If you are interested in a business-related field and Spain is not yet one of the main options, it is time to start considering this beautiful Mediterranean country as one.
Though Spain’s top choice of study is often law, business degrees are not any less well-known. In fact, many are very highly ranked and have maintained outstanding quality for the past five or six decades! To help you make up your mind, EDUopinions has outlined the 5 best business schools in Spain.
TOP Business Schools in Spain
1. IESE Business School
Being an initiative of Opus Dei, a Personal Prelature of the Roman Catholic Church, IESE’s number one emphasis is influencing moral and ethical business ideologies. With campuses in New York, Sao Paulo, Madrid, Barcelona, Munchen, Nairobi & Shanghai, plus many further global partnerships, the institution was rated the best in the world for Executive Education for four consecutive years.
This is a graduate business school with a wide range of career-focused and accredited post-graduate programmes; one of these is accreditation from The Association of MBAs at the end of your study, as an added value to your typical business degree!

A worthwhile and transformative experience. The professors are world-class and the case method prepares you for real-world challenges. I am a better professional because of this program. I highly recommend the Bi-weekly program in English.
2. IE Business School
With over 130 nationalities (the student body is 70% international students) within the school & more than 1,500 networking events worldwide, IE is a super diverse graduate business school, whose core value is internationalisation. Proven to be one of the best in their field, it ranked as 3rd Business School in Europe in the Financial Times. They offer approximately 101 programmes of MBAs and other master’s degrees in business, innovation, and management, so you won’t be short of choice during your journey to become a specialist in whatever sector you are in.
In terms of employability, their Annual Talent Forum attracts recruitment rounds from 150 or more companies, thus, a better chance for students like yourself to gain real-life work experience or even a fulfilling permanent career!
Here’s what sets IE Business School apart: a new initiative – The WOWROOM – was set up recently, which regularly utilises the newest technologies like AI, holograms, interactive robots, and emotional recognition to offer students and staff the future of education.

IE has a very practical approach to teaching and I believe it’s one of the biggest advantages of the university compared to the rest of Europe. Moreover, we students have the privilege to be surrounded by people from all around the world with many different nationalities which makes us exposed to a variety of cultures and helps us become more open-minded.
3. ESADE Business School
ESADE’s key mission has always been developing businesses and researching to create impactful social transformation. Here, you will emerge yourself in an open-minded, global environment with 109 different nationalities on campus.
Between 2017 and 2018, the institution has invested 4.9 million euros into innovative startups; showing their utmost support for our future big-picture thinkers! Not only is ESADE known for being a progressive, modern, and tech-savvy place of study; to highlight a vision for positive changes in society, they are also recognised for providing the best MBA for women in Europe by the Financial Times. With this unique and uplifting approach to business education, no wonder why ESADE effortlessly became one of the best business schools in the whole of Europe.

The program was super complete and touched on all the key points I considered important in a Master of Law, Intellectual Property and Technology. In addition, I was able to take advantage of business, communication, leadership and other disciplines, so important in the training of a complete and multifaceted professional. It is also great that all teachers are lawyers, so they can practice the knowledge they teach us on a daily basis. In this way, they are able to transmit theoretical knowledge to us with a much more practical approach, super useful for our future. In this way, we are able to penetrate the network of contacts in our areas, which can be extremely beneficial for our career.
I also believe that the University is really concerned with the students, in helping them in everything they need, which can be demonstrated, for example, in the current pandemic situation, since it has always tried to act in such a way as to harm the students as little as possible, providing the support and compensation that they considered fair.
In conclusion, I would like to thank ESADE for providing me with one of the best experiences of my life, in which I have made friends for life, and from which I leave with excellent academic preparation, ready to face the challenges of a professional career.
4. EU Business School
EU Business School opened its doors in 1973. It is an international, professionally accredited business school with campuses in Barcelona, Geneva, Montreux and Munich. It offers foundation, bachelor’s, master’s, MBA and doctoral programmes, both on-campus and online, and offers students the chance to earn a second qualification through a global network of academic partners.

The decision to study at EU business school was one of the best I have ever made. Firstly, the school often brings motivational speakers who help students guide their future. The teachers are exceptional and seem to have great knowledge and understanding about their work. They always thrive to make students understand the course from basics to high levels.
5. Universidad Europea – UE
Universidad Europea follows an international educational model which is connected with the professional world and of outstanding academic quality. UE also stands out for its modern facilities and cutting-edge teaching resources—such as those at its Villaviciosa de Odón campus in Madrid. There, students can enjoy more than 25 hectares with five teaching buildings, two residential buildings that house up to 500 students, and an extensive sports complex that features pools; a gym; an athletics track; tennis, football, padel and volleyball courts; and a sports hall. Currently, Universidad Europea has more than 17,000 students from five continents spread across its four campuses – located in Villaviciosa de Odón, Alcobendas, Valencia and Tenerife.

The best thing about UEV is how international it is! You meet people from everywhere. I was attending another university before transferring there and that was the best decision I’ve ever made. The professors are always willing to help us better our understanding – they provide tutorial sessions, some courses are quite challenging and no matter how much I may complain, it pushes me to improve. I’ve discovered so much about myself in terms of academics. That’s not just it. When I walk into the building I feel safe and welcoming, the people are always so nice. For annoying who is outgoing and extroverted going there would probably be one the best thing, you’ve ever done.
Conclusion About The Best SPANISH Business Schools
These are just some of the top business schools in Spain. If you wish to study in the Spanish capital, you might also want to take a look at the best business schools in Madrid. However, if your desire is to be closer to the Mediterranean sea, you might want to see what the best business schools in Barcelona are. If you’d like to further assess universities in Spain, here’s an article on the University of Granada, one of the largest universities in the country.
Whether you wish to study in Spain or are considering other European countries as well, EDUopinions can support you.
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Editor’s note: This article was first published on the 28th of November 2018. We’ve updated it for current readers.
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