Accreditation and rankings
A worldwide reputation
The University of Exeter Business School is proud to be triple accredited by AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA. These accreditations are the highest possible standards for business schools, and they demonstrate our commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and student outcomes.
Learn more about the Business School's league table rankings.
Accreditations
AACSB
AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
AACSB International is the world’s largest business education alliance, connecting educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to more than 1,600 organisations and over 800 accredited business schools worldwide
EQUIS
EQUIS - EFMD Quality Improvement System
EQUIS is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration. EQUIS is run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and its fundamental objective is to raise the standard of management education worldwide. By attending an EQUIS accredited school, students can be assured that they are part of a high-quality institution.
AMBA
AMBA - Association of MBAs
The Association of MBAs is the international impartial authority on postgraduate business education. AMBA's accreditation service is the global standard for all MBA, DBA and MBM programmes. Through this accreditation, students and alumni benefit from access to world-class events and prestigious networking opportunities.
UN-PRME
UN-PRME for United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education
The Business School is a signatory of UN-PRME highlighting our commitment to inspire and champion responsible management education, research and thought leadership globally.
IEMA
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
Accreditation by IEMA demonstrates our commitment to environment and sustainability management, one reason why we attract the brightest students. Furthermore, it entitles all of these students free IEMA student membership throughout the whole duration of their degree, providing them with a significant benefit and resources.
Rankings
The University of Exeter Business School was named Business School of the Year in the 2022 Times Higher Education Awards.
The Exeter MBA and Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship retain their positions in CEO Magazine's 2024 rankings. The Exeter MBA has again been awarded "Tier One" status and recognised among the leading MBA programmes in the world by CEO Magazine’s 2024 Global MBA rankings. The Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship programme moves to the top 50 Global Online MBAs, moving up to 26th place.
Scores were based on each school’s performance in quality of faculty, international diversity, class size, accreditation, faculty to student ratio, price, international exposure, work experience, professional development, gender parity and delivery methods.
The complete CEO Magazine 2024 Global MBA Rankings can be viewed in the latest edition of CEO Magazine, available here.
The Exeter MBA ranked No.1 in the UK and 10th globally in Corporate Knights' 2024 Better World MBA Ranking.
The Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking is an annual ranking that evaluates MBA programmes globally on how well they integrate sustainability, responsible business practices, and social impact into their curriculum and operations.
‘Your MBA program is one of the best in the world at instilling holistic purpose in tomorrow’s leaders and ensuring they have the skills and values to build a more inclusive economy that benefits society and the natural world.’
Toby Heaps, CEO & Publisher, Corporate Knights Inc.
The University of Exeter Business School’s MBA programme achieved a top 250 place in the 2025 QS World University Rankings and 64th in Europe.
The rankings include full-time MBA programmes and are collated using data on employability, entrepreneurship, ROI, thought leadership and diversity collected by QS research analysts.
Our MBA is fully accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), as it has been since its creation. In 2011 our award-winning One Planet MBA programme was presented with a "Highly Commended Award for Innovation" by AMBA, and The Exeter MBA continues to build on that success.
The University of Exeter Business School’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability has been rewarded with a nomination for the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2025, having been shortlisted in the category Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative 2025 for the Global Sustainability Challenge (GSC).
Find the full story on our news page.
Positive Impact Rating (PIR) – introduced in the 2022/23 academic year. The PIR is a student-run survey that evaluates business schools based on their societal impact and commitment to continuous improvement. Unlike traditional rankings, PIR emphasises purpose-driven education, aligning with the UN-Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2024 we retained our Tier 4 ‘Transforming School’ status with an overall score of 8.1 (+0.4 above the average).
We were delighted that one of our students was nominated for the AMBA Student of the Year Award in 2024. Although she did not go on to win, this is still a very great achievement, particularly as she was studying against the backdrop of being a refugee from war-torn Ukraine.
