This site popped up on my browser...http://www.egs.edu/

I was looking at articles about Jorge Luis Borges when it popped. The European Graduate School... If it seems too good to be true....

The language and plethora of information about accreditation in Switzerland (Me thinks the lady doth protest too much... or a reasonable sentiment) ma. Anyone makes it suspect to me; anyone heard anything?

Thanks.

AAD

 

Here's a short thread from the archives.

http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/22492-any-advice-about-european-graduate-school.html

 

The Dept. of Rhetoric, Composition, and Information Design (RCID) at Clemson University (which is obviously a legit US school) has an acknowledged relationship with EGS:

So Clemson seems comfortable with EGS, which is certainly a good sign. However, there is still the concern that EGS apparently has Swiss cantonal accreditation (somewhat like state approval in the US) , rather than Swiss federal accreditation. Fairly or not, cantonal accreditation may not be accepted as RA-equivalent for all purposes in the US. So an EGS degree might "work" in some situations, but not in others.

 

EGS is eligible to participate in federal student loan programs, and has OPE ID 03518300. I couldn't find when EGS began participating in Title IV programs.

 

According to Wikipedia, EGS is...

... not accredited by the Swiss University Conference, the main regulatory body for universities in Switzerland

And according to the school's website, it is accredited locally by the Canton of Wallis. Is this the equivalent of state accreditation in the U.S... and how would it stand up in a foreign degree audit??

Sources:

Schweizerische Universittskonferenz - Akkreditierung

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Graduate_School

European Graduate School - Accreditation

 

Then why does the European Graduate School's "Accreditation" page repeatedly refer to cantonal "accreditation" ?

While EGS claims that cantonal accreditation is "equivalent to an accreditation at the Federal level", they are apparently pursuing Federal accreditation as well:

 

It's entirely possible for a small, private, cantonally-approved school in Switzerland to also have iron-clad accreditation. For example, Franklin College is a small (enrollment ~ 450) liberal arts college in the Canton of Ticino. But in addition to cantonal approval, Franklin also has the Swiss Federal accreditation that EGS is pursuing, plus Frankliin has US regional accreditation from Middle States CHE. So nobody is going to argue about a Franklin degree. In contrast, an EGS degree does not currently come with that kind of guaranteed recognition, in either the US or Switzerland.

 

There have been quite a few threads over the years about this thing. Here's one that features some seemingly well-informed comments from somebody who enrolled in EGS for a while, but subsequently left.

http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/27705-anyone-heard-european-graduate-school.html

It sounds like EGS hosts a great summer lecture series in scenic Switzerland for those drawn to the trendier reaches of the European intellectual scene. But as a degree-granting graduate school, EGS seemingly leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Thanks to all for your replies and information. I see that my reservations regarding this school are well founded. Thanks again.