IE Business School

1) What applicants should know before choosing to apply for your MBA programs? 

IE Business School, currently ranked 1st in Europe by the Financial Times, shapes leaders who promote innovation and change in organizations, equipping directors with an entrepreneurial mindset. Our students use innovative online and face-to-face learning formats, including the IE Communities platform where they exchange knowledge and experiences with over 43,000 IE Alumni from over 120 different counties. IE offers a full-time triple-accredited 13 month MBA, and alternatively in a blended format, both the Global MBA+ and three Executive MBAs in various flexible formats. Our MBAs provide the opportunity to specialise either through its electives or modules, and have an international experience by taking part in exchanges and one of our dual-degrees with such top schools as MIT, Fletcher, Brown and Yale.

2) How much work experience students should have before applying for an MBA?

We require a minimum of three years, although the average is between 5-6 years of experience. Do you think that applicants with few years of work experience can also benefit from an MBA degree? We recommend that students should have some solid work experience from which they can share ideas and experiences with their colleagues in the class. We see this as fundamental to the learning experience.

3) How does your school view students who did their undergraduate studies in a non-traditional (non-business) field?

With faculty and alumni from around 100 countries and a huge range of sectors, we believe in reflecting the reality of our world through a diverse student body and faculty. We select our students based on their individual merit and this of course can mean excellence in non-business fields, which we believe means that they are able to contribute alternatively valid viewpoints to the shared learning process.

4) Does the school’s mission and culture have any defining characteristics and hence what would be your advice for a successful application?

A truly international institution, IE is dedicated to educating tomorrow’s leaders through programs based on our core values of global focus, entrepreneurial spirit and a humanistic approach. With faculty and alumni from around 100 countries, IE is among the most international educational institutions in the world.Students should stand out from the rest, be confident and open-minded to new ideas and able to make the most of the extremely diverse class make-up.

5) Have you seen any change in the profiles of the applicants in the last five years - during the financial crisis?

We have seen a decrease in the number of applicants who are company sponsored as well as decrease in certain regions, due to their current economic situation, as applicants do not want to commit to a full-time program and prefer a part-time or blended option offered at IE. We have seen an increase of applicants from US, Africa & Middle East and Asia who want to come to Europe to do an MBA and to take advantage of the diversity that IE has to offer. There has never been a more interesting time to be in the EU, especially from the perspective of understanding and studying economics, financial markets as well as management practices and policies.

6) Finally, I would like to ask you about the career-paths of your graduates? (i.e. any records/numbers? redirecting or boosting their previous careers?)

Type of job after graduation      21% Consulting, 21% Financial Services, 14% Consumer Goods, 13% Information Technology and Telecommunications,7% Manufacturing, 3% Media, Entertainment, 3% Petroleum/Energy, 2% Pharma/Biotech/Health, 4% Real Estate/Construction/Infrastructure, 1 % Renewables and Environment, 1% Government/ Public Administration, 1% Non profit, 9% Others