MBA Class of 2026 kicks off with record number of participants

IESE Business School´s newest edition of its MBA program kicks off this week with 445 students, an all-time record number of participants. The program’s expansion comes as a response to the increase in applications the school has received from top candidates around the world, combined with the desire to offer a more personalized and diversified education.  

According to Marc Badia, Deputy Dean of IESE Business School, “prior expansions have always enhanced the quality of our MBA program by attracting more recruiters, enlarging the network of our students and alumni, and allowing us to extend our offering of electives, modules and other extracurricular activities.” 

This year´s incoming MBA class has also seen a notable increase in the number of international students, with 88% of the class hailing from outside Spain. Participants come from a wide range of regions: 44% from the Americas, including the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean; 30% from Asia, the Middle East and Africa; and 26% from Europe. In addition, women comprise almost 40 percent of the IESE MBA Class of 2026, marking an increase over previous years and reaffirming IESE's commitment to gender equity and inclusion. 

This expansion coincides with the 60th anniversary of IESE's MBA, which began in 1964 thanks to an alliance with Harvard Business School and which, over six decades, has trained  around 11,000 business leaders from around the world.  

Since its beginnings, the MBA program has constantly evolved to adapt to the needs of a changing business world. In recent years, the program has added specializations in international business, finance, data and digital business, sustainability, and entrepreneurship and innovation. 

A more diverse and international Master in Management  

In parallel, this week also saw the start of the new edition of IESE's Master in Management (MiM), which has seen notable growth since its launch in 2019. Designed for recent graduates looking to enter the business world, the MiM has 125 students this year, 67% of whom are international, from 37 different countries.   

In addition, 37% of the participants are women, reflecting IESE's ongoing efforts to foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment. The average age of students remains at 23. The MiM, held at IESE's Madrid campus, continues to establish itself as a key training option for future global leaders.  

The commencement of both programs underscores IESE's commitment to developing global leaders prepared to face the challenges of an ever-changing business world.  

“The continued strength of our MBA and MiM programs reflects our focus on offering transformational educational opportunities to young talent at all stages of their careers”, adds Badia.