are certified as meeting ISO 27001 Information Security Management and ISO 27701 Privacy Management standards.
Our top rankings
IMD’s commitment to excellence is reflected in sustained top rankings from the Financial Times and other influential business publications.
Across multiple rankings, IMD routinely ranks among the best in international faculty and the international diversity of participants.
High sub-scores drive our top places in the Financial Times Open and Custom program rankings in the categories assessing faculty quality, teaching materials and methods, and aims achieved.
Here are some selected results:
- #6 worldwide for combined ranking (open and custom programs) – 2023 (Financial Times) in the top six for 24 years
- #1 MBA international one-year program in the latest ranking (2019) published by Forbes
- #3 MBA program in Europe – 2023-2023 (Bloomberg Businessweek)
- #1 for criteria in international faculty, #3 for international students, and #6 for international mobility – 2023 (Financial Times)
- 89% on aims achieved
- Overall satisfaction of 9.53 out of 10
- In the top three in Europe – 2023-2024 (Poets&Quants)
- #1 for criteria on international faculty and faculty with doctorates (100%), #2 for work experience, and #5 for international students – 2023 (Financial Times)
- Overall satisfaction of 9.57 out of 10