Sponsored by IE Business School
For the past few years, business education has been dominated by the English-speaking world. US and UK institutions have clung to the top spots, attracting the best and brightest. However, change is now afoot. Thanks to the so-called ‘Trump effect’, talented applicants from growth regions in Asia and Africa, as well as Europe, are being put off applying to US business schools by the inflammatory anti-immigration language of the current US President.
Indeed, figures from the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance (MBACSEA) and the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) show a significant reduction in international admissions at US business schools thanks to long- and short-term immigration status fears. Clearly, applicants are being deterred by the lack of certainty over their post-graduation careers.
This has created a real opportunity for schools in Europe to rise up and compete directly with the US when it comes to MBA offerings. While this applies to the continent as a whole, nowhere is better poised to take advantage than Spain. In the QS Global MBA Rankings 2018, Spain was third behind only the US and the UK in terms of the number of schools in the top 25 in the world, and the country’s leading school – Madrid’s IE Business School – made the top 10.
So, just what is so attractive about Spain, and why should you study for an MBA in Madrid?
A thriving financial hub with global business connections
Spain is home to head offices and regional offices for a number of international businesses, with Brexit set to increase Madrid’s importance as a leading EU capital city. Spanish giants Santander, BBVA and Telefónica all have a significant presence in the city, putting Madrid MBA students at the heart of one of Europe’s most thriving financial and business centers.
What’s more, Spain is unique among European countries for its connections with the southern hemisphere, with a number of Spanish companies expanding into Latin America, and Latin American giants basing their European operations in Madrid and Barcelona.



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