Accreditation provides BECI graduates a streamlined path to the ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential, recognized in over 140 countries
BERKELEY, CA — April 20, 2026 — The Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI) announced today that its Executive Coaching Certification & Leadership Intensive has received Level 1 accreditation from the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the world’s largest organization for professionally trained coaches with over 58,000 members. The accreditation confirms that BECI’s program meets ICF’s rigorous standards for coach education, including curriculum content, instructional quality, mentoring, assessment, and ethical practice.
ICF Level 1 accreditation is earned through a comprehensive review process evaluating programs against seven standards of excellence, covering mission, administration, ethics, education, teaching, learning experience, and assessment. Programs must provide at least 60 student contact learning hours, mentor coaching, observed coaching sessions, and a performance evaluation at the ACC skill level.
“This accreditation reflects years of intentional program design and our faculty’s commitment to developing coaches who are both technically skilled and deeply human,” said Faculty Director Jennifer Caleshu. “Our graduates now have a direct, streamlined path to the ACC credential, which is the professional standard for coaching worldwide.”
BECI’s Executive Coaching Certification is offered in affiliation with UC Berkeley Executive Education and has trained more than 1100 executive coaches globally. The program combines an intensive immersive experience with six months of continued learning, including 73 hours of synchronous training and 10 hours of 1:1 executive coaching. BECI participants come from a wide range of industries and include representatives from major global companies working across tech, finance, healthcare, energy, government, education, nonprofit, and entrepreneurial ventures. The coaching certification program is offered in person in Berkeley, Thailand and Japan, as well as online.
For prospective students, the ICF Level 1 designation means that completing BECI’s program provides the core requirements for an ACC credential application, including required education hours, mentor coaching, and a performance evaluation. Graduates can apply to ICF through the Level 1 Pathway, which is the most straightforward credentialing route.
Upcoming program dates and enrollment information are available at www.berkeleyeci.com.