Accreditations & rankings

Triple-accredited and ranked among Europe’s best business schools

Since renowned academic, entrepreneur and politician André Vlerick founded our school in 1953, Vlerick has grown into an independent, international and inclusive institution. We have strong roots with our parent universities, Ghent University and KU Leuven - and we are a statutory registered institution, recognised by the state. But we also have our own reputation for excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship. 

As a Business School in the heart of Europe, we consistently rank among Europe’s best business schools. We’re also part of a select group of business schools worldwide that are triple accredited.

Triple-accredited

We belong to a select group of 1% of business schools worldwide that are accredited by the three major international bodies that assess management education quality: EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. This triple accreditation recognises our commitment to setting the very highest standards in both management education and research. And Vlerick has been a triple crown school for 20 years on end!

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AACSB accredited logo horizontal colour
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  • EQUIS: The European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) assesses, improves and accredits business schools around the world. It is run by EFMD – a global organisation dedicated to management that’s acknowledged by students, academia and the corporate world. We were first awarded the EQUIS quality certification in 2001 and have been fully re-accredited every five years since – in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021.
  • AACSB: The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is a global organisation dedicated to the development of management education and creating the next generation of great leaders. Vlerick received its first AACSB accreditation in 2004 – and our accreditation has been extended every five years since then – in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.
  • AMBA: The Association of MBAs (AMBA) is the international MBA quality certification authority on postgraduate management education. AMBA’s goal is to raise the profile and quality standards of business education worldwide. Vlerick's MBA and Masters in General Management programmes were first awarded a five-year AMBA accreditation in 2001 – and were re-accredited in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021.
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  • NVAO: All of our MBA and Masters programmes are accredited by NVAO – the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders. This quality assurance agency safeguards the quality of higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders by accrediting degree programmes and assessing the quality assurance of higher education institutions.  
  • Vlerick Business School is recognised by the Flemish Parliament Act of 18 May 1999 as a statutory registered institution. This means that we are part of a group of higher education institutions which are recognised by the state. Together with our parent universities KU Leuven and Ghent University, we are authorised to deliver Masters degrees. 

Top-ranked

Ever since our first appearance in the leading management education rankings, we have been ranked among Europe’s best business schools.  However our rankings are only relevant if they are the result of strategic improvements. Our goal is to lead, rather than follow, the process of innovation. 

#1

provider of executive education in Belgium

#12

Online MBA programme in the world

#1

in Belgium for our Masters in Financial Management

Financial Times rankings

The Financial Times (FT) is regarded as one of the world’s leading news organisations – and is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Each year, the FT’s business education department publishes rankings – for both institutions and specific programmes.  


BelgiumEuropeWorld
European Business School ranking 2024133/
MBA rankings


Executive MBA 202412756
Masters rankings


Masters in Management 2024 12022
Masters in Finance 202411922
Executive Education 2024


Open programmes 12027
Customised programmes13549

You can find all the rankings on the FT website.

QS rankings

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) is the world’s leading provider of services, analytics and insight in the higher education sector. They launched the QS World University Rankings portfolio in 2004 – and it has become the world’s most popular source of data comparing universities’ performance.  


Our parent universities

KU LEUVEN logo
Ghent University logo