The IE Business School Masters in Finance is one of Europe’s top programs and one that I see asked about on the various forums I go to. It has been a while since I last wrote about the school and I thought that it was long overdue. A lot has changed and I wanted to update all of you who might be considering studying in Madrid. Going forward I will make sure to post updated on this program more often.
Overview
The program is one year in length, being taught in English in Madrid, Spain. It is a full time program with two intakes, in September and April. IE has partnerships with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and the London School of Business. This allows students to take classes at these other institutions. The program is connected to both the CFA Institute and the CAIA Association. Both of these will allow students to augment and enhance their educations and provide additional experience while studying.
The IE Business School Masters in Finance was recently ranked 11th by the Financial Times which is pretty impressive. Additionally, it came in 5th for getting an investment banking job and 3rd for getting a job in hedge funds, private equity and asset management (2019 and 2017, EFinancialCareers). While rankings are always subjective, the schools ability to rank high in a number of areas should be a good indication of the quality education you will receive.
There is a number of additional things of interest regarding this program. There are optional trips to London, New York, Ghana & Frankfurt. The university offers dual degrees – IMBA and Masters in Finance and a Masters in Management and Masters in Finance. Both of which are pretty interesting and will allow students further customization.
Class Profile
I couldn’t find a traditional class profile , but I did find something discussing the make-up of the class and thought it would be helpful. The program looks incredibly diverse from an experience and background standpoint. Most likely what a truly international program is looking for.
- Gender – 80% Male / 20% Female
- Avg. Work Experience – 0-10 years
- Avg. Age – 22-31
- Academic Background
- 54% Business & Finance
- 19% Economics
- 16% Engineering
- 11% Other
- GMAT Range (80%) – 650-770
Admissions
The school is pretty unique in the fact that in addition to the CFA and GRE they also allow for CFA L1 and CAIA L1 in lieu of the traditional tests. Applications have an online profile to fill out and once that is done, they will receive a link to answer three live questions, two in video format and one in written format. Students will then go through an interview with admissions staff or an IE ambassador. These interviews are conducted in person or on Skype.
You can find a bunch of videos offering admission tips here. I think it is pretty nice they provide this since many students are kind of lost when it comes to this process. More information is always helpful. Also, the cost of the program is pretty affordable. As of August 2019, tuition is €37,200. That isn’t bad for a year long masters.
Career Services
91% of graduating students found employment within three months of graduation. Placements among these students break out into the following industries:
- Financial Services – 80%
- Consulting – 18%
- Other – 2%
I couldn’t find specific placements, but the school emphasizes the large number of companies coming on campus to recruit students, including the banks and other financial firms that come to present to masters in finance students. I would imagine that the alumni network and on campus recruiting for the IE Business school is pretty robust considering the partnership with other great European business schools as well as the prominence of the school overall. The school makes a point of talking a lot about how much they help and prepare students through their career service professionals. Definitely all the tools needed to be successful coming out of the program.
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I am really glad I took a deeper look at this program as these is a lot going on here and this should be of interest to anyone considering studying in Europe. I personally like the dual degrees as well as the ability to spend time and study at Frankfurt or LBS. Lots of options here and it seems like a program that will help recent graduates as well as established professionals. I will make sure to continue to update this program going forward.
Here is a link to the IE Business School Masters in Finance Program
