A Long History of Spanish Higher Education or Why Masters in English in Spain Are So Successful?

Spain, as a country with a very rich history, has seen many highs (global emperor, the discovery of America), and many lows (civil war, dictatorship); however despite the current economic and financial crisis and the difficult unemployment situation, the country maintains a leading position in European higher education, contributed largely by its Masters in English in Spain.

The country’s leading position in higher education has a long history, starting from the period when the first Universities in Spain were found during the reign of Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and Isabella I, Queen of Castile, around one thousand years ago. The King of Aragon, and Queen of Castile were visionary leaders, who saw the need to create professionalism in their court and ultimately form a superior government in Spain.  

Today, Spain’s system of higher education continues to be ranked among the top five in the world, only after countries like the U.S. and the U.K.  Traditional, old universities naturally make part of this success, but these mega academic institutions focus mainly on locals or people who want to study in Spanish. Over the last thirty years the situation on the market of higher education in Spain has changed dramatically.

Although the Spanish traditional universities still hold a universal educational status, top professionals and executives prefer to study in private business schools, which focus on innovative educational methods. This has resulted in business schools in Spain providing not only MBA studies but also offering other degrees, such as different specialized masters. Students from all over the world, including the Americas, Asia, Africa and consecutively Europe, who have insight and a vision for international corporate and executive careers, choose modern business schools, such as Global Business School in Barcelona. Why the trend of the last years of choosing to study at international business schools shows only an upward trajectory?

In the nineties, postgraduate studies all around the world were concentrated upon a more conventional education cycle and graduate studies were positioned within the overall academics advancement. Today, graduate education (such as MSc degree) encompasses a much wider range of capabilities to address contemporary challenges such as globalization, cyclical economic crises, leadership, innovation, and the need for corporate change management, private equity and venture capitalism. The teaching of leadership in business education today promotes the focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Masters in Entrepreneurship, Masters in International Management, and Master in Finance aim to concentrate on growth areas of the global modern economy.

For this reason, global corporate leaders promote for-profit rather than non-profit educational institutions and advise institutions to expand and capture wider international populations. The educational critical success factors for Business Schools are: the establishment of successful partnerships abroad, flexibility in campus sizes, and the international students’ enrolments. To attract international students in Spain, business schools need to be distinctive in their value proposition as opposed to local traditional universities, as well as to be connected with international established corporate and entrepreneurial networks.

Leaders from higher education institutions and the corporate and public sectors in Europe promote a dynamic shift from traditional MBA-focused programs towards more entrepreneurial global business schools, from a case study teaching style towards a mentoring style, and from a general business towards multi-disciplinary. Today Masters in International Management, Masters in Finance, Masters in Marketing Management, Masters in Entrepreneurship and MBA are taught only in English by leading business schools.

The Iberic peninsula and especially Barcelona, the cosmopolitan city in the region of Catalonia have captured this international trend and demand, by attracting international and European students, with their leading institutions teaching Masters in English in Spain.