![]() Association of MBAs | |
Abbreviation | AMBA |
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Formation | 1967 |
Purpose | Business school accreditation and membership |
Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Region served | Global |
Members |
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Key people |
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Website | associationofmbas.com |
TheAssociation of MBAs (AMBA) is a global organisation headquartered inLondon,UK. It was founded in 1967 with the primary objective ofaccrediting Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs.
Based in London, AMBA is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in business education (seetriple accreditation) and styles itself as the world's impartial authority on postgraduate management education. It differs fromAACSB in theUS andEQUIS inBrussels as it accredits a school's portfolio of postgraduate management programmes but does not accredit undergraduate programmes. AMBA accredits approximately 2% of the world's business schools,[1] and is the most international of the three organisations having accredited schools headquartered in 54 countries, compared with the 52 for AACSB[2] and 38 for EQUIS.[3]
Business schools can become associated with AMBA by applying for accreditation or by applying to be part of the AMBA Development Network.[citation needed]
All MBA students and alumni of the277 accredited member schools receive free life-long individual AMBA membership. AMBA also accredits generalistBBA programmes,MBA programmes andDBA programmes, and admits as members students and graduates thereof.[citation needed]
AMBA's long-serving president until 2017 was the lateSir Paul Judge, the founding benefactor ofCambridge Judge Business School in Cambridge, UK.[4] AMBA's current Chief Executive is Andrew Main Wilson,[5] who joined the organisation from theInstitute of Directors in 2013. Bodo Schlegelmilch was elected Chairman of the AMBA Board of Trustees in 2018.[6]
The Association of MBAs was founded in 1967 as an MBA alumni club by eightUK graduates fromHarvard Business School,Wharton,Stanford andColumbia, and two graduates from the first intake ofLondon Business School. The founders saw a lack of awareness inEurope of the value of the MBA degree, which at that time was primarily an American qualification. They decided to form a lobby and membership group to promote the benefits of postgraduate business education, under the name ofBusiness Graduates Association (BGA).[7] The organisation's development helped shape the growth of management education in Europe and the UK and coincided with the setting up and growth ofLondon Business School andManchester Business School in Britain.[citation needed]
The Association's first Director General was Vice-AdmiralDavid Clutterbuck who assumed this position in 1969.[8] In 1983 BGA began to accredit the growing number ofMBA programmes, while preserving its functions as a membership organization.BGA was renamedAssociation of MBAs in 1987.[9] Until 2017, AMBA's president was the lateSir Paul Judge, who helped establishCambridge Judge Business School atCambridge University in the early 1990s.[citation needed]
The Association of MBAs accredits MBA, MBM and DBA degree programmes. When a school applies for accreditation for its MBA programmes, AMBA requires that the entire portfolio of MBA programmes be put up for consideration and will award accreditation only if all programmes meet its criteria (though the school pays the same fee regardless of the number of programmes being reviewed).
The Association's process of accrediting a school's MBA programmes portfolio includes reviewing compliance AMBA's criteria, most of them qualitative rather than quantitative. The criteria fall into seven dimensions: history and development of the institution; facilities and libraries; teaching faculty, teaching standards and research track record; programme administration, career and alumni services; student admission standards, diversity and cohort size; curriculum content, programme mode and duration; and learning outcomes.
Some of the key AMBA criteria for the accreditation of an MBA programme include:
AMBA holds three annual conferences for business school deans and directors:[10] a Global Conference, an Asia Pacific Conference, and a Latin America Conference. Participation is open to both accredited and non-accredited schools. AMBA also hosts an annual Gala Dinner in London, which is open only to accredited schools.[citation needed]
AMBA organises two annual global forums with the purpose of development and training for specific functions within AMBA-accredited business schools such as accreditation managers; programme managers; marketing, admissions, alumni and development staff.[citation needed]
AMBA also organises webinars, lectures and networking events on a regular basis catering to MBA alumni, current MBA students, prospective MBA students and business school admissions departments. These on-campus events are held at accredited business schools and often feature distinguished speakers and practitioners in fields such as leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation.[citation needed]
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