IE Business School

IE Higher Education

IE was founded in 1973 by a group of entrepreneurs, and has quickly earned itself a reputation for innovation and quality. IE’s unique approach to further education, powered by its focus on the entrepreneurial spirit, and coupled with its dedication to the corporate world at large have turned IE into an international center of learning. With more than 80 nationalities represented on its Madrid central campus, as well as a global network of alumni, the IE Experience is a truly international one.

Being part of the IE Community is more than just being an alumnus; it’s a way of life. Members of our community hold firm ethical values and recognize their responsibility to the environment in which they operate, as well as to the wider business community. IE alumni are part of a global network of business leaders spread across the globe in more than 100 countries.

IE is also a hub of international research boasting an array of specialized centers dedicated to furthering knowledge in such areas as entrepreneurship, information management, and corporate responsibility amongst others.

The Business School

IE Business School is one of the world’s top international business schools. A pioneer in business education, IE Business School trains tomorrow’s business leaders, shaping them with an innovative approach and acting as a catalyst for the creation of new businesses.

IE’s MBA programs- the International MBA, Global MBA, and International Executive MBA- have been met with worldwide acclaim, featuring highly in the FT, Economist, and Business Week business school rankings, and cementing IE’s reputation as a global leader in business education. IE also offers specialist Master programs that focus your studies on the skills and knowledge required of the manager in a broad range of specific industries. Catering to the real needs of the corporate world, IE Business School offers a number of formats (full-time, part-time, and online) to ensure utmost flexibility in its programs.

In addition, the brand new IE Brown Executive MBA, designed for managers with over 3 years of top level experience, represents our forward thinking and innovative ideology that runs through our whole institution.

The Program

International MBA

The International MBA at IE offers you something more than the average MBA program: world-class training complemented by the cultural experience of studying at a truly international school, all against the backdrop of Spain’s capital city. The International MBA at IE affords you the opportunities, inspiration, and experience necessary for international professional success.
The International MBA offers you a host of personalization options. In the final period you will be able to tailor your studies to your needs and interests:
- Participate in the IE Venture Lab to channel your entrepreneurial energy developing an independent, corporate, family, or social venture.
- Undertake part of your studies on an exchange program at one of our partner institutions which include Tuck, Tufts, ESSEC, NUS, and IIM.
- Choose from over 60 elective courses which can be can be taken in English or Spanish (intensive Spanish classes are offered at the outset of the program), turning your MBA into a bilingual program. Should you prefer, you may continue your studies in English.

The International MBA at IE offers you something more than the average MBA program: world-class training complemented by the cultural experience of studying at a truly international school, all against the backdrop of Spain’s capital city. The International MBA at IE affords you the opportunities, inspiration, and experience necessary for international professional success.

Global MBA

The Global MBA at IE has raised the benchmark for online MBA programs across the globe. It is an 15-month, highly innovative online program that can be followed from anywhere in the world. Intended for young professionals, the Global MBA allows you to study for an MBA without relinquishing your career, providing the flexibility required to study and work at the same time, no matter where you are in the world.

Using principally online teaching, coupled with face-to-face sessions, the Global MBA is second-to-none in modern business education and the title granted is identical to that given after studying a full-time MBA.

Online Methodology
The Global MBA Virtual Campus brings participants together from all over the world for asynchronous online sessions (a mix of forums and multimedia) open during the week at your convenience, as well as Live Interactive Video Sessions, conducted on Saturdays in which you will participate in real-time in hands-on cases. This online methodology not only provides the freedom of geographic mobility but also access to an international network of peers and alumni.

Face-to-face Integration Days
In order to increase your exposure to current business practices and interaction with peers, the Global MBA features 2 residential periods, lasting 5 days each, which allow you to meet professors and classmates, experience management skills workshops, and network with the experts. The Integration Days also give you the opportunity to travel, experience other cultures and, thanks to our Community Integration Events, address current business challenges.

The Global MBA program at IE provides all the tools for professional success in international business, bridging the gap between geographical location and face-to-face learning; maximizing the distance learning experience preparing students for the requirements of a dynamic working environment.

International Executive MBA

The program equips you with a solid working knowledge of the most innovative business management techniques, with an emphasis on new technologies. It also familiarizes you with the kind of management skills that are increasingly paramount to professional success. IE's distance learning methodology earned IE Business School 2nd place in The Economist Distance Learning MBA Ranking 2008.

The International Executive MBA program lasts 13 months and has two intakes each year, one starting in November and the other in June. The program offers two timetabling options which compliment the part-time nature of the program to guarantee utmost flexibility:

The Online Version
The online version of the International Executive MBA combines 2 asynchronous, online training periods (lasting 22 weeks each) with 3 face-to-face sessions lasting 2 weeks each.
You can follow the online sessions regardless of your geographic location as long as you can connect to the internet. The Virtual Campus is the fundamental point of reference for the online activities that form a communication platform for group work and for the teacher-led online sessions. The Virtual Campus places the comments, opinions, and experiences of your professors and fellows at your fingertips, around-the-clock, letting you study at your leisure.

The face-to-face sessions consolidate the work done throughout the program with seminars focused on skill-building activities, individual presentations, group projects and assessment tests. Of these three sessions, the first and last are conducted at our central campus in Madrid with the remaining one in Shanghai in the middle of the program.

The Bi-weekly Version
The bi-weekly format comprises classes every other weekend at IE’s central-Madrid campus. This format fosters face-to-face interaction within the classroom at short intervals, as well as dynamic & continuous personal development through group work. Like the online course, the bi-weekly International Executive MBA also includes a trip to Shanghai, where you will study at the Fudan School of Management, providing you with valuable exposure to global business trends in an international environment.

The time between classes is supported by the online Virtual Campus permitting flexible participation from your wherever you are and at your convenience.

IE Brown Executive MBA

The IE Brown Executive MBA is a highly innovative fifteen-month program for senior managers with extensive work experience designed to provide them with the opportunity to develop and broaden their management and leadership skills in an intensive, international environment.

The IE Brown Executive MBA brings together the cutting edge approaches to management developed at IE Business School with the breadth of Brown University’s excellent liberal arts curriculum. It brings together faculty from two leading academic institutions, integrating leading management thinking with wider perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, engineering, and life sciences. With unique content developed by IE and Brown faculty, participants are challenged to think more deeply about issues impacting the global business environment. The program utilizes a broad range of disciplines to critically analyze many of the problems and opportunities organizations are faced with, supporting participants to find innovative and entrepreneurial solutions.

The program format and mode of delivery make it accessible to participants anywhere in the world. It is specifically designed for senior managers and entrepreneurs who wish to undertake a rigorous, intensive, and transformational MBA program without taking a break from their current job or responsibilities. This way, participants get to continuously apply the insights gleaned from the program in their jobs, fostering rapid assimilation and deeper learning.

The program is part time with 5 face-to-face periods, (two periods of 2 weeks and three periods of 1 week). The face-to-face periods take place at the campuses of IE in Madrid, Spain, and Brown University in Providence, USA. Between each of the face-to-face periods participants undertake online modules. This enables participants to follow the program regardless of their geographic location.

The program is divided into six main curriculum areas:
- The “core” MBA
- Leadership and Communication
- Decision- making and modes of thinking
- Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship
- Liberal Arts and Critical studies
- Globalization and the Changing Context of Business

The Faculty

IE Business School faculty includes 298 professors, of whom 91 are fulltime. Of the fulltime faculty, 89% have doctorates, 47% are from outside of Spain, and 31% are women.

Entry Requirements

International MBA
- Bachelor degree or equivalent
- At least three years of work experience
- Application form + 2 letters of recommendation + 3 essays
- GMAT (average: 680) or IE Admission Test
- Personal interview
- Certificate of proficiency in the English language (where applicable), e.g.: TOEFL (minimum: 250)

International Executive MBA
- Bachelor degree or equivalent
- At least three years of work experience in a managerial post
- Application form + 2 letters of recommendation
- Personal interview
- Certificate of proficiency in the English language (where applicable), e.g.: TOEFL (minimum: 250).

Global MBA
- Bachelor degree or equivalent
- Several years of work experience are expected although this requirement is flexible. Students must be working during the program.
- Application form + 2 letters of recommendation + 3 essays
- GMAT (average: 680) or IE Admission Test
- Personal interview
- Certificate of proficiency in the English language (where applicable), e.g.: TOEFL (minimum: 250)

IE Brown Executive MBA
The IE Brown Executive MBA is a very demanding program and candidates are therefore subject to a rigorous selection process.

The main objective of the admissions process is to select students with the greatest potential. We seek candidates who are dynamic, motivated, creative, and who not only present an excellent academic and professional background, but also offer the kind of interpersonal skills that will permit them to obtain maximum benefit from the program.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Admissions Department at (+34) 915 689 610 or admissions@ie.edu.

Application Procedure

All Programs
1. Application Form
This form provides the Admissions Committee with fundamental information when it comes to evaluating each application. It is therefore essential that detailed information is provided on relevant academic and professional achievements, together with aspirations, motivations and concerns that could play a role in your admission. Supporting documentation, including English Language proficiency exam results, accompany the application form. The application form is available online.
2. GMAT or IE Admissions Test
We require a valid GMAT or IE Admissions Test score.
3. Interview
Having evaluated the application form and additional documentation, the Admissions Committee may invite you to attend an interview. The interview has a dual purpose: first, to examine in greater detail the data provided in the application on academic and professional background and motivation; and second, to ascertain that your profile will stand you in good stead for the structure and demands of the program.
4. The Admissions Committee’s Decision
Following the interview, your application will be subject to a final analysis by the Admissions Committee. The Admissions Committee will evaluate all aspects of your candidature as a whole and will subsequently communicate its decision in writing to you.
Deadline: IE operates a rolling admissions process. We therefore do not have any deadlines for receiving applications. However, we recommend that you apply up to a year in advance in order to guarantee yourself a place on the intake of your choice.

Tuition and Fees

International MBA
€ 52,000 plus € 1,100

Global MBA
€ 36,000 plus € 1,100

International Executive MBA
€ 55,200

IE Brown Executive MBA
$95,000

Financial Aid

There are many scholarships available to students studying at IE as well as other financial aid options, for more information please consult IE’s website: http//www.ie.edu/scholarships.

Location

IE’s campus is situated in the heart of Madrid, placing all that the city- Spain’s capital and a global business hub- has to offer right on its doorstep. Madrid has an immensely rich cultural heritage like no other in the world. The city boasts a host of museums, parks and gardens, palaces, modern and historic architecture, as well as providing an invaluable opportunity to learn one of the world’s principal business languages- Spanish.

Accommodation

Finding accommodation can be a difficult and time consuming task. The Students Office has developed an extensive database of available housing. Whilst the school does not guarantee the standard of the accommodation, it does provide a valuable resource as the database itself is searchable and many of the properties are offered under favorable circumstances (often not requiring a guarantor for example, usually a significant obstacle when searching for accommodation in Madrid). If you prefer to share, there is also a housing forum for you to get in touch with other students looking for a roommate. All these tools and some other recommendations are available on Campus Online once you have been enrolled at IE.

Student Life

FamilIE, run by the Student Office, co-ordinates and organizes extracurricular activities which take place at IE, and which contribute greatly to the IE experience. These events and clubs present you with a great opportunity to network outside of class, and meet people that you may not otherwise meet within the classroom. Student Office events and clubs are not open only to IE's students, but to their families as well. The Partner's Club in particular is geared towards ensuring that family members or partners get the most out of the IE Experience.
The activities organized by Student Office include:
-Academic Clubs (Including the Entrepreneurs' Club, Finance Club, Women in Business, IE Net Impact, and the Marketing Innovations Club etc.)
-Sports Clubs (Including the IE Football League, the Basketball Club, Tennis Club, and the Sailing Club etc.)
-Social and Leisure Activities (Including national clubs, the IE Partners' Club, Gourmet Club, IE Out, and Bar of the Week etc.)

Pre-MBA Course

International MBA
This program takes place in the weeks preceding the MBA and allowing you to polish your quantitative skills before beginning the International MBA core. *

International Executive MBA
This introductory course is designed to equip you with the basics of financial accounting. The course is aimed at those who are unfamiliar with accounting, introducing you to the mechanisms and logic that underlie all accounting processes such as balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, and cash flows. *

*Because both pre-MBA courses are conducted entirely online you need not travel to our Madrid campus until the beginning of the program core.