Spanish Business Schools - International Recognition?

[kohsamed]

Hi - As far as European goes, Spain has a number of schools that rank highly. IE, IESE and Esade are all up there.

I big concern of mine is recognition of these programs outside Spain, especially with those not well versed in MBAs. I am inclined to think that even though schools like Oxford/Cambridge generally rank much lower, having those names on my CV will be more beneficial than Spanish B-S.

What are peoples opinions on this? I am fully aware that its important to choose an MBA course that feels right, I guess my question is asking whether the underlying university brand/prestige is potentially more important than the ranking of their business school

[Jon@Admissionado]

You may be right. Oxfrod is Oxford, and theres nothing to do, but 1000 years of history helps you stay famous!
As for which schools have more prestige, prestige is such an amorphous idea that who can say? It probably also changes from country to country and industry to industry. So for example, let's say you wanted to work in an ex British colony, yeah sure, Oxford takes the cake... but if your goal is S America, IE might do you better.

[kohsamed]

Thank you - your opinion is in line with my expectation then.

I am in a conundrum because I really fancy the programs/experience at IESE or IE, yet not sure how much benefit those MBAs will be to my career options

[Jon@Admissionado]

Well I didn't mean to knock those programs at all! They are all three of them well known (though IE is the most well known). But I say let the programs speak for themselves. IE's post MBA employment and salary stats are pretty awesome, so this is a strong sign for example of the school's capacity to get you to your goals. Yes, Oxford although lower ranked has the advantage of being Oxford. But if the programs in Spain appeal to you, they can be excellent choices and do have renown of their own.