Accreditation and rankings

Our rankings and accreditations reflect our commitment to excellence and provide a benchmark for our continuous development. They validate the quality of our programs, the expertise of our faculty, and the success of our graduates, thus enhancing our global reputation.

ESMT Berlin and its programs are accredited nationally and internationally. We have the prestigious Triple Crown of accreditations from AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS – a title shared by less than one percent of the world’s business schools. In 2024, the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) reaccredited ESMT for another 10 years with no conditions. The council’s decision is based on our exceptional academic performance and globally recognized excellence in research and teaching, confirming our right to award PhDs and eliminating the need for future reaccreditation.

Financial Times rankings

The Financial Times (FT) rankings are regarded as the gold standard for business schools. ESMT participates in the FT rankings of full-time MBA, executive MBA, master’s in management, and open and customized executive education programs, as well as the composite ranking of European business schools.

ESMT first entered the FT executive education ranking as a very young school in 2009. Three years later, our EMBA program was ranked, followed by our full-time MBA in 2014. These showed our growing reputation and solidified our position in the global business education landscape. Finally, in 2019, our master’s in management program entered the FT rankings, showcasing our dedication to delivering top quality education across all experience levels.

A decade after our first FT ranking, we achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first German business school to join the elite ranks of the European top ten. We were the highest-ranked German business school for five consecutive years. Our master in management program climbed to #10 globally in 2022. Our programs have been consistently recognized for their excellence, each milestone reflecting our strategic efforts to enhance our programs.

For the Financial Times rankings alumni are surveyed three years after graduation with significant emphasis on their success, including career progression, salary increases, and overall satisfaction with the program. The quality and impact of the research produced by the institutions also play a crucial role in the rankings. Read more about the ranking methodology of the Financial Times.

European Business Schools

Rank in 2024

#2 in Germany
#19 in Europe

Global MBA

Rank in 2022

#88*.

*We made a strategic decision to extend our full-time MBA program, enhancing it for our students by including internships, exchange programs, and other opportunities. As a result of this extension, ESMT does not appear in the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking for 2023 or 2024. Despite demonstrating our ability to run a sustainable, sizeable program each year, the technicality of having no graduates in 2020 led to our exclusion from the ranking. We will be back in the FT Global MBA Ranking stronger than ever in 2025!