IESE offers a two-year MBA program that can place its graduates in any industry: finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, tech, and more. Because the school is located in Barcelona and has a student body that (mainly) intends to seek jobs in other locations after graduating, they are not beholden to any one industry or set of employers in the same way as schools that send their graduates mainly into a narrow set of employers in their home region.
The school’s approach to admissions is refreshingly honest, with the admissions team talking about “Career Risk”, and encouraging applicants to consider the MBA not as a journey of wish fulfillment, but as a practical career decision with certain benefits and drawbacks. It goes without saying that IESE prefers to admit students who have figured out how to achieve a high likelihood of career success by using the program’s resources. They also offer introductory chats with admissions officers to help you gauge whether the program is a good fit. (Talk to us first if you want to be well-prepared for these.)
Finally, who wouldn’t want to study in Barcelona? (Or, at one of IESE’s other campuses, including New York, São Paulo, Munich, or Madrid.)
| Class Size | 350 |
| Acceptance Rate | 26 |
| GMAT Minimum | 580 |
| GMAT Maximum | 750 |
| GPA Average | Does not disclose |
| Average Age | 29 |
| Avg. Years Work Experience | 5 |
| Diversity Women | 30 |
| Diversity Intl. | 85 |
| Pre-MBA Industries | Industry: 61% Finance: 20% Consulting: 13% Entrepreneurship: 5% Public Services/NGO: 3% |
| Undergraduate Majors | Does not disclose |
The data above is from 2022 and represents the IESE MBA class of 2024.
See the full report: IESE MBA Class Profile
| Salary Average | $135,000.00 |
| Offers Upon Graduation | Does not disclose |
| Offers At 3 Mos. | Does not disclose |
| Post-MBA Industries | Consulting: 34% Finance: 25% Technology: 17% Healthcare: 10% Consumer goods & retail: 7% Energy & manufacturing: 6% Other: 1% |
| Post-MBA Locations | Europe (excl. Spain): 26% Latin America: 22% Spain: 20% Asia- Pacific: 20% Middle East & Africa: 7% North America: 5% |
| Post-MBA Companies | Does not disclose |
| Career Development Resources |
The above data is from 2021 and represents the career statistics for the IESE MBA class 2021.*
See the full report: IESE MBA Employment Report
IESE’s MBA curriculum spans across two years, where year one is neatly organized into three terms, and the second term is entirely customizable. You can choose the duration of the program to be either 15 or 19 months long. IESE’s core curriculum consists of 24 classes. The first term focuses on core classes in Business Essentials, Term 2 takes you into a Strategy and Operations deep-dive, and Term 3 covers 10 core courses in a range of subjects, including International Management and Corporate Finance. There are over 130 different electives in the IESE MBA. The electives are spread out over a wide-variety of subjects such as Entrepreneurship, Economics, Financial Management, and Production, Technology, and Information Management.
See the full offering of courses: IESE Course Catalog.
Although IESE does not offer official majors or concentrations, you can choose your elective coursework according to your personal and career interests. IESE’s large number of course offerings includes classes in topics like Venture Capital, Real Estate Investments and Management, Data Science for Business, and Personality, Self-Leadership, and Happiness.
The program’s focus on the case method is illustrative of the strength of IESE’s experiential learning program. Moreover, they implement “actioning learning” in the classroom, which involves solving real-world problems. Their curriculum also includes simulations or business games, that simulate real-life business situations.
In the MBA program, you will have access to 12 of IESE’s research centers.
IESE has a network association of 15 business schools. In addition, they have exchange partnerships with over 25 business schools. For those of you interested in shorter exchange programs, IESE offers two-week long study electives abroad in New York, Sau Paulo, Shanghai, and Nairobi.
IESE’s global focus can also be witnessed through their curriculum, which includes internationally oriented coursework such as Corporate Finance in Emerging Markets and Applied International Economics.
The latest application requirements set by the IESE MBA admissions office are described below.
Here are the prompts for IESE’s 2023-2024 application:
What are your short-term and mid-term post-MBA goals? How will the IESE MBA program help you achieve them? (text box, word limit 300 max)
Tell us what has changed since the last time you applied (text box, 200 words max․)*
This year you will also complete a Video Essay as part of the application. Once you submit the written application and pay the application fees, you will receive a Kira Video Essay link (within 24-hours) to be completed by the Application Round Deadline. The link will expire in 48-hours after receipt, hence to provide yourself with adequate time we recommend submitting the written section a few days ahead of the deadline. There will be two video essay questions that you will be required to complete. We will consider your application as complete and ready to be reviewed only once we have received your answers to the video questions. All instructions for this section will be shared with you along with the link.
Members of the IESE Admissions Committee conduct all admissions interviews. Though they may hold interviews in your region, many interviews occur at one of their three campuses: Barcelona, New York, or Sao Paolo. The interview format is conversational, and the interviewer tries to get to know you genuinely to see if you would be a good fit for the school.
| Admissions Info | MBA Program Home Page Admissions Home Page Admission Process Key Dates & Deadlines |
| How to Apply | Feedback On Your Profile Start an Application |
| Meet IESE Business School | Admissions Events – Upcoming Connect with a Student |
| Do Your Research | IESE Blog The MBA Blog IESE Mediaroom IESE Stories IESE insight – Business Knowledge Faculty Directory |
Barcelona Location. IESE’s founding campus is situated minutes from bustling downtown Barcelona. Along with its rich history and beautiful art and architecture, Barcelona is also one of the most active European business centers.
Rigorous Academics. The IESE MBA Program has a high workload, and is very academically focussed. There are three case discussions per day, even during the first year (HBS does two).
Entrepreneurship Support. IESE MBA students interested in starting their own business will have many opportunities to explore this career path. In our interview on entrepreneurship resources at IESE with former Admissions Director Pascal Michels, he highlights three great draws to IESE for prospective entrepreneurs:
*All data retrieved from the IESE MBA Program webpages and other sources.
Explore the IESE MBA program with our comprehensive guide and gain valuable insights from our MBA admission consulting experts to enhance your application.
