Why Choose SUMAS? Accreditation, Campuses, Careers

What Is SUMAS?

SUMAS – Sustainability Management School is a private business school in Switzerland that specialises exclusively in sustainability management, teaching in English at bachelor, master, doctorate and certificate level. SUMAS operates two European campuses: the Lake Geneva campus in Gland, canton of Vaud, and a city campus in Milan, Italy. Every SUMAS degree sits within one discipline — business management taught through an environmental, social and governance lens — rather than a general business curriculum with a sustainability elective attached. SUMAS has been a participant in the United Nations Global Compact since 5 June 2012 and a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) since June 2012, and both commitments are listed independently on the respective United Nations registries. SUMAS is also registered with the Swiss Private School Register and accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The institution's standing is documented on independent international registries, which gives students and employers a consistent reference point.

Why Do Students Choose SUMAS?

Students choose SUMAS for a combination of subject focus, verifiable credentials and format flexibility rather than for any single feature. Sustainability management is a young discipline, and applicants face a market in which a general business degree can be relabelled after adding one environmental, social and governance module. SUMAS takes the opposite structural position: the discipline is the whole curriculum, not a specialisation attached to a conventional programme. That focus is paired with an internationally recognised programmatic accreditation, two European campuses, fully online equivalents of the on-campus degrees, and a documented set of student services running from programme selection through to graduate employment. The reasons below are drawn from what SUMAS publishes about its programmes, campuses, funding and services, and each one is documented in a public source, an official registry or a published rate card:

• Single-discipline focus: every SUMAS degree is built around sustainability management rather than treating it as an elective.
• ACBSP accreditation held since 2016, covering the BBA, MAM and MBA programmes.
• Two European campuses — Gland on Lake Geneva and Milan — plus fully online and livestreamed versions of the same degrees.
• All teaching in English, with several intakes spread across the year rather than a single autumn start.
• Applied industry projects with organisations including Migros, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and MUDEC.
• Six named scholarships worth up to CHF 2,100 / €2,100 for master applicants and up to CHF 3,300 / €3,300 across a three-year bachelor.
• An internship and professional development programme combining a placement with structured career coaching.
• Stackable ten-week online certificate courses worth three university credits each, applicable toward a full MBA or CAS.
• A published alumni directory of several hundred profiles naming employers, roles, countries and graduation years.

Is SUMAS Accredited and Recognised?

SUMAS holds accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), granted in 2016, and is a registered member of the Swiss Private School Register. ACBSP is a specialised accreditor for business education that evaluates teaching quality and measurable learning outcomes, and it accredits business, accounting and business-related programmes at associate, baccalaureate, master and doctorate level worldwide. ACBSP has itself been recognised by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) since January 2001, with CHEA's most recent recognition action taken in October 2021 for a seven-year term. The Swiss Private School Register, established in 2006 by the Swiss Federation of Private Schools, the hospitality association hotelleriesuisse and an educational foundation, certifies standards of educational service within the Swiss private education sector and exists partly to protect Switzerland's reputation as a centre for high-quality education. The table below sets out which body covers what.

What Public Quality Disclosures Does SUMAS Publish?

SUMAS backs its quality claims with published documents, so the full record behind the accreditation is available to read. Under ACBSP requirements, SUMAS publishes Standard 6 – Organizational Performance Results in its 2024 edition, and Standard 7 – Student Achievement (Table 7.1) in its 2025 edition, which discloses job placement, employment advancement, retention and graduation data. Both documents are downloadable from the SUMAS accreditation page. As a PRME signatory, SUMAS files a Sharing Information on Progress (SIP) report every two years: the PRME registry lists SUMAS reports for 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2026, the most recent submitted on 16 July 2026, and classifies SUMAS as a Communicating Signatory. The United Nations Global Compact participant directory lists SUMAS as a Switzerland-based participant that joined on 5 June 2012. A school that teaches corporate accountability applies the same disclosure discipline to itself, and that consistency is part of what a SUMAS credential carries.

Where Can You Study at SUMAS?

SUMAS teaches on two European campuses and online. The Lake Geneva campus sits at Route de Suisse 35 in Gland, canton of Vaud, on the lakeshore between Geneva and Lausanne. Travel times are short: five minutes to Nyon and fifteen minutes to central Geneva by car, fifteen minutes to Morges and twenty-five minutes to Lausanne by train, which places the international organisations clustered around Geneva within commuting distance. Student accommodation near the Gland campus includes the SLC Residence and Residence Butterfly. The Milan city campus is at Via Solari 11, inside Milan's fashion, art and design district, close to the Navigli quarter, BASE Milano and MUDEC, the city's Museum of Cultures; furnished apartments are arranged there through partner services. The two locations suit different ambitions: Milan for students targeting sustainable fashion, design and brand work, Gland for students targeting policy, diplomacy and international-organisation careers.

Which Study Formats Does SUMAS Offer?

SUMAS delivers its degrees in four formats, and the format chosen does not change the qualification awarded. On-campus study takes place in Gland or Milan. Online instructor-led study follows the same curriculum with scheduled teaching, livestreaming lets a remote student join a campus cohort in real time, and hybrid combinations are available for students who alternate between work and campus periods. Teaching is in English across all formats. Intakes run several times a year rather than once each autumn, which matters to a professional who cannot wait nine months for the next cycle. The MBA in Sustainability Management, for example, runs twelve months and carries 42 US credits. SUMAS online certificate courses carry no "online" label on the certificate or the transcript, so an employer reads the qualification itself rather than the delivery mode.

What Programs Does SUMAS Offer?

SUMAS offers qualifications at five academic levels, all within sustainability management. The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) runs three years. The Master of Arts in Management (MAM) and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) are graduate routes of roughly twelve to eighteen months, the MAM oriented toward management practice and the MBA toward general management leadership. The Doctorate in Sustainability Management (DBA) serves senior practitioners pursuing applied research, and the Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) is a shorter executive credential. Across bachelor and master level, SUMAS runs four specialisation tracks: sustainability management, sustainable fashion management, sustainable hospitality and tourism management, and sustainable finance and digital innovation. Most master programmes exist in both on-campus and fully online versions. Three routes sit outside the degree ladder: a foundation and bridge year, an internship and professional development programme, and Career-related Studies for the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme.

What Student Services and Support Does SUMAS Provide?

SUMAS support services span the full student journey, from programme selection through to graduate employment, and each stage has a named service attached to it. Before enrolment, the SUMAS Career Companion is an online questionnaire that matches an applicant's academic level, goals and constraints to specific programmes, after which a Study Advisor makes contact within one to two business days. During study, students work on applied briefs with partner organisations and can use the school's sustainability research database and expert speaker sessions. Accommodation support covers residences near the Gland campus and furnished apartments arranged through partner services in Milan, where students share housing with peers from the wider student population. After graduation, the alumni network, the alumni directory and career services remain accessible without a time limit. The services SUMAS documents publicly are listed below:

• Career Companion programme-matching tool, followed by contact from a Study Advisor within one to two business days.
• Internship and Professional Development Programme: a placement with a company, international organisation or NGO combined with structured career coaching.
• Application coaching covering CV, cover letter and interview preparation with practising professionals.
• Access to the SUMAS sustainability research database and to expert speaker sessions.
• Applied industry projects with partner organisations, mentored by senior executives.
• Accommodation options near the Gland campus (SLC Residence, Residence Butterfly) and furnished apartments through partner services in Milan.
• A four-step online application with document upload, plus a published alumni directory and alumni video testimonials.

How Does SUMAS Support Careers After Graduation?

SUMAS publishes a named alumni directory alongside its headline outcomes, so a prospective student can see exactly where graduates have gone. The directory lists several hundred graduate profiles across the four specialisation tracks, each showing programme, graduation year, country, current role and current employer. Employers named across the directory include the United Nations, Nestlé, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG Italia, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Pictet Asset Management, Kering, Hermès, BMW Group, Siemens, Procter & Gamble, FIFA, UEFA, Zalando, Mandarin Oriental, Six Senses and Audemars Piguet. The sectors most represented are consultancy, finance, fashion, fast-moving consumer goods, hospitality, technology, education, NGOs, pharmaceuticals and engineering. SUMAS reports that three alumni in five hold senior positions such as director, manager or team leader, and that the network runs a 60:40 female-to-male ratio. Graduate video testimonials are published alongside the directory, and profiles can be filtered by specialisation track and graduation year, so outcomes can be read for one specific programme as well as for the school as a whole.

What Financial Support Is Available at SUMAS?

SUMAS runs six named scholarships with published amounts and published assessment criteria, awarded on the strength of an application essay. Amounts are quoted in Swiss francs and euros. Undergraduate applicants compete for the Sustainability Champion Scholarship, worth CHF 1,100 / €1,100 per year across the three-year bachelor and up to CHF 3,300 / €3,300 in total; an application scoring 80 to 89 per cent receives CHF 900 / €900 per year. Master applicants can apply for five scholarships — Responsible Leader, Women in Sustainability, Sustainable Business Practices, Social Impact and Future Leaders — each worth up to CHF 2,100 / €2,100, or CHF 1,600 / €1,600 for an application scoring 80 to 89 per cent. Master assessment is weighted 35, 35 and 30 per cent across three published criteria, so an applicant knows in advance how the file will be scored. A student completing the SUMAS foundation and bridge year also receives a CHF 5,900 reduction on final-year bachelor tuition.

What Makes the SUMAS Learning Model Different?

The SUMAS learning model is built on applied projects with real client organisations rather than on case studies alone. The MBA curriculum, for example, combines leadership and management core courses with five sustainability management specialisation courses, sustainable innovation, circular economy applications, a global competitive business simulation and leadership development modules. The applied component, Sustainability Industry Projects, puts students on live briefs with partners including Migros, the Swiss retail group, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and MUDEC in Milan, mentored by senior executives working in the field. A second distinguishing element is the school's approach to sustainable artificial intelligence: integrating data and AI methods with ecological impact reduction, which underpins the sustainable finance and digital innovation track at both bachelor and master level. Stackable ten-week online courses let a student test the model before committing to a full degree.

Who Teaches at SUMAS?

SUMAS faculty combine academic qualifications with current professional practice, and the school publishes an individual profile for each member. The faculty directory lists more than thirty teaching staff with their degrees, areas of expertise, working languages and, in most cases, a LinkedIn profile, so an applicant can see exactly who will be teaching and in which fields each professor practises. Faculty expertise spans corporate sustainability strategy, life-cycle assessment, sustainable finance, circular design, hospitality operations and environmental policy. The professors teaching the SUMAS online certificate courses are the same faculty who teach the on-campus MBA and MAM programmes, so an online student learns from the same teaching team as a campus student. Guest speakers from industry and from international organisations supplement the permanent faculty, particularly on the applied project work, where practitioners brief students on live problems drawn from their own organisations.

Who Is SUMAS a Good Fit For — and Who Is It Not?

SUMAS fits students who already know they want to work in sustainability and want the whole degree pointed at that outcome. The profile that benefits most is an applicant choosing a first degree, or making a career pivot into ESG, climate strategy, sustainable finance, circular design or responsible hospitality, who values a small international cohort, applied client projects and a Swiss or Italian base. Working professionals who need to keep earning are served by the online and livestreaming routes and by the multiple intakes across the year. SUMAS is less suited to an applicant who wants a generalist business qualification with no particular sector direction, to someone looking for a large-cohort campus with extensive sports and society infrastructure, or to anyone whose main priority is a place in a published league table. Naming that focus clearly is what allows the right students to recognise SUMAS quickly.

How Do You Apply to SUMAS?

The SUMAS application runs online in four steps and can be completed without an agent or intermediary. An applicant selects a programme, degree level, campus and preferred intake, supplies personal and academic details, uploads supporting documents, then reviews the file and pays the application fee, published at CHF 200 and non-refundable. Evidence of English is required, with accepted tests including IELTS, TOEFL and Duolingo at thresholds that vary by programme and are listed on each programme page. Intakes run several times a year, and an applicant uncertain about level or track can use the Career Companion tool first or request a call with a Study Advisor. An applicant who does not yet meet direct bachelor entry requirements can enter through the foundation and bridge year, which carries guaranteed advancement into the BBA without a second evaluation.

1. Choose your programme: select degree level, specialisation, campus or online format, and preferred intake.
2. Enter your details: personal information, nationality, country of residence and academic history.
3. Upload documents: transcripts, identification, English-language test results and any scholarship essay.
4. Review and pay: check the complete file and settle the CHF 200 non-refundable application fee.

How Do You Take the Next Step with SUMAS?

The practical next step depends on the stage an applicant has reached. A prospective undergraduate comparing options should start with the BBA and its four specialisation tracks, then use the Career Companion tool to test which track matches the career outcome sought. A graduate or career-changer should compare the Master in Sustainability Management with the MBA in Sustainability Management: the master suits a candidate deepening management practice in the field, while the MBA suits a candidate targeting general management leadership with sustainability as the operating lens. Anyone unsure about committing to a full degree can begin with a single ten-week online certificate course worth three university credits, which stacks toward an MBA or CAS if the fit proves right. Scholarship applications are assessed on a published essay and published criteria, so they are worth preparing alongside the main application rather than afterwards.