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Full Time MBA in english

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MBA Full Time smiling student from UPF-BSM

Full Time MBA in english

APPLY FOR ADMISSION
UPF-BSMMBA programsFull Time MBA in english

The UPF-BSM full-time MBA is an official master's degree designed for an international audience, accredited by AMBA, and endorsed by the rigour and excellence of Pompeu Fabra University. It will provide you with a global and innovative vision of management.

MBAInternationalLeadership
Next edition
Classes start: September 2025
LanguageEnglish
ModalityOn-campus
ScheduleMornings
Duration13 months
ECTS credits90
Price28.000 €

The MBA is a full-time program. It is aimed at people with a minimum of three years of professional experience who want to take a step forward in their profession or start their own business.

With this master's degree you will gain a strategic vision of the main functional areas of a company. You will develop specific skills and knowledge for business management. It is a flexible and personalized program through which you can create your own itinerary, incorporating content on innovation, business development, sustainability, leadership, etc.

In the full-time MBA you will attend individual coaching sessions, development and personal branding workshops, and activities with the professional careers department, which will provide you with the tools you need to launch your professional career. In addition, you will have a mentor who will accompany you in the development of your master's final project from day one.

You will be part of an international educational program in a European business school, and have the possibility of a study trip to Stockholm. This will allow you to learn about other innovative business realities.

Sustainability and business ethics, as well as culture and humanism, are also integrated into the program through case studies, conferences with managers, seminars, etc., making participants aware of the importance of social responsibility and management of diversity in the world of business and organizations.

The Full Time MBA is endorsed by Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Spanish university and the 15th best university in the world (of those with less than 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education ranking. In addition, UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally.

Why choose this program

01

Study at an accredited school

Study at a school accredited by EQUIS, an international distinction that guarantees the quality of our institution and makes us the 1st school of management linked to a public university with this accreditation in our country.

02

Campus in the centre of Barcelona

The full-time MBA sessions take place in the Balmes Building, a campus located in the heart of Barcelona. You will experience innovation in the centre of a city that breathes creativity and business life.

03

Elite faculty

The full-time MBA has the highest level of teaching staff. The program is taught by management professionals from leading companies and professors of recognized international prestige from the Department of Economics and Business at Pompeu Fabra University.

04

Dynamic and interactive learning

In the full-time MBA you will combine theoretical sessions with learning-by-doing. The program has innovative and interactive methodologies such as business simulations. They will help you be ready to make strategic decisions in an uncertain and changing world.

05

Personalization

You will have a personalized development plan for leadership and managerial skills. Your plan includes individual coaching sessions, activities with the professional careers department and a mentor who will support you in the development of your Master's Final Project.

Who is it for?

The full-time MBA is a program aimed at university graduates, both national and international, who have recently started their career. People with a minimum professional experience of three years, who want to take a step forward in their profession or start their own business.

Accreditations

The UPF Barcelona School of Management is the management school of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), the 3rd best public university in Spain according to the Times Higher Education ranking. It is the best Spanish university, 10th in Europe, and in the Top 20 worldwide in its 2023 ranking of the best young universities.
 
UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally, and places itself among the top business schools in the world.
 
The Full Time MBA has AMBA accreditation from the Association of MBAs, which recognizes UPF-BSM for its academic quality and reputation.
 
The Full Time MBA is an official master's degree and has the academic recognition of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Spain. The Quality Agency of the University System of Catalonia (AQU) has also institutionally accredited UPF-BSM. This accreditation certifies all the official master's degrees that we teach and recognizes the quality of our educational model in accordance with the criteria of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

EQUIS-AccreditedAMBA logoAQU-MUBA-EN

Curriculum

The full-time MBA is structured over 13 months in which students will participate in core and elective subjects. 

We have identified a set of key competencies that favour the professional development of participants: leadership, communication, cooperation, adaptive and critical thinking, decision-making, and autonomous learning. You will work on these skills in an integrated and transversal manner throughout the MBA. 

The program also consists of an individual project that students start during the first weeks of the master's degree and that they will develop throughout the entire MBA.  

Welcome Week

You will analyze and practice the competencies necessary to achieve results through and with people: ethics and sustainability, cooperation, adaptive thinking, self-awareness and self-directed learning, personal leadership, and leadership models and styles (including online and remote), teamwork, conflict treatment and management within the organization, crisis management, negotiation, motivation, communication, and skills for leading meetings and presentations, and business communication skills, with a strong emphasis on practical exercises and role-playing. This course also includes a segment focused on acquiring skills and competencies to deliver successful public presentations, as well as individual and personalized coaching sessions with an expert coach specializing in profiles like yours. Additionally, you will have individual and personalized sessions with a career advisor from our Career Services Department, specializing in MBA profiles, to help you manage and develop your professional career in line with your goals and concerns.

Core courses in the first trimester

You will gain insight into business management by integrating various functional areas, linking short-term perspectives with long-term ones. You will analyze how companies adapt to their environments by proposing solutions to interpret competitive situations and market trends. You will understand the impact of organizational change and examine strategic implementation.

This course focuses on quantitative techniques that aid in making business decisions in complex situations. It covers topics such as linear programming, multicriteria models, queueing theory, network analysis, and decision models.

You will learn and understand the economic fundamentals of business activity through the analysis of approaches, decisions, and the evolution of the firm from an economic perspective, including exchange relations and contracts among all involved parties.

The purpose of this course is to engage you in making business decisions. You will decide on the future trajectory of an organization by managing resource allocation in a series of exercises to achieve its objectives. This course also develops managerial skills and teamwork capabilities.

You will learn to calculate the costs of products, services, departments, activities, and processes of any company, as well as to develop budgetary and management control.

Core courses in the second trimester

You will delve into conducting pre-marketing plan analyses and various applications of market research. Additionally, you will address sales management and the elements defining marketing strategy, aiding in the creation of a marketing plan.

Referencing product design and process selection in production and service companies, this subject will delve into total quality management (TQM), capacity planning, location methods, inventory management, forecasting, time series analysis, independent demand, economic order quantity, and dependent demand: MRP and JIT, among other topics.

Recognizing the paramount competitive advantage that people's roles currently hold in a company, you will delve into planning and organization, selection, training, and promotion, job analysis and evaluation, performance appraisal, and compensation systems. These elements allow understanding the functioning of this area and designing a policy suitable to the company's needs.

The aim is to master various planning tools and project viability analysis, as well as analytical techniques of financial statements in the study of annual accounts. You will be able to diagnose the economic-financial situation and evolution of companies and will develop and interpret provisional balances, generated cash flows, and cash flow budgets. The subject also covers alternatives to access financial resources and delves into the various investment options available to top management: stock market, financial futures, financial options, and fixed-income investment alternatives.

This subject describes the main information technology and telecommunications resources available to businesses. You will understand information processing and its impact on functional areas and organizational processes, decision support systems, integration with strategy, and its relationship with the human team.

Core courses in the third trimester

Its core is the analysis of global and specific aspects of product, market, and channel strategies in consumer, industrial, and service markets. You will analyze comprehensive marketing strategies and plans of various companies, sectors, and environments, and their relationship with the organization's overall strategy.

Tools for analyzing a company's operations are used to align its outputs with top management's strategic choices. Different levers available to Production Management to improve processes are analyzed. Specifically, topics such as operations in service companies, purchasing systems, and international operations are addressed. You will understand the strategy and methods of aggregate planning, short-term scheduling, project planning and control, distribution network logistics, transportation planning, information systems, and applications for operations management, interaction with other functional areas, and integration into the strategy.

This subject deals with the opportunities and threats of managing a company in different countries. You will learn about topics such as the internationalization process of the company, competition in globalized environments, cross-cultural interactions, and collaboration in multidisciplinary teams.

You will delve into investment and financing fundamentals and their relationship with macroeconomic aspects, as well as the criteria for integrating financial concepts into business strategy and planning.

In the context of the cross-curricular subject Leadership and Managerial Development, the Full Time MBA includes in this third trimester a weekend getaway at a mountain hotel, where team-building activities will be carried out with the aim of identifying roles and leadership qualities, and enhancing managerial and team management skills.

Takes place at one of the international business schools with which UPF-BSM maintains collaboration agreements. This week will give you the opportunity to experience an international setting and learn about business in different environments.

Elective courses

This course explores Bitcoin and blockchain technology, delving into their workings, decentralized services, and the recognition of cryptoassets across jurisdictions.

Analyzing value-based organizations, or companies 3.0, this course emphasizes their role in defining corporate DNA to mitigate strategic risks. Participants take on the role of board members to analyze strategic risks, utilizing methodologies from experts.

Through a study trip, participants immerse themselves in an innovation hub, examining real-life case studies and exchanging insights on the international business landscape.

Covering advanced data analytics, this course teaches Python analysis, visualizations, and artificial intelligence implementation, alongside understanding predictive analytics and machine learning concepts.

This course enhances public speaking skills through theory-practice fusion, emphasizing effective structure, non-verbal communication, and confidence-building via real-time feedback.

Exploring digital technologies' impact on efficiency and innovation, this course evaluates strategy, growth, and innovation's interconnectedness within business ecosystems.

Professionalizing negotiation processes in international projects is essential, addressed in the Sustainability and Negotiation course to equip leaders for sustainable negotiations in a global context.

Through critical analysis, this course evaluates finance and banking practices' responses to industry challenges, addressing ecological balance, cultural diversity, social welfare, and economic inequality.

Aimed at understanding impactful entrepreneurship, this course covers identifying social needs, business opportunities, triple bottom line business models, and concepts of Theory of Change and social impact measurement.

Technology and new forms of work are redefining management and value generation processes within companies. This course presents examples, challenges, and tools to change the way value is created in the enterprise.

This course provides the knowledge and tools necessary to evaluate business opportunities from legal, financial, and business perspectives. Topics include partnership agreements, statutes, financing criteria, and critical aspects of business, supported by examples and practical cases.

From idea conceptualization to selling, closing, or consolidating, this course guides entrepreneurs through the business process. It explores technical concepts, methodologies, and is illustrated with examples and practical cases.

Every competitive company needs to make agile and strategic decisions, which requires implementing advanced business analytics. This course provides an overview of available tools in the market and demonstrates, through practical cases, the significant cost savings they can generate.

This course addresses how to align the potential of employees with the organization's strategic objectives. It focuses on managing culture, teams, and individuals, presenting a comprehensive Talent Management strategy supported by key practices that every manager must master and implement.

Note on elective courses

Master’s Final Project

At the beginning of the program, you will define the individual project (TFM) that you will work on during the Full-Time MBA. It should address a real business challenge and allow you to develop skills in business analysis and diagnosis, as well as formulate viable proposals for implementation.

Note on the Curriculum

Complementary activities

The Full Time MBA also includes the possibility of participating in practical activities and activities for personal and professional growth such as:

  • The International Study Trips are short stays that will allow students to get to know other realities within the framework of the world of business. Previously we have visited Shanghai (China) or London (United Kingdom), among others.
  • The MBA Challenge, a four-day competition in which you will have the opportunity to work on a real challenge from a large corporation. Companies such as La Fageda, the Oncology Foundation of Catalonia, the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, and the Josep Carreras Foundation have already entrusted their cases to UPF-BSM participants.
  • Bootcamps
  • CV, LinkedIn, Speed Networking, Talent Up, and interview workshops
  • Sessions on self-knowledge and self-assessment skills based on Steelter test
  • Inspirational Talks Series with CEOs, VPs and enterpreneurs
  • Visits to companies, innovation hubs, and accelerators
  • Sporting competitions with school students (MSc, etc.)
  • Workshops for entrepreneurs/diversity management
  • English classes. Business English
  • Activities with the UPF-BSM community
  • Attending 4YFN/MWC, Smart City
  • Preparation courses: Initial preparation courses for participants who need to take them depending on their previous studies and experience. They are online ans students take them before joining the program.
  • UPF-BSM Inside: is a group of interdisciplinary subjects (applied data, communication, creativity, innovation and project management, sustainability and leadership among others) that, if you take this program, you can access at no additional cost. They are 100% online and you can take them throughout the academic year at your own pace, as they have been designed as self-study subjects.

Qualification obtained

Once the program has been completed, students will be awarded the Màster Universitari en Administració  i  Direcció de Empreses. Master in Business Administration (MBA) - Máster Universitario en Administración y Dirección de Empresas / Master in Business Administration (MBA), issued by the Pompeu Fabra University.  
 
Official Master's Degree: The amount stipulated in the DOGC (Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya) must be paid for the rights to issue the degree certificate. This fee varies annually and the amount in force at the time of requesting the degree certificate will be applied. 

Faculty

The UPF-BSM full-time MBA is taught by management professionals from leading companies and professors of recognized international prestige from the Department of Economics and Business at Pompeu Fabra University. This ensures high-level training, combining conceptual aspects and practical approaches.

Academic directors

Coordinator

Faculty

Collaborating faculty

  • Miguel Ángel Guisado
    Author of "Presento, luego existo". Trainer and speaker on technical, business, project, and sales presentations.
  • August Mabilon Puig
    Partner in SDG Group. PDD from IESE.
  • Bet Matoses
    Expert in Service Design and Design Thinking, specializing in the design of brand, product and service strategies with a fully digital approach. Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences and Administration from Pompeu Fabra University and Degree in Industrial Design from IED.
  • Diana Pinos
    Consultant, trainer, and expert in Design Thinking. Lecturer at UPF in Innovation and Design Thinking.
  • Albert Solè
    CaixaBank. Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from UB, MBA from ESADE, and APC from Stern School of Business at NYU.

Methodology

The full-time MBA combines basic content, fundamental for any managerial professional, with specific content, which is personalized with the mentor according to the skills and professional project of the participant.

The program also includes the possibility of participating in professional and personal growth activities:

  • International Study Trips: work trips that you will make to other countries to discover new markets and visit innovative companies
  • the Social Impact Challenge: a four-day competition in which you will have the opportunity to work on a real challenge from a company or institution
  • business simulations
  • team building activities
01

The best of theory, the best of practice

The methodology of the UPF-BSM full-time MBA combines theory (the introduction of concepts), with practice (where these concepts are put into action). To do this, we promote interaction with the economic fabric: visits to companies, sessions with managers, etc.

02

Master’s Final Project

You will develop your Master's Final Project individually. You will be under the supervision of a mentor and have access to the advice of experts and professionals from UPF-BSM.

03

Team building: you will learn to compete and cooperate

The program also includes the possibility for you to participate in group activities such as the MBA Challenge, business simulations, or activities outside the classroom. In these activities you will work on cooperation between groups in competitive scenarios.

04

Internationalization

During the program you will develop a series of activities that value internationalization. We highlight the Study Trips to European capitals such as Stockholm. These visits include sessions with local professors and professionals, as well as visits to their main companies.

Evaluation

The UPF-BSM full-time MBA program is made up of different evaluation systems according to each subject: exams, group work, individual work, and the individual Master's Final Project.

Tools

Project-oriented learning and the combination of lectures and active methodologies such as case studies, flipped learning, solving real problems and professional simulations allow the student to connect theory and practice, acquire advanced skills and achieve learning which is transferable to work.

You will have:

  • Master's Final Project (TFM) or  Postgrad Final Project (TFP)
  • A personal mentor to monitor your final project (TFM or TFP)
  • Digital resources to achieve transversal skills
  • Interdisciplinary activities and workshops

Professional Future

The full-time MBA is a program aimed at both national and international professionals, with a minimum professional experience of three years. People who want to take a step forward in their profession or start their own business. They have in common their desire to acquire strategic and business management skills.

Student profile

The full-time MBA ecosystem is made up of young professionals with high growth potential, or those who want to start their own business.

The diversity of profiles and sectors represented in the MBA (entrepreneurship, finance, consulting, law, management, team leaders, engineering, young scientists, medicine, professionals from the pharmaceutical industry, the banking sector, etc.) is a great added value for your learning. Their diverse geographical and cultural, national and international origin, will enrich your training experience, while allowing you to network a large group of contacts.

Career opportunities

The full-time MBA will be a springboard to launch your professional career: you will develop the specific skills and knowledge demanded by companies and organizations of all kinds.

You will also have at your disposal the UPF-BSM Job Exchange in our Department of Careers. A Career Advisor will help you and support you to achieve your professional growth goals in a personalized way.

If you are an international student and do not have a European passport, our Careers Department will also help you find a business project according to your profile. The full-time MBA program does not include internships.

  • Venture Capital Manager, Private Equity Manager, and Strategic Consultant.
  • Management positions in any of the functional areas of a company: marketing, finance, human resources, production, etc.
  • Entrepreneur of your own project.
  • Intrapreneur: undertaking projects within your organization.