The University of Cologne, established in 1388, is one of Europe's oldest and most prominent universities. It is Germany's third-largest university with about 49,000 students. Additionally, it is the CEMS - the Global Alliance in Management Education - founding member from Germany. The University of Cologne is distinguished by its extensive history and accomplishments in the academic management education field. The University of Cologne, which is ranked second in Germany by WirtschaftsWoche, is one of the most research-intensive German-speaking universities in business administration.
The WiSo Faculty is one of the biggest and most well-known faculties of management, economics, and social sciences in Europe, with about 10,000 students and about 100 professors. The WiSo Faculty enjoys a stellar reputation for teaching both domestically and internationally. It has been one of the six German business schools with EQUIS accreditation since 2012. The WiSo Faculty was Germany's second public institution of higher learning to get the esteemed EQUIS stamp of approval. The Business School has been asked by the University of Cologne to adapt executive education to this quality standard.
The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) granted official accreditation to the Faculty of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences in 2012 and presented it with an EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) certificate. This is a unique emblem of acknowledgment for their high standards of excellence. Only six business schools in Germany presently hold this distinction, including the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne.