I really like the university environment and the futuristic outlook of all the bachelors, but specially the bachelor in design (which is what im studying). The good thing about IE is that it combines a big Business background into every bachelor, so you get those skills necessary for working in the real world.

The way of teaching is different than other universities, as they use a more didactic and creative way of teaching. Also, they are always encouraging students to attend conferences and meeting provided by them so they can expand their horizon and start creating their own network.

My favorite thing about IE University is the international environment. There are over 100 different nationalities on campus, which provides students with the opportunity to learn and embrace other cultures.

The bachelor in design is a great program for students that would like to learn different fields in the area, as well as, social science courses. The program is composed of a diverse range of subjects that enrich us as future designers and complements our education with different subjects to create visuals, products, spaces and/or experience that would have a positive impact in the user’s life by truly understanding the costumers’ needs.

I very much like my course specifically, it has subject, teachers and people that make the entirety of it very unique and enjoyable. And while this sways my opinion in the university as a whole I do see some weak points in its system. The university tends to act like a business, finding the moat possible ways to generate profit rather than thinking of itself as a means to educate people. I also don’t like how the courses are so spread out, we barely have any points if contact with other subjects and therefore only become close to our class. I do think that for my course specifically, Design, the teachers are experts in various fields such as architecture, graphic or interior which gives us a good view of every aspect of design.

I was a student at the Segovia campus in the Design program.

In short, ranked by importance (top being the best/worst):
+Networking.
+The marketing/ image towards employees.
+International environment but mainly from Spanish speaking countries.
-Quality of education/ work in the BBA program.
-False advertising! IE University is not ranked among the best universities in Spain and/or worldwide.
-Mostly people from wealthy families which makes the university not diverse. A wealthy person stays a wealthy person regardless of their country of origin.
-Reputation among people who have friends studying at IE.

I assume one of the main reasons why you are interested in IE University is the reputation as “one of the best business schools”. Here comes the catch. The business school (MBA) is supposed to be one of the best. The undergraduate university is not! As a matter of fact it doesn’t even appear on one ranking. Don’t get fooled. Surveys are not rankings. IE University is not among the best universities. I would argue purely from a perspective of learning it’s a far below average university. How do I know that? I dug deep into the tasks the students had to fulfil and studied at a public university before. The workload of private vs public universities are galaxies apart. Why am I talking about the BBA program when I studied design? First of all, most people are interested in the BBA program. Secondly, the design and architecture faculty is small. You will get in touch with BBA students all the time, which is not bad, and overall the university is a business university. So, the BBA (in parts also other programs including design) program does not encourage or demand students to deliver top-notch work. Besides, there is not so much diversity on campus. Yes, fellow students from different countries or continents but rich people have similar points of views, regardless of their origin country. I have to differentiate here between students coming from a country outside of the European Union and students who have the ability to study without tuition fees in Europe. For a European citizen, IE University is one of the most expensive universities he or she can attend in Europe. That brings “It’s the most expensive university in europe. It must be the best. My dad is paying anyway” people to IE. To quote a person I met from Portugal just last week and didn’t attend IE “It’s a university where rich kids go who failed in school or would fail at a public university”. That’s IE reputation in a nutshell from a European perspective. I know for all of you outside of the EU. That’s a different story. IE’s tuition fees are on the same level as all tuition fees in Europe and far lower than in the US. Here comes my overall advise:

Dear European citizens,
Don’t come here. You have the luck of attending a university mostly for free or even get paid for it. Don’t waste your or your parent’s money on IE or any other private university in Europe. They are all similar if they are not non-profit. I got fooled by IE with their fancy campus and marketing (which all private university are good in). To IE’s defence, the design program is good and the professors I had put effort into the students and the program itself. But be aware that the design and architecture faculty is small and Segovia leaves not many opportunities to get to know people. It can be hard to “find your people”.

Dear reader from Latin America, Asia or Africa,
I strongly advise you to study at a public university in Europe. Several countries besides the UK offer undergraduate programs in English. Not only are the tuition fees lower, but I also assure you-you will get a better education. Still, from your perspective, IE may be a fit. The country is Spanish speaking and most international students come from Latin America. If you do speak Spanish you are likely to feel at home. Also because there are many “rich” people on campus it will open you some doors. Their parents are sometimes CEO’s from big companies, lawyers in a prestigious law firm and so on. You will get to know people who will become executives/important roles in business which will open you some doors if you knock. Also, IE’s reputation among employees is not bad.

Why did I attend IE?
The unique design program. I had a bad reputation of private universities before already but had an intensive talk with the professor of the design bachelor which led me to the decision to give it a shot. “It’s one of the best universities. It is surely different than most private universities”. Well, it isn’t, although not the worst private university, still inferior to (any) public university in Europe.

One last thing:
Yes, you will sit with 200 people in a lecture at public universities but only if you attend a research university. IE is a university of applied sciences. Both types exist as public universities.

The best thing about this university is that they have many connections to other private companies around Spain and this helps students get internships or jobs after they graduate through their careers portal (especially if you’re studying BBA) and this is indeed quite an attractive trait. The instruction of the teachers are good and they do teach new and valuable information despite not all of them speaking English perfectly.
From a design standpoint (since this is my major), I can say that the faculty will listen to you if you have suggestions or complaints. The department manages to get guest speakers to give talks to the design and architecture students very frequently. The course itself touches upon many facets of design and the lessons are strategically planned so that students will be able to apply their knowledge to other areas they’re currently studying. This school also has a successful exchange program with partnerships between many international universities.

No school is perfect, however. The school itself is situated in a remodelled convent in the small town of Segovia; and if you’re excited about exploring the rest of Spain or doing fun things while you’re not studying then you won’t appreciate its location. Segovia campus students will end up spending a lot of time and money on transportation to other cities because this town has close to nothing to do.
Since the university only has a small amount of space it can use, a lot of the facilities are small and many people don’t stay in the dorms. Because everyone is quite busy and lives far away, student run clubs don’t usually continue past the first month of the new term. It would be more active perhaps if teachers were involved in keeping them active however most professors here are part time or working professionals so they do not have a stake on what happens around campus. Because of the lack of student involvement in school, it’s harder to form friendships with other people unless you go out to clubs with them frequently.
If you’re interested in technology, this school isn’t for you. A lot of the latest technology and conversation surrounding technology doesn’t happen at IE, which can be very problematic for the new job market that is centred towards technology.
The international aspect that IE is so proud of isn’t really celebrated, and frankly it means that there are a lot of French and Portuguese in school which isn’t exactly international by a foreigner’s standards. Whether you’re international or not doesn’t mean really matter ultimately.
Overall, I would recommend IE University as a second choice school or a “safety” school for students looking to apply here.

The University offers a variety of activities/opportunities outside of your degree. The international environment is great! The smaller class sizes allows for students to have more personalized learning and form relationships with their peers and teachers.

The University itself is sufficient, it is deficient in a lot of features such as a sizable accommodation which could house a substantial amount of students. The University invests very well in the professors it hires and in most cases we have some great professors. However, I must say that the university isn’t tight enough with who gets admitted, and thus there tend to be a lot of unmotivated and incompetent students who tend to bring down others grades when they work in groups and such. I wouldn’t consider this University to be very ‘innovative’ or ‘futuristic’ since a lot of departments (extracurricular) are reluctant to change and student feedback tend to have little or no effect.

Since my time here, the school has evolved quite a bit, as it is a fairly young university. I believe that the school’s approach to education is modern but the students at the university really put it off. Most of the students don’t have the motivation to work and this results in serious class segregation. As this is a small university, this ends up happening within nearly every class and degree.