Stetson University’s School of Business Administration has been reaccredited in both business and accounting by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The reaccreditation was received earlier this month following an in-depth review of the business school and visit by an AACSB team.

“AACSB accreditation is the highest level of accreditation for business schools internationally. Stetson School of Business Administration is proud to be among the elite few universities awarded business and accounting accreditation,” said Dr. Stuart Michelson, dean of the School of Business Administration. “This ensures our students experience the highest quality programs taught by our exceptional faculty.”

Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. Only 607 schools of business, or less than 5 percent worldwide, have earned AACSB accreditation in business education. Of those, only 35 private universities internationally – including Stetson – also have accreditation in accounting.

To maintain accreditation, a business program must undergo a rigorous internal review every five years, at which the program must demonstrate its continued commitment to the 21 quality standards relating to faculty qualification, strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement and achievement of learning goals in degree programs.

The first business school in Florida, Stetson’s School of Business Administration was established in 1897 and today offers a wide range of majors in its undergraduate business program, as well as a number of master’s programs. Business and accounting degree programs are rigorous, relevant to emerging trends in the business environment, and supported by strong faculty and academic leadership.

In addition to the traditional MBA, the School of Business Administration offers an Executive MBA, the Master of Accountancy degree (both in class and online), a joint Juris Doctor (law)/MBA degree in conjunction with the Stetson University College of Law and a dual degree Master of Science in Pharmacy and MBA in conjunction with partner school, the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.

Both the JD/MBA and MSP/MBA programs allow a student to complete two master’s level degrees in approximately three years of study. A collaboration between the university’s business and music schools allows a student to earn both an undergraduate music degree and an MBA in five years.

Among the distinctive business programs offered to students at Stetson are the Roland George Investments Institute, through which finance students make investments with real money; the Family Enterprise Center, which boasts the first academic major in family business in the United States; the Joseph C. Prince Entrepreneurship Program; the Stetson Summer Innsbruck Program, offering study-abroad in Austria; and several lecture series featuring top business executives.

The School of Business Administration requires an international business course of all undergraduate students and also offers many shorter field studies abroad each year, for both undergrads and graduate students. Countries visited through field studies this year included Japan, China, South Africa, Malaysia/Vietnam and Hong Kong. Additionally, all Stetson business students take a First Year Business Seminar designed to introduce new students to the business disciplines, as well as two shorter courses that transition them through their Stetson program.

The School of Business Administration is housed in the Lynn Business Center, which opened in 2002 and provides a modern and flexible instructional and work environment. The facility reflects Stetson’s commitment to small class sizes and collaborative faculty-student teaching and learning – and also provides the current technology to meet emerging needs in business education. The LBC was the first building in Florida to earn Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

To learn more about AACSB International accreditation, visit the accreditation section of the AACSB International Web site at: http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/.