INCAE Business School

INCAE’s reputation is world renown. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 América Economía magazine ranked INCAE as the #1 business school in Latin America for its quality and creation of knowledge. Wall Street Journal's 2005 MBA Ranking placed INCAE at #10 in the world within Business School recruiting worldwide. In January 2004, the Financial Times, in its “World Top 100 Business Schools” ranks INCAE #4 in the world for the international business experiencie it gives to MBA students. Furthermore, other global organizations as the World Economic Forum rely on INCAE’s research and databases for their studies on economic indicators, competitiveness, and sustainability in Latin America.

INCAE was founded in 1964 by the business community, the governments of the Central American nations, and the Harvard Business School. Today, INCAE is a non-profit, multinational, private, higher-education organization devoted to teaching and research endeavors in the fields of business and applied economics aimed at training and instructing, from a worldwide perspective, individuals capable of succesfully holding top management positions in Latin America.

In more recent years, INCAE has been accredited by the SACS (1995), AACSB (1999) and EQUIS (2004). The United States Department of Education also accredits INCAE for Federal Student Aid.

The Francisco de Sola campus, in Nicaragua, is the home of the full-time, 15-month intensive MBA programme as well as the International Executive MBA. The Walter Kissling Gam campus, in Costa Rica, houses the full-time, 21-month regular MBA in addition to multiple executive training seminars and international joint programmes with partner universities abroad. Furthermore, INCAE currently runs Executive MBA cohorts in Panama, Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador.

In the study programme, all core courses are completed during the first year. The month of June brings students the opportunity to either expand their work experience through a three-month internship at a relevant company or to home their second-language skills by studying either English abroad or Spanish locally. In the second year there is more than just traditional academics for the students. During the first semester, students must carry out a live consulting assingment in teams of 4 to 7 students. This assignment, or fieldwork, can take place anywhere in Latin America, the United States, Europe, and soon, Asia. The students’ performance is closely monitored by INCAE faculty all the way from day one to the day of the final presentation to the board of directors of the host company. In short, an international experience with a practical application of the tools and concepts learned in the classroom.