New DBA on Upgrad by ESGCI

[smartdegree]

The French system is just as confusing as the Spanish one (where there are official and propio degrees). The elite schools in France are not universities, but rather what they call "grandes ecoles". The grandes ecoles offer a variety of degrees - some accredited by the french government, some by the conference of grandes ecoles, and some have no accreditation and are called "private diplomas".

For example, one of the elite schools in France, ESCP, offers online masters without accreditation which is noted in their website as a "private diploma".
This non-accredited degree is particularly popular at ESCP:

https://escp.eu/programmes/executive-mas...l-business
If you go to the fees and financing section, at the bottom you will see:
*ESCP declares that this programme is a private ESCP diploma.

Even if not accredited, ESCP considers graduates of this program as their own masters grads. So they are able to benefit from ESCP's network of alumni and recruiters. So in reality, the concept of non-accredited degrees is not uncommon in France. It really depends on the institution offering it.

Now regarding ESGCI, even if their DBA degree were a private diploma / not accredited, it would still have value because of the degree's affiliation with the ESG Group, which includes the FT-ranked Paris School of Business. However, the recognition might not be as broad as a government accredited one. The only real way to be sure is for someone to have it evaluated by credential evaluators - like propios, some will recognize, others will not. What this DBA certainly is not though is a diploma mill - it seems well structured and organized according to a member of our sister board.