IE Business School

FAQ

What is the tuition for IE's MBA program?

The tuition for IE’s MBA program is 72,200 euros per year.

What is the average GMAT score for admission to IE's MBA program?

The average GMAT score at IE is 677.

What is the minimum number of years of work experience required for admission to IE's MBA program?

IE requires a minimum of 3 years of work experience.

What is the average starting salary for graduates of the IE MBA program?

The average starting salary for IE MBA graduates is €83,152.48 ($91,467.73).

How long is IE's full-time MBA program?

IE offers a 1 year MBA program.

VIDEOS

Admissions

Class Profile

The Class of 2020 has 395 students. Thirty-one percent are women. Ninety-one percent of the class hailed from outside Spain, representing 65 nationalities. The new class averaged 677 on the GMAT.

During their undergraduate years, 31% had studied business and 21% engineering. Thirteen percent had majored in economics and 12% in sciences. Another nine percent had studied humanities or social sciences.

Application Procedures

IE offers rolling applications, so there are no deadlines for submissions for semesters that begin in early September and early January, and admission is valid for two intakes. The application requirements for IE begin with three years of work experience, along with completing the school’s online application form and submitting three essays, a résumé, two letters of recommendation, €150 application fee, and transcripts from each college attended as well as a bachelor degree diploma, photograph, and passport or other international identification. Applicants also must report their GMAT, GRE or IE Global Admissions Test scores; and English-language results from either TOEFL (100 minimum), IELTS (7.0 minimum), or Cambridge (C1 minimum), or Pearson (73 minimum). Interviews are required upon notification by the Admissions Office.

Application Checklist

• Online Application Form
• Essays
• Short Video Responses
• Minimum Three Years Work Experience
• Two Letters of Recommendation
• Résumé
• Photocopy of passport
• Passport size photo
• Transcripts for College/Graduate Work
• GMAT, GRE, or ieGAT
• TOEFL/IELTS Score or Other Language Certificate
• €150 Application Fee

Interview Reports

Submit an INSEAD, Columbia, or IE Business School Interview Report – Receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card

If you’re interested in sharing your MBA interview experience, we are awarding a $10 Amazon gift certificate to each applicant who submits an MBA interview report for Columbia Business School, INSEAD and/or IE Business School by midnight EST on Monday, September 4, 2017. To be eligible for the $10 gift card and the contest, please include the following information in your report:* […]

IE Business School Interview Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-campus

The following IE Business School interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! The interview took place in an office space the interviewer was borrowing. He was very friendly and easy to speak to. He did not necessarily ask me questions about my résumé, but instead brought […]

IE Business School MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-Campus

My interview for IEBS (Innovation & Entrepreneurship Business School) happened in a coffee shop. It was a blind interview as the interviewer didn’t know anything about me and hadn’t read my resume or application. The interview went very well and felt a bit like a conversation. Some of the questions asked were: Walk me through your resume. […]

Ie-business-school Q&As

Admissions Director Q&A: Liz Hutchinson of IE Business School

In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we welcome Liz Hutchinson, the Head of Admissions, Graduate Programs at IE University in Madrid. In this role, Liz oversees the enrollment for over 30 master’s degrees within IE Business School, IE School of Architecture and Design, IE Law School, IE School of Science and Technology, and […]

Admissions Director Q&A: Andrea Flores of IE

In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we visit the leading MBA program at IE University in Madrid, Spain. We hear from Andrea Flores, who is currently Head of Global Admissions & Enrollment for graduate programs of all five schools at IE University, including IE Business School’s MBA programs. Her passion is to […]

Admissions Director Q&A: Tino Elgner of IE Business School

IE Business School is centrally located in Madrid’s financial district. Their international appeal and urban environment fosters strong student, faculty and alumni communities. In addition to the school’s one-year, full-time International MBA, IE offers tech, part-time and executive MBA options.  In this edition of Admissions Director Q&A, we hear more about IE from Tino Elgner, […]

IE Business School LiveWire and DecisionWire

Academics

Faculty

IE Business School students have access to more than 100 full-time faculty, who teach across 10 academic departments, such as accounting and management control, economic environment, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing and more. They also regularly publish research projects as well as present their work at global lectures and conferences.

Curriculum

The IE full-time International MBA (IMBA) is a one-year program broken into two semesters. It begins the first week of September through December for the fall term and runs from mid-January through late April for the spring term. Classes are taught in both English and Spanish. During their first year, full-time MBA students enter a “Streamlined Core Period” with coursework focused on business fundamentals. The curriculum also covers innovation and design, critical management thinking, and entrepreneurship, beyond the typical basics of finance and statistics.

The four-part, initial core period includes two entrepreneurial development classes; five finance courses to master business fundamentals; three management courses around operations, strategy and leadership; and three “thinking beyond business” courses that explore critical management thinking, digital innovations, and the intersection of business, government and society.

IE follows the core phase with an accelerated lab period. IMBA students can choose from two options: starting his/her own business in the Start-Up Lab, or joining an existing company in the Business Impact Lab. Either option allows students a distinct experiential learning endeavor in which they can apply their core education and creativity to develop business innovations. Mastering big data challenges, corporate strategy implementation, board dynamics, and change management are some of the elements explored through this Business Impact Lab. In the Start-Up Lab, students are immersed in challenges like how to navigate the start-up ecosystem, mastering the entrepreneurial toolkit, generating market traction, and corporate social responsibility.

The final phase of the IMBA program is the elective period, during which students customize their studies. They offer a wide array of focal areas divided into such categories as human resources, strategic management, information systems, legal studies, information and control, marketing, financial management, operations, and more. Within those subjects, IMBA students can take on consulting projects in partnership with the Wharton School of Business; join long- or short-term exchanges with Yale University and other partner schools; intern for up to 10 weeks; and practice investor relations in the IE Venture Lab. The period concludes with a final integrative exercise of students’ case studies before a faculty jury.

Following the final exercise, a select group of students are invited to participate in IMBA Unplugged, an extension of the regular program that involves long-exchange, dual-degree, or post-academic internship options that may include additional studies at MIT, Brown, Tufts, or other partner institutions.

Throughout the IMBA program, students participate in a weekly Professional Fitness program that develops career goals, personal branding and strategies, and behavioral fitness for stronger interpersonal relationships and communication.

Other MBA Degree Options

Along with its one-year, full-time International MBA program, IE offers a part-time (15-month) Global MBA program with classes held both online and with short in-person periods on campus. The part-time (15-month) Executive MBA program is offered in both English and Spanish, and also utilizes a blend of both online and in-person class sessions. There also are 13- or 15-month MBA programs in partnership with Brown University and Singapore Management University, which generally enrolls students with an average of 7 to 15 years full-time work experience.

Degree Offerings

Full-Time International MBA
http://www.ie.edu/business-school/degrees/mbas-and-executive-mbas/

Part-Time Global MBA
http://www.ie.edu/business-school/degrees/global-mba/

Executive MBA
http://www.ie.edu/business-school/degrees/executive-mba-english/

IE Brown Executive MBA
http://www.iebrown.com/

IE-SMU Executive MBA
https://www.ie-smu-mba.com/

Campus Life

Clubs, Conferences and Competitions

IE students can participate in more than 60 clubs and extracurricular activities from sports to hobbies to professional interests. The school has a Campus Life office to help facilitate student-led events and programs, with the goal of bringing together members of the diverse student body, connected by common interests. Clubs span Women in Business, International Relations, E-Commerce, Asia-Pacific Business and other professional groups; plus geographic clubs representing more than 20 countries; and sports, social and recreational groups with interests in everything from music and wine, to military veterans and yoga.

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center is one of the departments that extend classroom education to the “Area 31” incubator space. It hosts team events in a fun space where students and local entrepreneurs can share ideas and experiences. Through IE’s Entrepreneurial Management section, more than 1,500 students find extra training through corporate leaders, alumni, and other professionals.

Campus Spaces

For International MBA studies, the IE Business School campus is centrally located in Barrio de Salamanca, the financial district of Madrid. Its 17 buildings are located either along or near Calle Maria de Molina, near the Gregorio Marañón and Avenida de America metro stations. The campus offers library, classrooms, auditorium, student lounges and work spaces each just a few minutes walk from each other. The school’s Student Services office is available to help incoming MBA students with their arrival in Madrid, helping with everything from securing a Spanish visa and off-campus living accommodations, to setting up mobile-phone service and finding a doctor.

MBA Careers

Career Services

The Careers Management Center provides many ways for students to develop professionally during their time at IE. These services include print and digital resources like the IE CV Book containing full-time job listings and internship openings, workshops with experts in career design, and career advising with industry-specific advisors. The school brings more than 50 yearly company presentations and networking sessions to campus, including the annual International Career Fair — taking full advantage of the strategic partnerships and well-established recruiter relations between IE and its various professional alliances. Practice interviews, résumé preparation, and job-application reviews also are part of the online career tools available to MBA students. The Career Management Center also hosts alumni and recruiter networking events around the world, all year round.

Career Statistics

Ninety-two percent of IE’s full-time IMBA Class of 2018 graduates looking for jobs secured them within three months of graduation. Their average overall compensation landed at €83,152.48 ($91,467.73). The most popular industry was technology, as 23% of graduates selected that path. Financial services followed, claiming 21%. Consulting took in 15% of graduates. Seven percent each chose to pursue manufacturing or consumer goods. Sixty-five students started their own business after graduation.

Forty-three percent of the class settled in Europe, while 27% moved to Latin America. Asia welcomed 12% of the Class of 2018 and 10% headed to North America. Africa and MENA saw 9% of 2018 IE MBA graduates.

Financing

IE’s 2020-2021 tuition is approximately $84,858 (€72,200). With additional fees such as living expenses, health insurance and transportation, however, the estimated cost of attendance for one year (two semesters) is approximately $107,313. The school offers more than 60 types of scholarships in addition to different IE Fellowship Awards. Both fellowships and scholarships are awarded for merit as well as economic need. Overall, about 40% of all IE master-degree candidates earn financial aid of some kind. In particular, IE offers scholarships for women thanks to a special fund endowed with approximately $6.4 million, and more than 60% of female IE students receive financial assistance.

Estimated Cost of Attendance

• Tuition: $84,858 (€72,200)
• Room and Board: $27,830
• Medical Insurance: $1,780
• Public Transportation: $637
• Total: $107,313

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