Smurfit and Quinn Schools among elite schools – London Business School, Oxford, Cambridge, INSEAD and IMD with five year review intervals

Thursday, 17th December, 2015: UCD College of Business, which incorporates UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business, has secured renewal of a major independent accreditation, EQUIS, from EFMD for a further five-year period. This achievement ensures UCD College of Business remains the only business school in Ireland (and one of less than 60 worldwide) to hold the accreditation from three centres of business and academic excellence: EQUIS (Europe); AACSB (US); and AMBA (UK).

In a major vote of confidence by the EFMD the accreditation review period has been retained at five years and, with this, UCD Business remains among a select few elite European business schools such as: London Business School; Saïd Business School, Oxford University; Judge School of Business, Cambridge University; INSEAD; and IMD who require review at five year intervals only.

The rigorous accreditation process undertaken by EFMD scrutinises many different aspects of business schools’ programmes and requires applicant and accredited schools to undergo a selective continuous improvement process. Both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, along with research and executive education are reviewed as part of the assessment. Attaining and retaining EQUIS accredited status allows UCD Business to rightly position itself as one of the world’s best business schools, reflecting the excellence of the education it offers.

Commenting on the announcement, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean, UCD Business said: “The third full renewal of our EQUIS accreditation is an endorsement of UCD Business’ constant efforts and focus on consistently achieving the highest quality standards in research and teaching for our students. The EQUIS accreditation, which is awarded only after a rigorous peer review, ensures that UCD Business remains positioned among the world’s top business school. Our students, alumni, faculty, staff, corporate partners and other supporters can be immensely proud of that achievement.”

UCD College of Business first obtained EQUIS accreditation in 2000; it was renewed in 2005 and again in 2010. The next review is due in 2020. 

In announcing that UCD Business has been accredited for a further period of five years, Professor Michael Osbaldeston, the EFMD Director of Quality Services, added: “I would like to congratulate UCD Business on a successful reaccreditation process. EQUIS accreditation ensures a rigorous quality improvement process, involving a thorough self-assessment, a visit of an international peer review team, and finally a very experienced Awarding Body evaluating the assessment and findings of the review team to determine whether the School should be granted accreditation. EQUIS benchmarks the School against international standards in terms of governance, programmes, faculty, students, research, and foremost, corporate engagement, internationalisation and ethics, responsibility and sustainability. There are currently no substitutes for such an in-depth assessment of quality and UCD Business should be commended for their commitment to excellence."

Three months ago UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School also successfully completed a Peer Review to remain a member of the CEMS alliance, one of only 39 partner schools worldwide and the only Irish business school to have been admitted to CEMS which is dedicated to educating and preparing future generations of global business leaders to enter into a multilingual, multicultural and interconnected business world.

Last week UCD Smurfit School was confirmed in 36th place in The Financial Times European business school rankings 2015 and was the only Irish college featured in the annual ranking of the 85 top business schools across Europe. UCD’s full-time MBA programme is ranked 23rd in Europe, while its Executive MBA programme is 39th.