Master program of economics of Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) has been reaccredited on December 10 for the 5-year period of EPAS accreditation under the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) accreditation system.

 
Founded in 1971, EFMD sets its mission to advance the development of management and business programs in the world. Its EFMD program accreditation is known as the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of business programs. An accredited institution must enter a process of re-accreditation every three or five years in order to maintain its accredited status.
 
This September, the EFMD Peer Review Team conducted an online review of PHBS economics program for the re-accreditation, during which they met with school deans, management team, faculty members of economics program, staff members, students, alumni, and company representatives via Zoom meeting. The re-accreditation review covered the school’s teaching quality, academic assessment, students’ development, internationalization, graduate placement, IT resources, among others.
 
Located in Shenzhen, China's first Special Economic Zone, PHBS is posed to leverage its strength in the Pearl River Delta, making it an ideal setting for studying the advance topics in finance, economics, and management– where coursework for its master’s programs is conducted in English. Over the past year, PHBS faculty members have published papers in top-tier international academic journals, and the school has established several high-level think tanks, including the Sargent Institute of Quantitative Economics and Finance.
 
With high recognition to the school’s teaching quality, academic development, internationalization, EFMD accepted PHBS as its official member in December 2009, and conferred EPAS accreditation to its master of economics program in September 2011, making PHBS the first EPAS-accredited higher education institution in mainland China.
 
University accreditation is important, serving as a quality indicator for prospective students and employers. Holding multiple accreditations, then, speaks volumes about the institution’s standards and practices. In addition to EFMD, PHBS holds AMBA and AACSB accreditations, granted by the two largest and most influential business school accreditation organizations, namely, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and the Association of MBAs. AMBA credits the MBA portfolio within a business school, while AACSB grants university-wide accreditation, the hallmark of excellence in business education worldwide.

By Annie Jin