opinions on SSBM DBA program?

[EducationSeeker]

Hello,

I am wondering the group's opinions and familiarity with the Swiss School of Business and Management DBA program that is offered through Upgrad (Indian education company I believe)? The total cost of the program is $11,000 USD although I believe the payment plan is only 6 months to 1 year. When I looked at the accreditation, they are accredited by Eduqua which is a Swiss quality certification for educational institutions. They state that on the following webpage https://www.ssbm.ch/accreditations-memberships/ that they are "members" of IACBE and ACBSP. Apparently, I have found out that there is a difference between the program being accredited by ACBSP and just being a member.

Any insight would be appreciated on the reputation of this program. The cost is affordable and it sounds good, but, I am skeptical as I have heard questionable things about the program and Upgrad seems kind of aggressive in calling me back so I am a little gun shy.


Thank you,

Education seeker

[smartdegree]

This looks like one of those grey-area programs like the Spanish titulo propio.  SSBM is a private institution and thus cannot offer "official" or government-recognized degrees.  Here is a good summary:

"private institutions based in Switzerland that are not accredited under the HEdA may only issue private degrees. When it comes to such degrees, generally, the holders can’t carry out a regulated profession in Switzerland (e.g., health, teaching, technology, law, social work); as per unregulated professions, recognition is entirely up to the employer."

https://studyinginswitzerland.com/accred...itzerland/

Below is a list of the state-recognized (HEdA) institutions:
https://www.swissuniversities.ch/en/topi...stitutions

[Courcelles]

To do all the work required of a doctorate, you want a real doctorate. Cheap can be fine, cheap crap is bad. This is cheap crap.

[ashkir]

It isn't accredited. I asked them and WES once like many months ago and they weren't able to produce any real accreditation documents. The degree isn't awarded by the school they advertise the professors from. The professors just "taught" or "learned" from that school. But SSBM isn't accredited itself. If you read closely:

"The Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb is AACSB and EPAS accredited. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)". If you ask them for a degree example, Zagreb is nowhere on it, nothing about cooperation or anything.

[asianphd]

MBA and DBA are not academic degrees, they are professional degrees. Almost any institution could legally confer that degree, especially in European countries. The value and prestige of that degree are purely in the eye of the beholder.

[ss20ts]

MBA and DBA are not academic degrees, they are professional degrees. Almost any institution could legally confer that degree, especially in European countries. The value and prestige of that degree are purely in the eye of the beholder.

That's not how it works in the US. That's probably where many of the issues stem from. Everything isn't viewed the same from around the world. Many people who immigrate to the US find that their degrees aren't valid here. You can be a doctor in another country and come here and find yourself not only not able to practice medicine but that your degrees aren't even enough to get you into med school. Same holds true for many professions here.

[Pats20]

USA degrees and education are best in the world. American degrees may not Be  as cheap as some international programs. Spend the extra and get American quality.

[asianphd]

MBA and DBA are not academic degrees, they are professional degrees. Almost any institution could legally confer that degree, especially in European countries. The value and prestige of that degree are purely in the eye of the beholder.

That's not how it works in the US. That's probably where many of the issues stem from. Everything isn't viewed the same from around the world. Many people who immigrate to the US find that their degrees aren't valid here. You can be a doctor in another country and come here and find yourself not only not able to practice medicine but that your degrees aren't even enough to get you into med school. Same holds true for many professions here.

Yes. That's why some of my Indian friends had a problem with that. Some bachelor's in India is 3 years. Depending on the home university, the degree can be evaluated as USA 4 year bachelor's degree or not. But most often Indian 3 years Bachelor's + 2 years Master's only evaluated as 4 years Bachelor Degree + 1-year graduate study.

Some European countries don't regulate MBA DBA and other professional qualifications at all. So they are perfectly legal.

[rachel83az]

I don't know if US degrees are actually the best in the world. Statistically speaking, there are going to be bigger ratio of poor quality degrees in the US simply because of how many colleges & universities exist in the US vs. in a random country. The US probably has more than 50x as many accredited colleges & universities as any given randomly chosen country. That's 50x as many chances to wind up at a really terrible school.

But I will agree that US degrees at least have the perception of being "high quality" in more places than degrees from other countries would.

[SteveFoerster]

USA degrees and education are best in the world. American degrees may not Be  as cheap as some international programs. Spend the extra and get American quality.

Well, the best universities in the U.S. are the best in the world. But anyone who thinks that Compass Point State University is better regarded than schools like ETH Zurich, the University of Toronto, or the National University of Singapore is making a big mistake.