IE's stand on the rankings
Following the recent release of some university rankings, the present article evaluates the overall position of both the IE Business School (MBA programs) and IE University (undergraduate programs) to show the current situation of the institution.
The Masters
Ever since its foundation in Madrid 43 years ago, the IE Business School has delivered excellent academic standards that have consistently placed it not only among the best MBA programs in Europe, but in the whole world. Nowadays, it is very much inarguable that studying your master degree at IE is a very prestigious opportunity, and the most recent reputed rankings confirm this.
The table below shows the position of IE and its two main competitors according to the most recent versions of five different accredited university rankings, including a mean position in the last column to compare between them
Global/Full-time MBA worldwide rankings
*The Financial Times 2018 Global MBA ranking is not considered because IE University does not feature in it due to an alleged administrative error. More about this on the following article.
**All QS rankings in the present article correspond to the 2018 edition. The rest of the rankings are 2017.
While IE University holds the highest mean worldwide position out of its two main local competitors, it is interesting to note that its overall change in regard to the previous ranking edition, represented by the number in brackets, is negative. This is also true for IESE Business School, following IE very closely also with a negative overall change. On the other hand, ESADE, although further below the ranking, registers a positive change in positions, indicating perhaps a more promising future.
Other demanded specializations of IE Master degrees are ranked below, following data of the current editions of three reputed rankings, and compared to its most prominent Spanish competitor.
Worldwide rankings by Master Specialization
In this case, IE University holds the Master in Management (MiM) top ranking, obtaining a remarkable sixth worldwide position, and having experienced a positive change in relation to the past edition of the Financial Times ranking. However, it falls behind ESADE’s Finance MBA only by one mean spot, while they both share negative growth according to Financial Times. It may be the case that the top players of Spanish education are not going through a great moment when it comes to Finance studies, having forfeited positions to Asian and British rivals.
In other categories, both the 2018 editions of Financial Times and QS Online MBA ranking grant IE Business School the second and first worldwide position, respectively. Competing against institutions such as Stanford and Harvard, this is also an impressive achievement.
The Undergraduates
With barely eleven years of activity, it is harder to find IE University in the worldwide rankings. This is not only due to its age; and not because of a lack of educational level. The main reason is the relatively low level of research and academic publications in comparison to other institutions that integrate undergraduate and master programs. With IE not a public school, the money allocated to academic research must come from private investment, thus making it harder for the university to access the necessary resources to undertake high-quality investigation processes.
Having their name only in one of the three most recognized university rankings (QS, Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education) it seems that most of the undergraduate branch’s reputation derives from the prestige and performance of its Master programs, with its current students hoping that this new innovative project will reach the same stature, level and recognition as its older counterpart.
The following tables show the position of IE University according to two of the few rankings that feature their name on a worldwide scale, comparing it against its closest Spanish counterparts.
Even though IE has clinched a top spot in the world employability rankings, a very important aspect for any undergraduate university, it has yet to consolidate its academic prestige in Spanish soil, and achieve a better balance between its programs to alleviate the reputational weight that now lies within the Bachelor in Business Administration and is based on the MBA’s stature.
While it is true that IE University is currently undergoing constant expansion and change, it will be interesting to see the strategy the Rectorate and the Undergaduate program managers will follow in order to grant the undergrads a higher level of autonomy to achieve organic presence and improvement in the rankings.
With very good placement relative to its age, the BBA program appears to be looking at a bright future. However, having little benchmarks as a basis for evaluation, the fate of the rest of the programs offered at IE is still uncertain, and its recognition in the top world scene yet relatively scarce.
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